Marc Straus Is Expanding in New York With a New Tribeca Space

After a distinguished 35 years in oncology, Straus opened his first gallery in 2011 on the Lower East Side, on the very street where his father—a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine—established a textile shop upon arriving in the U.S. Straus’ gallery program reflects this deep-rooted internationalism and multicultural vision, shaped by his childhood in a family of immigrants in a diverse neighborhood and enriched by his extensive travels. Driven by a passion for uncovering new talent, he has introduced New York to artists from over seventeen countries, many of whom he encountered during studio visits around the world. This latest expansion promises to broaden the gallery’s influence, furthering Straus’ mission of promoting undersung artists from diverse backgrounds.

Beyond his gallery work, Straus’ personal collection has been featured in thirteen museum exhibitions. In 2014, he and his wife, Livia, co-founded Hudson Valley MOCA in Peekskill, NY, a museum that integrates work by renowned artists from their collection with pieces by local and emerging talent, further extending Straus’ dedication to nurturing a vibrant, inclusive art community.

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Straus plans to use the new Tribeca space, which opens mid-November, to experiment with even more challenging installations and programming. First up is a solo presentation of Malaysian artist Anne Samat, who is known for her totemic wall installations that draw directly from fiber and weaving techniques from archipelagic Southeast Asia but move beyond those origins by integrating humble, everyday objects like household items, creating dense poetic assemblages. Their final anthropomorphized appearance condenses narratives of human connection and union while exploring the complexities of the interplay between individual narratives and identity within a multicultural society. Next, for 2025, the gallery will present exhibitions of works by Marie Watt, Ozioma Onuzulike and Antonio Santín.

Observer caught up with Marc Straus ahead of the opening to learn more about this expansion, his vision for the new space and how his approach to the gallery business is changing.

First, why Tribeca? What does this move mean for you, and what drove it? 

I love the energy of the Lower East Side—and it was the perfect location to start our gallery over thirteen years ago. I grew up working in my dad’s textile store on Grand Street, just across from where I opened our first gallery space. There are many small street-level spaces particularly conducive to new galleries, which we benefited from considerably in our early years. That said, Tribeca is exceptional for its large-scale street-level spaces and has drawn some of the best galleries in the world into a very condensed radius. We are excited for our gallery to join this dialogue and for our artists to bring new voices to the fore. 

The new space will host two-month presentations instead of the usual one month—the press release mentions “more sustained engagement.” Do you believe it’s time for the art world to slow down after reaching a point of oversaturation?   

Yes. We need much more time than a one-month exhibition to cultivate an artist’s career properly. Speaking for the work and engaging the audience requires far more than this quick turnover that is all too typical. We will open our Tribeca gallery with a solo exhibition by Anne Samat from Malaysia, a unique and powerful voice who has had several solo U.S. museum shows since her first exhibit with us in 2021. She’s worked long and hard for this moment and deserves the time to have the work fully understood and appreciated.

You came to the gallery business after decades of collecting art. What do you think your perspective as a collector offered regarding vision, management, priorities and relations with artists? 

I have come to this work after having practiced medical oncology for over 35 years, running medical school departments and private practices. I also managed some 300 other doctors. My wife and I have been collectors since my first week of medical school, and we mainly sought out newer or out-of-favor artists, choosing only the work we believed in. We borrowed money initially, as some work still costs over a month’s salary. Our third purchase—a 1970 Ellsworth Kelly work—was his only seven-year sale. Even very early on in our collecting journey, we traveled widely to do studio visits with artists worldwide and developed relationships with them lasting for decades. These friendships and lifelong bonds with artists fuel the gallery, and we are very proud to share their vision with collectors, curators, and the public at large. 

Over the years, your gallery has featured some of the most experimental artists of our time, including Jeffrey Gibson, Marie Watt, Sandro Chia, Rona Pondick, Hermann Nitsch and Anne Samat. What elements do you consider in an artist before exhibiting their work? What do you see as the “x” factor?

They have broken new ground, and they are uncompromising. Start with Hermann Nitsch, who had decades of misunderstandings and was even jailed. He followed his vision, and his enormous influence on generations of artists became widely appreciated towards the end of his life. Jeffrey Gibson, whom I met when he was 40, was broke but assured of his vision. I spent a few hours with him and knew the impact he would soon have. With Rona Pondick, we were likely her first significant collectors. Five hundred pink balls with teeth spread across the floor. Now, who would buy that? Marie Watt reaches deep and is a most uncompromising artist. Every detail matters. She’s a great storyteller; her blanket column in our home enriches our daily lives. 

I suppose a common denominator for all the artists is that I have never seen anything quite like it. The work is consistent. The artist keeps pushing to grow. They listen to their inner voice.

The gallery will open with a show by Anne Samat. Can you tell us more about that and how you became interested in her work?

Anne Samat is an incredible talent. Her hands weave stories from her heart. A number of her works relate to family members, especially her mother and brother, who both passed away in the last few years. What fascinated me was how unique and consistent her voice is. While she’s a master weaver and has incorporated Malaysian weaving traditions into her practice, her work remains universal. She often adorns her sculptures with everyday objects such as gardening rakes. And they are wonderful.

The gallery’s global vision has resulted in an incredible roster spanning Mexico, the Americas, Europe and Asia. Is there a region you would like to explore further in the coming years?

Whenever my wife Livia and I travel, we see more of the local artist’s studios than we do of the city. In 2008, we made over 200 studio visits in Eastern Europe alone and have continued to travel regularly to meet artists, no matter their location. 

We are very excited to present the work of Nigerian artist Ozioma Onuzulike at the new Tribeca gallery in the spring of 2025. Ozioma makes incredible tapestries from thousands of ceramic castings that speak to his culture and heritage. We have yet to visit many countries in Africa and South America, but we look forward to meeting artists from whom we can learn. When it happens—when we see something extraordinary we’ve not seen before—that’s thrilling.

Marc Straus in Tribeca will open at 57 Walker Street in New York on November 14.