The Los Angeles-based artist Sterling Ruby has parted ways with Hauser & Wirth. Ruby joined the gallery in December 2012 and was widely expected to be one of the stars of its West Coast branch, Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, which is scheduled to open in a former flourmill in downtown LA in Spring 2016.
Marc Payot, a partner and vice president of Hauser & Wirth, confirmed the split and says that the gallery remains on “very friendly terms” with the artist.
Ruby, who operates a vast studio compound in California, produces work in a variety of media: from large-scale ceramic sculptures, video and tapestries, to collages, poured polyurethane pieces or spray-painted canvases.
He had had a couple of ambitious exhibitions for Hauser & Wirth since joining, including “Sunrise Sunset” in the gallery’s Chelsea space last summer, which was his first New York show in four years.
The artist’s representation in the US has been erratic, with moves between galleries including Foxy Production, Metro Pictures and Pace. But, he has longstanding relationships with European galleries including Xavier Hufkens, which is currently staging an exhibition in Brussels (Scales, until 23 May), and Gagosian, which is planning a two-venue exhibition of works by Ruby in its Paris galleries this autumn.
The artist has also worked with Sprüth Magers in Europe since 2007, and is preparing a big exhibition for its Berlin space next year. The gallery is planning to open a branch in Los Angeles this coming September, but it did not comment on whether it would take over US representation of Ruby.
The artist did not respond to requests for comment submitted through his other galleries.
