Meet these three leading women growing the footprint of their galleries and the artists they represent. From Chicago to Mexico City, Cape Town to Los Angeles, and Miami to New York, women lead the charge in the business of art. This year, Mariane Ibrahim, Trevyn McGowan and Nina Johnson have expanded their gallery’s footprints to new territories, furthering their program’s reach and artists to new audiences. Here, we find out more about their latest moves.
Artist Nina Johnson PHOTO BY GESI SCHILLING , COURTESY OF NINA JOHNSON
Nina Johnson
Established in 2007, Nina Johnson Gallery (ninajohnson.com) relocated to Little Haiti, eventually presenting an art complex to host 20+ annual exhibitions. Johnson shares, “More exhibitions mean a broader artist footprint, and as such, a more diverse client base.” Johnson’s robust exhibition history includes celebrated creatives Judy Chicago, Beatrice Wood, Clifford Owens, Katie Stout, Jim Drain and more. This year, Johnson transformed the rear gallery ground floor into an exhibition library and archive to provide expanded context to artists’ practices.
Nina Johnson also increased her footprint online and at art fairs, enjoying five years of doubled annual sales. As a result, Johnson has added a New York-based Director for Client Development to her team to deepen relationships with collectors interested in “profound, as opposed to speculative, interactions.” Nina Johnson will participate in the 2023 NADA Miami art fair.
Zizipho Poswa, “uBuhleboKhokho”, 2022 on view at Southern Guild Cape Town in 2023 PHOTO: BY HAYDEN PHIPPS, COURTESY OF SOUTHERN GUILD
Trevyn McGowan
In 2008, Trevyn McGowan cofounded Southern Guild Gallery (southernguild.co.za) with her husband, Julian. Their vision was to produce and exhibit contemporary African design, craft and now art, with meticulous devotion. Southern Guild’s fresh, socially driven ideas garnered international recognition, amplifying the work of Zizipho Poswa, Rich Mnisi, Porky Hefer, and recently renowned artist Zanele Muholi, among others. McGowan shares, “Our artists have something inherently unique to add to global conversations around art’s role in deepening our understanding of humanitarian, environmental, and societal concerns.”
Peter Uka, “The Traveler,” 2022 installation view PHOTO: BY FABRICE GOUSSET, COURTESY OF MARIANE IBRAHIM
On Feb. 22, 2024, Southern Guild will open a second gallery in the art-rich Melrose Hill neighborhood of Los Angeles. Their annual presence at Design Miami/ and UNTITLED Art fair showcases and exhibition collaborations in Chicago and New York highlights the West Coast as Southern Guild’s next USA frontier. McGowan’s astute listening ability and celebratory love of the creative spirit will undoubtedly pave the way. She concludes, “Ours is not only a story of growth but exchange and interconnection.”
Portrait of Mariane Ibrahim. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARIANE IBRAHIM
Mariane Ibrahim
Mariane Ibrahim (marianeibrahim.com) is the epitome of elegant ambition. Relocating her Seattlebased gallery to Chicago in 2019, the new Mariane Ibrahim Gallery became a go-to for the city to learn of underrepresented artists from Africa, the Middle East and their diasporas. Gaining rapid global recognition, artists such as Amoako Boafo, Zohra Opoku and recently Lorraine O’Grady, and more are flourishing amid Ibrahim’s program. Born in New Caledonia to Somali parents and growing up in France, Mariane opened a second gallery in the familiar city of Paris in 2021. Loving Mexico City’s creative dynamism, Ibrahim expanded yet again, opening a space in the Cuauhtémoc neighborhood in Feb. 2023. This latest 10,000-square-foot gallery will continue Ibrahim’s vision to further the careers of artists from underrepresented regions internationally.
Photography by: Photo By: Gesi Schilling; Hayden Phipps; Fabrice Gousset; Courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim
