| Harry Blain | |
|---|---|
Harry Blain (born 12 September 1967)[1] is an English art dealer, gallery owner and founder of (s)edition, an online resource where editioned, digital artworks by the world's leading contemporary artists can be bought and traded[2].
In 1992 Blain opened Blains Fine Art, which specialised in the private placement of works of art by a wide range of contemporary artists.
In 2002 he started Haunch of Venison gallery with Graham Southern, a Founding Director of Christie's (London) Post-War & Contemporary Art Department, which he ran until 2001, and a Director of the Anthony d'Offay gallery.[3]
The gallery represented Turner Prize winners Richard Long and Keith Tyson, as well as Bill Viola and Mat Collishaw.
In 2007 Blain and Southern sold Haunch of Venison[4][5] to Christie’s International plc. However, they remained within the business and continued to run the gallery until they both departed to launch a new gallery, BlainSouthern, in 2010.
Together with Southern, Blain staged many acclaimed exhibitions at Haunch of Venison, including major surveys of Abstract Expressionism[6] and late twentieth century Russian art[7] in New York and London respectively; in 2010 they put on an exhibition with Damien Hirst and Michael Joo in Berlin[8]
In October 2010 Blain and Emmanuel Di Donna, formerly a vice chairman at Sotheby's Worldwide specialising in Impressionist and Modern art works, announced a further venture. Blain|DiDonna[9] will be located on the second floor of the Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue, in the space previously occupied by Ursus Books. It specializes in artworks by Impressionist, Modern and selected Contemporary artists. Di Donna said the gallery will “stage three very focused exhibitions a year, probably mixing modern and contemporary.”[10]. Blain|Di Donna staged its first exhibition in October 2011, Magritte: Dangerous Liaisons, a survey of the Belgian surrealist works which was described by the London Evening Standard as being "without doubt the most prestigious gallery show of 2011"[11]
In addition, in April 2011 Blain|Southern opened a Berlin gallery with an exhibition by the acclaimed British artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster. The space, formerly the printing presses of Der Tagesspiegel, Germany’s liberal daily newspaper, is located on Potsdamer Strasse with a total floor space is 1,300 square metres, of which more than half will be exhibition space.
Blain and Southern were cited in a London Evening Standard survey as being among the most influential people in London.[12] They also featured in the 2010 Art + Auction Power 100 [13]