NY gallerist Adrian Rosenfeld to open Minnesota Street Project space

by Charles Desmarais

Adrian Rosenfeld, who left a major role at the Matthew Marks Gallery earlier this year, has moved to San Francisco and will open his own space. Called simply “Adrian Rosenfeld,” the gallery will be located at 1150 25th St., next door to the much-anticipated new location of Altman Siegel Gallery. A third space in the same building — which itself is part of the ever-expanding Minnesota Street Project — will house an as-yet-unnamed private collection showcase.

Rosenfeld joined the Matthew Marks Gallery in New York in 1999, where he was a director. One of the most influential galleries internationally, Matthew Marks represents such top figures as Jasper Johns, Nan Goldin, Ellsworth Kelly and Brice Marden. The San Francisco sculptor Vincent Fecteau is also among the gallery artists.

By telephone, Rosenfeld said that “it’s always difficult to say” whether there is a market for high-value art in a community like the Bay Area. He plans to ask galleries around the world to partner on exhibitions. “I was with Matthew for 15 years — it was a gallery that never worked quickly.

“I want to take the time for things to develop, to work with the new generation that has just begun to emerge in San Francisco. There’s a shift and things are expanding, if not in this super-accelerated way.”

An unconventional design by architect Thomas Ryan is meant to stoke that slow burn. “When you walk into the gallery, you will walk into a library,” Rosenfeld said, “a warm and welcoming” space lined with walnut shelves containing books on collecting, collectors and “esoteric collections.” There will also be a “cantina...a stone-covered plywood bar where 15 people can just hang out” in a hallway leading to the exhibition space. An early 2017 opening is planned.