GAGOSIAN DISMISSES DIRECTOR SAM ORLOFSKY FOLLOWING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
Gagosian gallery has dismissed Sam Orlofsky after beginning to investigate claims of sexual misconduct by the longtime director. The allegations, which surfaced online last month, were made by current and former staff members, most of whom are female. Orlofsky was suspended without pay in the week preceding Halloween; on November 3, Gagosian sent a letter to staff announcing that “based on the investigative findings thus far, the gallery today terminated that individual’s employment.”
Orlofsky began his career with Gagosian New York nearly two decades ago, in 2001, rising to become digital director. In this role in 2018, he launched online viewing rooms, which at the time were not common; more recently, he led the gallery’s quick pivot to digital in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, initiating the Artist Spotlight series, which on a weekly basis offered a single work by a featured artist on sale online for just 48 hours.
The investigation, which is being performed by an outside firm, was begun following a call in mid-October on the Instagram account Jerry Gogosian (the account is unrelated to Gagosian) for those who had been “verbally or sexually assaulted by Sam Orlofsky while working at Gagosian” but felt “too unimportant to stand up” for themselves. The request netted some 170 comments.
The November 3 letter to staff from founder Larry Gagosian—which did not cite Orlofsky by name but mentioned instead a “colleague”—noted that the investigation was ongoing and that said colleague had been let go owing to “investigative findings thus far” into claims that the individual “engaged in serious misconduct, primarily targeted against women in the gallery.”
Gagosian took a firm stance regarding workplace conduct in the letter, writing, “I want to first emphasize emphatically that the behavior alleged is unacceptable and repugnant. The Gallery expects all employees to adhere to our values, which include mutual respect, dignity, collaboration, and honesty. The Gallery is committed to fostering a workplace where employees are safe, are empowered to do their best work, and can express concerns freely.”
Artforum has reached out to Gagosian and to Orlofsky’s attorney, John J. Rosenberg, for comment.
