Mark Webber: Keep Moving Forward While Waiting featured in Sharon Butler's NYC Selected Gallery Guide: April 2026
In “New York Real Estate and the Ruin of American Art,” an article that recently appeared in the winter issue of October, artist Josh Kline points out that art has long been curated, funded, and institutionalized by the very galleries and collectors who profit from it and the schools that train its participants, without necessarily serving the majority of artists. Most NYC artists are familiar with the story Josh is telling, as many have weathered previous market downturns. Some can remember the 1989 stock market crash, the devastation of 9/11, and the 2008 recession. Now, after what has become a rout, even A-listers like Josh feel compelled to rethink the cost of maintaining a NYC studio as the market for their work has shrunk.
Naturally, even when the art market picks up, the art world isn’t the same as it was, and there are never enough opportunities for everyone. As Leon Golub once put it: “You make art because you can’t help it — and then you find out the world wasn’t waiting.” But if the situation is always desperate, it is never terminal. We adapt. The artist migration out of NYC started during Covid lockdown, and it has made a positive and unexpected impact on smaller art communities across the country. As for New York itself, it’s still New York, and a sufficiency of artists remains. Collectively, we are stubborn and undefeated. That there is so much work in so many galleries this month proves the point. Go see some art. –– Sharon Butler
Soho
Anita Rogers Gallery / 494 Greenwich Street, ground floor, New York, NY / The Drawing Show / closes Apr 18 / Mark Webber, Keep Moving Forward While Waiting / Apr 22 – May 30