"Trevyn McGowan is in love with the ceiling: sixteen feet of air and light and exposed brick walls supported by thick cast-iron over a century old. The co-founder of Southern Guild, the well-regarded Cape Town gallery, was showing me their newest outpost, a lovingly restored 19th century Tribeca townhouse on Leonard Street. She moved through the raw, empty space slowly. Spools of electrical cable and construction lights hung from white Corinthian columns and the exposed air ducts and piping."
"The reason for nervousness is obvious: 2025 has been a bewildering year, rife with gallery closures and doomsday proclamations. Among the more savvy players, there has been a growing recognition that the art world is shifting into a less overheated-and perhaps healthier-version of itself. But to understand why Trevyn and her husband and fellow co-founder Julian McGowan felt they had to make the leap to New York-and consequently close their Los Angeles space-you have to understand how Southern Guild was built."
Trevyn McGowan admires the restored 19th‑century Tribeca townhouse with sixteen‑foot ceilings, exposed brick, Corinthian columns, and visible air ducts and piping. She experienced an immediate emotional response to the space and questioned whether the intensity of that feeling was madness. The expansion to New York was presented as instinctive, a leap of faith, and accompanied by nervousness acknowledged by family. The contemporary art market in 2025 shows gallery closures and anxiety, while some recognize a shift toward a less overheated, healthier market. Southern Guild built its program around three criteria: deeply personal works, technical ambition, and utter singularity.
Read at ARTnews.com
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