For Krystyna Gmurzynska and
daughter Isabelle Bscher, dealing art runs in their DNA. Gmurzynska’s own
mother, Antonina, left her homeland Poland in
the early 1960s for Cologne where she opened the gallery that Gmurzynska and
Bscher now run,
Galerie
Gmurzynska. When the
gallery first opened, it specialized in Russian avant-garde (with artists like
), but
over the years has added a cache of masters like
,
, and
—representing the estate of the
latter. Now based in Switzerland with a flagship gallery in Zürich, they have
clients all over Europe, America, and Asia. “The art world is becoming a much
more global marketplace with the amount of easily accessible knowledge that
sites such as Artsy are providing,” Bscher recently said.
Their
third time exhibiting at
The Salon Art + Design, this year
Galerie Gmurzynska will showcase a specially curated selection of
works by Colombian figurative artist
. “Botero has made a series of
fantastic erotic drawings under the title ‘BoteroSutra’,” said Gmurzynska.
“They have never been shown before.” A surrounding exhibition of nudes from
1908 to today will include
,
, and new works from
.
Gmurzynska and Bscher’s own maternal history in
the arts complements their sustained passion to support women in the field.
“Women artists of the Russian avant-garde were as autonomous as the male
artists,” said Gmurzynksa, who in 1979 put together the first exhibition and
accompanying publication on the subject. “Women were always important to me and
that is continually reflected in exhibitions we have created in the past to
now. For instance when I curated a show of
and
I also included works of
Louise Loeber. Over the years we have shown a number of great female artists
who are very close to my heart, such as
and
.”
With proud
ties to their past, they’re also decidedly paving paths in new directions.
“Someone like
who is one of the most
recognized architects in the world has been making extremely strong art works
for 50 years,” said Bscher. The gallery represents Meier—who will also design
their booth for the upcoming Art Basel in Miami Beach fair—along with other
superstars like
. “Working with great artists
is a real privilege. I can’t imagine doing something else.”