After more than 30 years together, Eric Fischl just left Mary Boone Gallery. Ron Warren, a director and partner at the gallery says:

“Eric has wanted to change his working relationship with the gallery. I think he has decided that the art world and the market have changed so much that he wants to concentrate on making his work, and distance himself from being represented by a gallery. We have had a long relationship with Eric, but relationships evolve. Right now, Eric says he wants to concentrate on his work, not be affiliated with a gallery. We respect that and will continue to have a good relationship with him.”

Both Boone and Fischl voiced concerns about the state of the market in a recent article in Interview magazine. The article, written by Fischl, details a conversation between the two about their long working relationship, and the various shifts that have taken place in the art world over the decades. Lamenting the lack of vision of today’s collectors, Boone says many collectors…

“often just want a laundry list of the top names”

Fischl agrees, adding that

“artists are treated more like brand names… There has become this kind of collecting hysteria.”

In the interview, Fischl talked about wanting to work with Boone because he saw her gallery as…

“a nexus for my generation of artists” who shared a “deep belief generationally that art could change society, that it could change culture. So it had an idealism to it. Your gallery had a glow about it of something really new and fresh. It felt like something different was starting to happen.”

The Art Newspaper could not reach Fischl for comment, but as artist Alan Belcherhas noted, his recent work just shown at Frieze Art Fair this says volumes. Take a look here. For me, these public statements are NEVER what’s really going on. In reality, how does leaving one gallery change the art world or your place in it? Well, for one thing, if Fischl is not represented by a gallery now, he’s free sell his work directly and potentially profit greatly. Galleries take 50%, as a general rule, but as an artist gets more established, this can be negotiated. Fischl is obviously established, whatever you may think of his work, and he’ll now be free to manage his career and see what that’s like.

(via The Art Newspaper)