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| Ronald Feldman | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ronald Feldman |
| Birth date | 1935 |
| Death date | 2019 |
| Occupation | Art dealer, gallerist, curator |
| Known for | Founder of Ronald Feldman Fine Arts |
| Spouse | Ellen Feldman |
| Nationality | American |
Ronald Feldman was an American art dealer and gallerist who founded Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in New York City and became known for promoting contemporary artists and politically engaged art. He operated a gallery that exhibited conceptual art, performance art, and socially conscious projects, working with artists, curators, collectors, museums, and critics to shape contemporary art discourse. Feldman’s practice intersected with movements, institutions, and events across New York, international art fairs, and cultural organizations.
Born in 1935 in the United States, Feldman grew up amid the postwar cultural milieu that informed mid‑century American art scenes such as Greenwich Village, SoHo, Manhattan, and the broader New York City art world. He pursued higher education and early career steps that connected him to institutions like Columbia University, New York University, Barnard College, and museum networks exemplified by the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. His early exposure included encounters with figures from the Abstract Expressionism era, the Pop Art movement, and nascent Conceptual art networks centering on venues such as The Kitchen and Artists Space.
Feldman established Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in the 1970s, joining a cohort of galleries including Leo Castelli Gallery, Gagosian Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery, and Max Protetch that shaped contemporary markets. The gallery's programming engaged with curators and critics from outlets like Artforum, Art in America, The New York Times, and institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum, New Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and international venues including Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, and Stedelijk Museum. Feldman collaborated with collectors and patrons associated with foundations like the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Ronald Feldman Fine Arts participated in art fairs and exchanges including Art Basel, Frieze Art Fair, Armory Show, and regional festivals connected to Documenta and biennials such as the Venice Biennale and the Whitney Biennial. The gallery's roster and exhibitions intersected with scholarship and pedagogy at universities and schools like Yale University, Rhode Island School of Design, Pratt Institute, Cooper Union, and School of Visual Arts.
Feldman exhibited and represented artists whose practices related to Conceptual art, Performance art, and politically engaged work, including collaborations with artists associated with Fluxus, Minimalism, and post‑conceptual practices. Shows connected to names and projects intersected with artists, critics, and writers appearing in conversations that included Joseph Beuys, Yves Klein, Marina Abramović, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, John Baldessari, Lawrence Weiner, Ad Reinhardt, On Kawara, Vito Acconci, Chris Burden, Allan Kaprow, Nam June Paik, Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, Ed Ruscha, Sol LeWitt, Dan Flavin, Bruce Nauman, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Sherrie Levine, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Julie Mehretu, Martha Rosler, Hito Steyerl, Kara Walker, Ai Weiwei, Doris Salcedo, Tania Bruguera, Jenny Holzer and others whose practices addressed representation, language, and public space. The gallery also organized projects that engaged institutions and public sculpture programs tied to commissions and exhibitions at venues like Public Art Fund and municipal art initiatives in New York City and beyond.
Feldman and his gallery supported exhibitions and projects that responded to social movements and political issues, aligning with campaigns and collectives connected to civil rights, antiwar activism, and human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and advocacy around issues raised by groups including ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, and labor and cultural policy debates addressed by the National Endowment for the Arts. Exhibitions and catalogues often intersected with journalists, broadcasters, and commentators from The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Guardian, PBS, and NPR, and connected to legal and civic institutions such as the ACLU and municipal arts commissions.
Feldman lived and worked in New York City, where he and his family engaged with collecting, philanthropy, and institutional partnerships that informed holdings in museums and university collections, including donations and loans to the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution, and regional museums across the United States and Europe. His legacy is reflected in archival materials, oral histories, and exhibition records housed in library and archival institutions such as the Archives of American Art, the New York Public Library, university special collections, and museum archives. Feldman’s influence persists through ongoing exhibitions, scholarly citations in journals and monographs, and the careers of artists and curators who worked with his gallery.
Category:American art dealers Category:1935 births Category:2019 deaths