Putting in the work: Matthew Ronay and Casey Kaplan on their gallerist-artist collaboration

‘I’ve been a fan for a long, long time,’ Casey Kaplan says of Matthew Ronay, whose colorful, abstract sculptures are currently on view in the exhibition ‘Ligatures’ at Kaplan’s eponymous New York City gallery. The two men’s professional relationship began officially when Ronay joined the gallery in September 2017, but was the result of sharing the same social and professional circles since the early 2000s. Ronay studied at Yale alongside Nathan Carter and was mentored by Jason Dodge – both artists featured on Kaplan's roster. When Andrea Rosen Gallery, which had represented Ronay up until then, decided to cease representing living artists, Kaplan says that he ‘jumped at the opportunity to work with Matthew.’

In addition to the strength of their existing relationship, Ronay was attracted to Kaplan’s gallery because it showed work that was, in his words, ‘a little bit difficult.’ He believed that its history of supporting more conceptual artistic positions could help draw out the deeper elements of his own practice, which on the surface, could give ‘the illusion that it's filled with a lot of lightness.’ At the time, Ronay was around 40 and felt that as an artist, as you age, it becomes harder to remain part of a larger conversation. But Kaplan approached him with a short- and long-term vision for his career. In 2019, he had simultaneous solo presentations at the gallery and Frieze New York – this, according to Kaplan, was ‘really the way to let everyone know that you can find Matthew here now.’ The next step was to foster institutional relationships, placing works in museum collections, and to spark the interest of collectors involved with those institutions.

Kaplan and Ronay spoke candidly about the role of the gallery in maintaining the artist’s visibility within museum settings. Next year, Ronay will have a solo exhibition at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas. The show is a good example of the gallerist’s multifaceted strategy for the artist, which aims to build a framework of support around him. Ronay credits Kaplan with introducing his work to the Nasher's director, Jeremy Strick; in conjunction with the exhibition, the gallery is co-publishing a new artist monograph. Furthermore, Kaplan placed a sculpture by Ronay in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art and has been building a context for him in Dallas ‘so that by the time the show opens, Matthew is not a stranger to anybody.’ Kaplan notes that similarly, the artist’s exhibition at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in 2016 created an audience for him in the region, and has led to the gallery presenting four of Ronay’s pieces at the upcoming edition of Art Basel Miami Beach.

The pandemic affected each of them in different ways. It delayed Ronay’s current solo exhibition with Kaplan and his upcoming show at the Nasher. The gallerist recounts that his first studio visit after New York City's March 2020 lockdown was to Ronay’s space in Long Island City, donning a mask and gloves. During this period, Ronay initially began to scale his pieces down considerably, and planned to feature only small-scale, discrete works in his gallery exhibition. But several months later, he changed his mind, and began to produce larger works with a more ‘maximalist aesthetic.’ ‘One of my favorite things about Casey is that he is never judgmental of a change in direction,’ says Ronay. ‘And, in general, he genuinely wants me to make the show that I want to make, regardless of the consequences. That's a lot of freedom to give to somebody.’

On Kaplan’s end, the pandemic provided him with a moment to write, reflect, and fortify the gallery’s online content. It also reinforced his decision to focus his attention on his operations in Manhattan, where the gallery was founded in 1995. Its goal, as exemplified by the collaboration with Ronay, remains the same: to build institutional presence for artists, and to sustain their visibility regardless of whether or not they are currently exhibiting. Kaplan concludes: ‘I feel like I'm doing my job when we're creating as much permanence for an artist as possible and where the fickleness of the market becomes less relevant.’

Amy Zion is a writer and editor based in Paris.

Captions for full-bleed images, from top to bottom: 1. Matthew Ronay in his Long Island City studio, 2021. Photo by Tim Schutsky for Art Basel. 2a (desktop view). Matthew Ronay, Recursionizer, 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York City. 2b (mobile view). Matthew Ronay, Castrum, 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York City. 3. Detail of an unfinished work by Matthew Ronay, 2021. Photo by Tim Schutsky for Art Basel.