Goodman and Experimenter Gallerists Join Ocula Selection Committee
The committee selects which galleries can join Ocula as members, ensuring only leading galleries appear on the site.
Priyanka and Prateek Raja, co-founders of Experimenter Gallery, Kolkata. Courtesy Experimenter Gallery.
New gallerists have been appointed to Ocula's Selection Committee, which evaluates prospective galleries.
Bomi Odufunade, Director of Goodman Gallery, London, and Priyanka and Prateek Raja, co-founders of Experimenter Gallery, Kolkata, joined the committee's existing members: Tina Kim at Tina Kim Gallery, New York; Lorenz Helbling at ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai; and Ashley Rawlings at Blum & Poe, Tokyo.
'The strength of each gallery's program lies in its individual programming and the group of artists it represents,' said Prateek Raja. 'As gallerists who work with artists from the very early stages of their careers, we make journeys with our own artists' careers over long arcs of time and hence appreciate the unique way our industry functions as a symbiotic relationship between multiple stakeholders. Our task would be to identify and highlight programmes with a deep commitment to artists.'
The Ocula Selection Committee reviews around 20 galleries each quarter, with members of the committee rotating out every 12–18 months. Ocula has around 220 member galleries.
Christopher Taylor, Director of Ocula, said the Selection Committee helps maintain visitors' expectations to see 'the best of contemporary art around the world.'
'As importantly,' he continued, 'it provides a forum for discussion and awareness of local and regional developments reflected in the programmes of galleries.'
Experimenter joined Ocula as a member in November 2018, and Goodman joined in February 2019.
'We feel the strength of Ocula lies in its editorial content and the breadth of work that is available to be seen on a single platform,' said Prateek Raja. 'Personally we love to read and learn more about artists, gallerists and other practices that are unfamiliar to us and know that galleries from all over the world present a wide range of work.'
(Ocula Magazine operates independently from Ocula's galleries platform, covering both member and non-member galleries.) —[O]