Pace Gallery Is Lauching PaceX, a New Initiative to Promote Art and Tech Projects

Though the opening of Pace Gallery’s new $100
million, eight-story New York headquarters is still weeks away, the
gallery is already dominating headlines. In the last two months
alone, the gallery has added artists Jo Baer and Sam Gilliam to its roster, signed on former Cheim & Read partner Adam
Sheffer as a vice president, and poached former Hirshhorn curator Mark Beasley
to head up its new “Pace Live” enterprise.

Now, Pace is at it again. Today, the
mega-gallery announced the launch PaceX, a new initiative to
support projects at the intersection of art and technology.

In an interview with ARTnews, which
first reported the story, Pace’s president and CEO Marc Glimcher
noted a lack of infrastructure at the gallery level for tech-minded
artists. “In what way is the gallery model equipped to support
these artists in the way it supports painters and sculptors?”
Glimcher asked.

Christy MacLear, who recently served as vice chairman of
Sotheby’s Art Agency, Partners, has been tapped to lead Pace’s new
program. The director left her role at the auction house’s advisory
arm last summer after only 18 months. Prior to that, she served for
6 years at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, where she was the
organization’s first CEO.

“It appeals to the start-up risk-taker in me,”
MacLear told ARTnews. “I’m excited about this role because
it is where artists are pioneering the future.” Asked what kind of
projects PaceX will take on, MacLear said, “Bold ones. Projects
which match the issues like climate change or social justice that
drive artists to new tools and canvases, such as cities or
immersive spaces.”

Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, a director at the
gallery, has been promoted to chief creative officer of the
initiative, while Kathleen Forde will join as PaceX’s inaugural
curator of experiential art.

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