Gallery closures have been frequent, yet Ben Hunter is expanding into an entire townhouse at 44 Duke Street in St James's, opening in October. Hunter previously worked for Old Master dealer Derek Johns and sculpture specialist Robert Bowman before founding his own gallery in 2018 and briefly running Hunter / Whitfield with Orlando Whitfield. Hunter began with an office, took part of 44 Duke Street in 2020, and consolidated more space as others left. The building once housed Jay Jopling's initial White Cube and sits near Christie's, which is the landlord. Hunter cites market competition, artist ambition, and opportunism as drivers, and describes his business model as "pretty pluralistic."
Hunter started with an office space in St James's, before taking over part of 44 Duke Street in 2020. Gradually as others left, he took more space. "When [the lease for] downstairs came up, I thought why not reconsolidate what is a small but beautiful townhouse that has been carved up over decades," Hunter tells The Art Newspaper. The building, in which Jay Jopling initially set up White Cube in 1993, occupies the same block as Christie's, Hunter's landlord.
"Well, I think that there are lots of things that feed into it," Hunter says. "We're in an extremely competitive marketplace, particularly in the primary market, and I think as a dealer, you have to match the ambition of your artists as well. I think it keeps them engaged to have new context in which to show their work. But also, sometimes you just have to go for it when an opportunity arises."
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