The Model Was Always Broken

The news broke before Pace Gallery had told its own staff.

On the evening of 3rd June, the New York Times published the story and the staff found out the way everyone else did — push notifications, messages from friends, the particular dread of reading your workplace’s name in a headline. By the time management had called a staff meeting for nine the following morning, the numbers were already public. Fifty artists dropped from the roster. Fifty members of staff let go. A fifth of the workforce. A third of the artists. Gone in a week.