Simplifying While Expanding, David De Buck Is Building a More Flexible Gallery Model

Devan Shimoyama, Constellations, 2017. Oil, color pencil, collage, sequins, flashe, silk flowers, and jewelry on canvas, 72 x 80 inches, 182.9 x 203.2 cm. Courtesy De Buck. 

By PAUL LASTER, September 23, 2026

A Belgian-born, New York-based art dealer, David De Buck has a new gallery model that simplifies the concept while expanding its framework. With a pop-up gallery in Chelsea through October 4 and a booth again this year at The Armory Show, the seasoned art dealer is confident that the gallery model he has been building over the past decade is finally paying off.

The grandson of a Flemish photographer and entrepreneur who built one of the world’s largest independent photo-finishing companies, and the son of an entrepreneur and pioneer in photogravure and digital imaging who also became an art publisher, De Buck grew up immersed in both image-making and the art world. His father published catalogs and editions with both European and American artists. Christo and Jean-Claude were family friends, as were Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, Arman, Cesar, Jim Dine, and Robert Indiana.

“At 20, I would drive to France to pick up sheep sculptures from Les Lalannes’ studio and deliver them to collectors’ homes in Belgium,” De Buck told Whitehot Magazine. “Years later, I still know where these coveted moutons—and scores of other collectible artworks—can be found.”

Damien Hirst, Love, Love, 2005, Unique butterfly and household gloss diptych, on canvas, both contained in the original white painted wood frame, 22 x 28 inches, 55.9 x 71.1 cm. Edition of 40. Courtesy De Buck. 
 

Educated in finance, he initially followed that path in Swiss private banking and wealth management before turning to the family business by taking an art management internship at Sotheby’s in London. After marrying an American he met in Europe in 2007, they settled in New York, where he launched his art gallery from their downtown apartment. Before long, he took a space in Chelsea, in a gallery building on West 25th Street. Once the business took off, De Buck relocated to a ground-floor space on West 23rd Street, where things really began to cook.

“The gallery was initially fueled by passion,” De Buck shared. “It was beautiful to build relationships with both artists and collectors. I also saw an opportunity to bring European artists to America and to introduce American artists to European collectors.”

François-Xavier Lalanne, Le Grand Oiseau de Peter Branché, 2003-2004. Gold patinated bronze, 32 9/10 × 47 4/5 × 38 3/5 in | 83.5 × 121.5 × 98 cm. Edition of 8. Courtesy De Buck
 

Beginning his gallery’s program with a mix of established European and Asian artists, including Italian ZERO art movement painters Turi Simeti and Alberto Biasi, Japanese Gutai co-founder Shozo Shimamoto, and French street artist Zevs, alongside emerging American artists such as Kelly Reemtsen, Rashaad Newsome, Robert Lazzarini, Devan Shimoyama, Stephen Towns, and Hiba Schahbaz, the evolving gallerist was assembling a selection of artworks that appealed to collectors on both sides of the pond.

After running the Chelsea ground-floor gallery for five years, De Buck decided he wanted to try another method of art dealing when his lease expired, but the change was already underway. Exhibiting at art fairs such as Expo Chicago, UNTITLED in Miami Beach and San Francisco, Zona Maco in Mexico City, and 1-54 in New York and London, and staging pop-up exhibitions in a Tribeca showroom apartment made available by a real estate developer client and in a well-situated space in Saint-Paul de Vence, France, De Buck ended his run in a continuous brick-and-mortar space, opting instead for temporary shows in changing locations. 

Gommaar Gilliams, A Soft Order of Things, 2025. Oil, oil stick, acrylic on painted and stitched fabrics, 78 3/4 x 59 inches, 200 x 149.9 cm. Courtesy De Buck.
 

“The gallery was on street level on 23rd Street at the perfect time,” De Buck exclaimed. “We had great shows and created a strong following for our artists. If you want to launch a new artist or present a rediscovery, the brick-and-mortar space works extremely well, but you have to rotate the shows regularly. It's nonstop, and there's never really time for a break. For about four months a year, the space is underutilized. I believe in an alternative model, which I've now effectively built. Instead of twelve months of real estate, I developed a more flexible model, being more selective and focused while continuing to expand.”

De Buck began taking temporary spaces at the High Line Nine in Chelsea, presenting solo shows by Zak Ové, Devan Shimoyama, Gommaar Gilliams, Stephen Towns, and Annan Affotey; expanded his footprint in Saint-Paul de Vence with a residency in which Annan Affotey, Zak Ové, Philip Colbert, Rob and Nick Carter, and Gommaar Gilliams created new works for exhibition in the French gallery space; made an additional effort to secure museum and institutional shows for his artists; and beefed up his art advisory services.

Robert Indiana, Love, 1966-1998. Mirror polished stainless steel sculpture, 12 x 12 x 6 inches, 30.48 x 30.48 x 15.24 cm. Stamped ©1966-1998 R INDIANA 8 Milgo Brooklyn NY. Courtesy De Buck. 
 

By reducing the number of artists the gallery represents, De Buck could support their long-term development, and the results are most obvious with Gilliams and Shimoyama, with the gallery building a strong collector base in the US and Europe and generating consistent sales for the artists over many years. Shimoyama has had multiple museum exhibitions, including a recent solo show at CAC Málaga in Spain and an upcoming solo exhibition at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History in California, beginning in January 2027. His trajectory has remained stable, with De Buck continuing to support his work through exhibitions, collector relationships, and institutional opportunities.

“Many dealers will tell you that advisory work is another term for private sales, but for us it goes a little further because it helps clients on both sides of a sale,” De Buck explained. “At times, we have buyers for a Banksy and sellers for a Banksy, just the same. It came about because of client demand. If you sell a beautiful $30,000 painting by a contemporary artist to a client, there's a chance he also collects other work, which often happens. Once they trust you and say, ‘I'm looking for this’ or ‘I'm looking for that,’ it’s pretty traditional, but people quickly realized that I had very good access.”

Shozo Shimamoto, White Whirlpool, 1965. Enamel paint on canvas fixed on wooden board. 73 1/4 x 100 3/8 inches, 186 x 255 cm, signed, titled and dated. Courtesy De Buck.  

The advisory/private sales wing of the gallery presently has an 1880 oil on canvas by James Ensor, a surreal gouache on paper from 1949 by René Magritte, a large-scale Jean-Michel Basquiat painting from 1986, a 1994 bronze rabbit by Barry Flanagan, a massive 2009 painting on canvas by Banksy, and François-Xavier Lalanne’s Le Grand Oiseau de Peter Branché, a coveted 2003-04 gilded-bronze bird from an edition of eight, among other gems available now. De Buck’s international relationships have become increasingly important to the gallery. He has built a network across Europe and the US that enables him to source works privately, facilitate transactions, and connect collectors and artists across markets, while developing relationships with family offices, private banks, art-backed lenders, and wealth managers.

De Buck’s current pop-up exhibition, on view on the second floor of the 529 Arts Building at 529 West 20th Street, features abstract paintings by Belgian artist Gommaar Gilliams, dynamically stitched from pre-painted fabrics to form a rich patchwork tapestry before receiving a final paint application, and gilded portraits of powerful women by Shirley Yang Crutchfield, who uses centuries-old Renaissance techniques and 24-karat gold leaf. She is currently working on a commissioned portrait of Princess Delphine of Belgium.

Lynne Drexler, Reddish, 1970. Oil on canvas, 39 x 49 inches, 99.1 x 124.5 cm. Courtesy De Buck. 

Back at The Armory Show for the third time, De Buck is exhibiting a selection of modern and contemporary artworks. The modernist pieces include a mirror-polished stainless steel Love sculpture by Robert Indiana (1966-1998), several abstractions on paper and canvas by Belgian artist Roger Raveel (dated between 1964 and 1988), and a striking abstract oil on canvas by Lynne Drexler (1970). On the contemporary side, Devan Shimoyama has several vibrant mixed-media paintings; Gommaar Gilliams has four signature stitched canvases; Damien Hirst’s unique 2005 Love, Love diptych features a pair of real butterflies on a field of glossy household paint; and Gutai artist Shozo Shimamoto’s trippy 1965 drip painting rounds out the lively display.

“Over the past few years, I've tried to build a platform for artists, collectors, and exceptional opportunities,” De Buck added. “It's about working on a smaller scale with artists we treat like a traditional gallery, just with fewer artists overall. We’re still doing the same fundamental work: presenting and promoting artists, placing work in museums and collections, and advising collectors on acquisitions and sales. We’re just doing it on our own terms, in a way that feels more relevant to today’s art market.”

Building a flexible model that combines a focused gallery program and long-term artist relationships with a growing international art advisory and private sales business, De Buck doesn’t see it as stepping away from the traditional gallery model so much as keeping the strongest parts of it—supporting artists, building markets and developing collector relationships, while expanding the ways the gallery can work with collectors. WM