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In an Interview in Wall-Street Journal in 2009 Zwirner said "Art “Art should be the most democratic of all endeavors, but these days it's it’s not*. *You see cartoons in the New Yorker and stereotypes on soap operas where the galleries are filled with haughty people standing around. It bugs me tremendously that the white-cube gallery is this intimidating, turnoff-ish kind of environment. My front-desk people are instructed to be particularly friendly. You can test us on that and let me know." ” Although Zwirner may believe his gallery is more "friendly" than most, I have been to both the Zwirner Gallery in Chelsea and two of Larry Gagosian's galleries in Manhattan and they all give off a snooty and uptight vibe.
Zwirner has been known to host a diverse group of artists, innovative artists and people who push the boundaries of art further. There is no one aesthetic to the gallery, which he prides himself in. Zwirner boasted in the WSJ article "We have Lisa Yuskavage and On Kawara – that's that’s quite a stretch." Both these artists are highly regarded with strong audiences, but aesthetically they are very different. I personally believe that this tactic of having an array of different artists is a good one as it gives the gallery a more invigorating reputation and is more interesting to the potential clients.
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Click here to read the very interiguing interview with David Swirner & the Wall Street Journal: http://magazine.wsj.com/hunter/rebel-yell/arts-go-to-gallerist/
(David Swirner Gallery in Chelsea)