After 17 years working as a single-owner enterprise, New York-based Rachel Uffner Gallery introduced right this moment that it has introduced on director Lucy Liu as its first enterprise companion. Uffner, who launched her eponymous gallery in 2008, has change into a staple of the Decrease East Facet gallery scene, supporting mid-career and established girls artists specifically, together with Bernadette Despujols and Sheree Hovsepian. With Liu becoming a member of as companion, the gallery is formally rebranding as Uffner & Liu.
“Over time, I’ve had many alternatives to herald a companion or develop the gallery’s management construction in numerous methods, nevertheless it by no means felt fairly proper till I met Lucy,” Uffner tells The Artwork Newspaper. “I lead with instinct, and after a short while figuring out and dealing with Lucy, I knew that she had the data and imaginative and prescient that will finest complement my very own.”
Liu brings to the gallery a perspective that’s each younger and worldwide. Born in China and raised in Canada, Liu is simply 25 years outdated. “Lucy understands the artwork world in Asia—she’s a part of a younger patrons council on the Rockbund Artwork Museum in Shanghai, as an illustration—and has cultivated relationships with the rising neighborhood of younger collectors within the US,” Uffner says.
For Liu, the chance to companion with Uffner is “a privilege”, she says. “Rachel is an unbelievable gallerist with a discerning eye—somebody who has lengthy punched above her weight. In a second when a lot feels unsure, she has created a enterprise that’s each resilient and impressive and that really places the artists first. She has additionally been a useful mentor.”
Liu joined the gallery’s three-person employees as a gross sales assistant in 2023 and was promoted to director in September of 2024. Previous to becoming a member of Uffner’s gallery, she held internships at David Zwirner and the artwork advisory Artwork Intelligence International whereas working in direction of her grasp’s diploma in artwork administration at Columbia College.
Sheree Hovsepian, Egress, 2025 Courtesy of the artist and Uffner & Liu
In Liu’s two years with Uffner, she has taken on a number of roles throughout the gallery’s operations, together with overseeing every day administration, increasing its artwork honest participation and constructing relationships with new artists. She additionally curates the upstairs exhibition house, which is dedicated to extra experimental and rising project-based exhibits and shows organised by visitor curators and artists.
With the brand new partnership, the gallery hopes specifically to introduce artists from the Asian American Pacific Islander neighborhood into future programming and to strengthen its connections with artists, collectors and audiences overseas.
“It’s not that these audiences have been lacking, however over time we’ve had totally different priorities,” says Uffner. “I’m pleased with the relationships we’ve constructed and the artists we’ve championed right here in New York—and our recommitment to our bodily house downtown is a testomony to that—however there may be additionally a need to have interaction extra deeply with markets outdoors of the US, in addition to markets throughout the US that we haven’t tapped into.”
Along with increasing its outreach from New York, Uffner & Liu additionally plans to participate in additional worldwide artwork gala’s. Whereas the gallery has exhibited overseas previously, together with at Frieze London and Kiaf Seoul, it is going to take part for the primary time within the West Bund artwork honest in Shanghai in November.
Getting into her new function at simply 25 years of age, Liu additionally brings a uniquely younger perspective to the enterprise. Whereas the 2024 Artwork Basel and UBS Survey of International Amassing confirmed that Gen Z collectors (together with Boomers) are spending lower than Gen X and Millennials, these youthful consumers are prone to proceed to extend spending sooner or later. And, because the excessive attendance of Gen Z guests to the newest Artwork Basel Hong Kong version confirmed, younger consumers and fans are actively partaking with the artwork world.
“Having a youthful perspective is important for the gallery’s development as a result of the artwork world and its gamers and values are always evolving,” says Liu. “What feels particularly fulfilling to me is having the chance to welcome new collector teams—individuals who may not have traditionally seen themselves as a part of the artwork world, however who at the moment are getting into the ecosystem with curiosity and intention. We get to construct one thing significant collectively from the bottom up.”
