Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/315051
70 CULTURED "Most people don't approach their boss and ask them to partner in a new gallery they want to open," explains Andi Potamkin, the 25-year-old art dealer who did exactly that a few months ago while working for photography dealer Steven Kasher. "But after a few laughs, Steven agreed and Kasher Potamkin was born." It's easy to see how someone could be charmed by this ingenue whose enthusi- asm for the art world—and her freshly minted place within it—is boundless. Kasher Potamkin, housed in the former Barry Friedman space, opens in September during Fashion Week (with a soft opening in July), with a show Potamkin says is "about fashion fantasy, the ideal woman; the dream versus reality." It's a fitting theme for Potamkin, formerly the director of fashion pho- tography at Steven Kasher Gallery, where she mounted shows by Roxanne Lowit and Miles Aldridge. Kasher will also relocate his eponymous gallery to the new space. While she loved the traditional gallery space, Potamkin wanted to explore art beyond the white- cube model. With a lifestyle approach in mind, she will show art alongside furniture, objects and, yes, fashion. "It's about championing the artful life and seeing art in context," she explains. How will the artful life look in September? "We will be showing photography by Miles Aldridge and Vee Speers; paintings by Paul Manes and Timothy Fryberger; sculpture by Fernando Mastrangelo, Won Lee and Tressé Agoche, who does these incredible hair sculptures," Potamkin says. "And then there's the design! We've consigned pieces from R & Com- pany by the Haas Brothers and Jeff Zimmerman, and we'll have new work by AMMA Studio." Andi Potamkin, photographed at Three Squares Studio salon, where she first tested the curatorial waters. Next in Line The former Barry Friedman gallery gets a second life as Kasher Potamkin. BY TALI JAFFE PORTRAIT BY JASON RODGERS