Why Pace Gallery is Betting Big on Berlin

During Gallery Weekend Berlin, Pace will inaugurate an outpost in the German capital, sharing the historic building with Zurich-founded Galerie Judin, which has been based in the city since 2008. Here, Laura Attanasio, who was hired to establish a private office for Pace in Berlin in 2023, speaks about her plans for the new location and the gallery’s expansion into the DACH region.

Chloe Stead It’s often said there are no collectors in Berlin. Why open a space here?

Laura Attanasio There are collectors in Berlin, especially young collectors, and we have quite a few of them! This is an international city with many start-ups and global companies, so there are people here from all over the world who might initially buy something for EU€5,000 but, ten years from now, could be able to afford something that’s EU€500,000. The other factor is that, although we’re opening in Berlin, we’re looking at the entire German market. We just participated at Art Düsseldorf, for example, where we did a collaborative booth with Kamel Mennour.

But profit isn’t the only thing we’re interested in: we’re also focused on the art scene here. Berlin is still so important internationally and we’re doing our part to keep it that way. I know the situation is complicated at the moment, but we shouldn’t give up on the city because of that. We should all work together – galleries, institutions and museums – to keep our soft power.

CS You’re alluding to the fact that the Berlin Senate slashed its budget for culture by 12 percent at the beginning of the year, causing widespread panic in the sector. Is there anything you can do as a commercial gallery to mitigate some of the problems arising from these cuts?

LA That funding was vital for Berlin and for people living in and visiting the city, so I think it’s an absolute mistake. There are some things we can do: we recently gifted a work to the Neue Nationalgalerie and we want our exhibitions programme to feature more local artists in addition to our regular roster.

One of the results of the cuts was the cancellation of Museumssonntag [free entry to museums on the first Sunday of every month] and, while we know we can’t replace a museum, we can offer culture to everyone: we’re open on Sundays and we’re free.

CS Funding isn’t the only problem at the moment. There have been many exhibition cancellations related to the government’s armament of Israel, which have resulted in calls for artists to boycott Germany. You have an international roster of artists, many of whom make political art. Have you had to consider these issues when programming the space?

LA So far, I haven’t encountered any artists who have wanted to support the boycott. However, we are living in difficult times and artists have the right to speak up and also to boycott, if that’s what they want to do.

CS The building you’re moving into is a former petrol station from the 1950s, which was initially converted into a private residence and exhibition space by the gallerist Juerg Judin in 2008, before becoming a museum dedicated to the work of George Grosz between 2022 and 2024. What attracted you to the space?

LA The choice to move into this building came out of the close, 20-year relationship between Juerg and Marc [Glimcher, Pace CEO]. Marc still has the fondest memories of cooking with Juerg in his kitchen when he still lived there, before it was turned into a museum. So, he’s always known and loved the space.

CS Pace will share the building with Galerie Judin. How will this split work, and can it offer a model for other galleries?

LA We’re doing the inaugural exhibition together – one floor per gallery – after which we will alternate our programmes. We both also have permanent offices at the space, so we’re there all the time. It’s a new model, rooted in a collaborative spirit. I also think people in Berlin wouldn’t have liked it if we’d just opened a big gallery in the city and shown our regular programme. It wouldn’t have fit.

CS How will you distinguish this location from your other spaces in New York, London, Seoul etc.?

LA We have a big programming team here at Pace, but I’m trying to put my personal touch on the space, which for me means including local artists. That’s really what I want to do, but the programme is still in the making. I also want to bring shows to Berlin that people haven’t seen before. The show we’re doing now, ‘Reverse Alchemy’, is a fantastic example of this because the artists – Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jean Dubuffet and Robert Nava – are ones you don’t often see exhibited in Berlin.

CS The facade of the building is obviously very striking and there is a lovely outside space. How do you intend to use that in your programming?

LA There will be a beautiful cafe run by the newspaper Die Zeit and we’re intending to organize readings, parties and talks, but that is still in the making. We all know summer is the only good time to be in Berlin [laughs], so we want to make the best of it!

‘Reverse Alchemy. Dubuffet, Basquiat, Nava’ will open at die Tankstelle, Berlin, on 2 May.