United Talent Agency Puts its Fine Arts Division on ‘Pause’

UTA Fine Arts, the division of Hollywood giant United Talent Agency that worked to put established and emerging contemporary artists into the collective consciousness by injecting them and their work into the entertainment and social media landscape has put its operations on “pause.”

That pause includes closing both the Los Angeles and Atlanta locations of UTA Artist Space, the brick-and-mortar exhibition sapces that, since 2015, has housed shows of work by Lonnie Holley, Mandy El-Sayegh, the Estate of Ernie Barnes, Harmonia Rosales, Ferrari Sheppard, Chloe Chiasson, Hely Omar Gonzalez, Sasha December and Yashua Klos.

The halting of UTA Fine Arts operations was first reported by Puck’s art world newsletter Wall Power. A spokesperson for UTA confirmed the pause with ARTnews, stating that the moratorium was prompted by the impending departure of Arthur Lewis, who was appointed director in 2019 following the death of the Fine Art division’s founder, Joshua Roth. Lewis will stay on as a consultant for the foreseeable future.

Artists represented by UTA Fine Arts were told about the closure as early as August and are still represented by UTA “in other parts of the agency.”

“It’s been an honor to work with some of the most innovative artists and curators in the industry over the last five years,” Lewis told ARTnews in a statement over text. “I want to thank my team … and thank Jeremy [Zimmer, UTA’s chief executive] for being a true patron of the arts and for believing in me and the profound impact the arts can have.”

Lewis did not share his post-UTA Fine Arts plans.