Yancey Richardson gallery celebrates 30 years: 'It is all an honour and immensely rewarding'

Thirty years ago, Yancey Richardson opened the doors to her first exhibition space at 560 Broadway in New York’s Soho neighbourhood. An inaugural show by Sebastiao Salgado marked the start of a decades-long career spent fostering relationships with photographers, relationships which continue to flourish with artists including Mickalene Thomas, Zanele Muholi and Mitch Epstein.

Over the years, the gallery has moved twice, to Chelsea in 2000, then on to 525 West 22nd Street in 2013, where it remains. To celebrate three decades of championing emerging and established artists, Richardson has asked the artists she represents to curate a show of the ultimate subject — themselves.

'I really feel the artists are at the core of the gallery so I asked each artist to select a work by another artist on our roster with whom they felt a creative affinity,’ says Richardson. ‘They loved it! And it was so fascinating to see who selected what.’

The resulting show, 'Yancey Richardson: Celebrating 30 Years', is a joyful curation, with work from Mickalene Thomas, selected by David Alekhuogie; Matt Lipps, chosen by Guanyu Xu; David Hilliard selected by Kahn & Selesnick; and Yamamoto Masao selected by Mary Ellen Bartley.

Richardson has many career highlights, but a few stand out — mostly focussed on her relationship with the photographers she represents.

‘It is hard to single any out but highlights would include opening the gallery in 1995 with a show by the great Sebastiao Salgado who has made such powerful work about the human condition and the fragility of the natural world; my decade-long relationship with the brilliant multidisciplinary artist Mickalene Thomas; and global representation of the barrier-breaking artist Zanele Muholi since 2013.’

What has she enjoyed most about the nurturing relationship between artist and gallerist? ‘Looking at new work, being privy to the artist’s creative process and providing feedback, advocating for my artist’s work - it is all an honour and immensely rewarding,' Richardson says.

'Yancey Richardson: Celebrating 30 Years' is on view until 15 August