Maddox Gallery Creative Director Jay Rutland On NY Debut At Art New York

Photo Credit: Maddox Gallery

London-based Maddox Gallery has developed an extraordinarily prestigious reputation in just a few years since its inception in 2015. With three galleries in London and one in the luxe city of Gstaad, the gallery is making its first New York appearance as it exhibits at the acclaimed Art New York fair from May 3rd-May 6th.

The debut to the Big Apple is significant for the esteemed group, as it signifies their global expansion in such a short amount of time. Additionally, Maddox Gallery will operate one of the largest booths (ANY117) of the entire Art New York fair. On display will be the works of renowned photographer David Yarrow, famed Paris-born street Artist Mr. Brainwash, LA-based street artist RETNA, The Connor Brothers from the UK and Christian Hook hailing from Gibraltar. The wide-ranging artists will come together under one fantastic exhibition, curated by Jay Rutland.

Here, Haute Living chats with the distinguished businessman and creative as he prepares for the Art Fair. We talk about why the show is significant for Maddox Gallery, how it was meticulously curated and their plans to expand throughout the U.S. this year.

HL: Why did you decide to exhibit at Art New York this year?

JR: New York is an extremely important market for us. We already have a growing client base in the USA, due to our existing American clientele and a number of our artists also have extremely strong followings in the U.S. Following a successful fair in Miami last December, during which we received incredible feedback, participating in Art New York felt like a natural fit.

HL: Tell us how you curated the booth. What are some highlights?

JR: Coming to New York City—the capital of the world—we wanted to make sure that our booth reflected a diverse range of artists. We’ve selected some of the most successful international artists in the Maddox Gallery portfolio such as RETNA, David Yarrow, Mr. Brainwash and The Connor Brothers. We’re proud of all the work selected here but there are a few standouts including 15 pieces of original work by Mr. Brainwash pulled from a well-received exhibition across our three Central London galleries. These paintings will be seen for the first time in New York. We’ll also showcase works from a wider range of artists that we know have a strong following in New York including Marc Quinn and Harland Miller. Last but not least, we’re excited to introduce a new artist to join our roster: Sculptor Fabio Viale. Overall, the booth in New York will feature some of our most exciting artists represented across various mediums, from sculpture and print, to unique works on canvas.

HL: Tell us about your plans to further expand in the U.S.

JR: We are thrilled about the opportunities opening up in the U.S., specifically in Miami, New York and we’re exploring opportunities in Los Angeles as part of our expansion strategy. We’ve had great success with our recent gallery opening in the Alpine Ski Resort of Gstaad in Switzerland and we’ve witnessed continued growth in our three London spaces since 2015. North America represents a natural next step for Maddox Gallery. We see the Hamptons as an exciting prospect for us. It’s an important submarket and we’ve already begun to receive positive feedback from collectors about participating in Art Market Hamptons this summer. We will have the biggest booth at the fair this year and look forward to officially introducing Maddox Gallery to the Hamptons audience.

Photo Credit: Maddox Gallery

HL: Maddox Gallery is fairly new to the scene but has already garnered so much attention and press in the past three years—particularly with the ‘Make America Great Again’ viral exhibition. What do you attribute this success to?

JR: It certainly could not be accomplished without years of experience in the industry. We’re so fortunate to have such a solid team here at Maddox Gallery. However, I would also say because we’re new to the scene, we’re not limited to an old school approach to developing the business. The art world and the art connoisseur has evolved exponentially over the years. We’re living in a time where people are engaging in the value of investing in emerging contemporary artists. As a result, we’ve not only been able to successfully gain the attention of today’s modern art consumer, but also identify artists who have great stories to tell. ‘Make America Great Again’ was an incredibly timely piece of work and one of the most talked about artworks of recent years to truly go viral. Being involved with something so monumental was pivotal to Maddox Gallery’s journey.

HL: Three words to describe your Art New York booth.

JR: Come see it.

HL: How do the different artists all come together in one cohesive space?

JR: Curating a fair collection is a very different experience than planning a solo exhibition or a group show at one of our gallery environments. We always try to stay true to our brand and philosophy of exhibiting a diverse roster of artists that we genuinely believe are exciting whilst representing a strong investment opportunity to collectors. We want the fair audience to experience our eclectic range of artwork and to get an overview of the different types of work they can expect to find at all our Maddox Gallery locations.

HL: Did you tailor this specific exhibit to New York and its unique audience?

JR: New York is a discerning audience with great knowledge and instincts about art, which was something we had to bare in mind when putting together this particular collection. Our aim was to showcase work that we thought the New York market would respond to, whilst trying to integrate some of our fresh new emerging artists. We wanted to make sure that we were able to offer a combination of established, blue chip artwork as well as offering an opportunity to preview what we consider to be some of tomorrow’s big investment opportunities.