Valerie Carberry. Credit: Weston Wells.
GRAY announces the appointment of Valerie Carberry, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Carberry, who has served alongside Paul Gray as a Partner since 2015, will steward the gallery as Gray assumes the role of Chairman. These appointments reflect GRAY’s continued commitment to the advancement of its program, and the cultivation of new relationships with artists, collectors, and institutions. As President and CEO, Carberry will provide visionary leadership across all aspects of the organization, guiding operations, the direction of GRAY's program, forging new artist relationships, and cultivating institutional partnerships that support the gallery’s continued position as a leading platform for art of the 20th and 21st centuries.
“This is a moment of profound continuity for GRAY as much as it also marks a new chapter. I acknowledge the trust placed in me to uphold enduring standards of excellence at GRAY, to serve the growing roster of exceptional artists we represent, and to work alongside the very best team of colleagues I could possibly hope for” stated Carberry.
Paul Gray, who joined the business in 1982 and has been its leading director since 1996 will continue to foster the gallery’s mission in his role as Chairman, providing strategic leadership and governance, and reinforcing the gallery’s long-term vision and commitment to its clients and artist relationships.
“I look to our future with pride, optimism and humility, and I am confident that our mission of serving artists, collectors and institutions is in excellent hands with Valerie” explained Gray. "As I review the growth of our programming, the artists represented and our extraordinary team of directors and associates in Chicago and New York, I realize that much of this is already due to Valerie’s leadership over the decade since she joined."
Founded in 1963 by Richard Gray (1928-2018), the gallery has played a pioneering role in bringing major postwar and contemporary artists to Chicago, presenting figures like Alexander Calder, Willem De Kooning, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Jean Dubuffet, Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein and many others. Today, GRAY’s close artist and artist estate relationships include Alex Katz, McArthur Binion, Torkwase Dyson, Theaster Gates, David Hockney, Rashid Johnson, Judy Ledgerwood, Jaume Plensa, Leon Polk Smith, Evelyn Statsinger, and many more.
GRAY is a globally recognized team of art professionals devoted to fostering the development of artists’ careers and to building outstanding art collections. For more than six decades GRAY has supported the visions of artists by bringing exhibitions and projects to audiences around the world, working with collectors and institutions to foster practices and preserve legacies. Founded in Chicago in 1963 as Richard Gray Gallery and since 1997 also in New York City, the gallery, now under the leadership of Paul Gray and Valerie Carberry, continues to be recognized for the exceptional quality of its program and for the expert counsel it provides to private and museum clients worldwide.