Few professions offer extended summer breaks. If you don’t have plans to become a teacher, a member of Congress, or a hockey coach, you probably won’t be able to check out of work for weeks at a time. But there’s one other career that closes up shop in August: art dealer.
This month marks gallery hiatus season, when dealers from New York to Hong Kong to Miami take a break from a relentless stream of fairs, exhibition openings, and studio visits. For one month, gallerists—who, despite the glamorous trappings of the job, are also day-to-day shopkeepers—temporarily close their brick-and-mortar spaces and take time to recharge before the fall season descends.
So, where do people with professionally good taste spend the month of August? We asked 14 gallerists, from blue-chip dealers to scrappy up-and-comers, to share their favorite summer destinations.
Cristin Tierney, founder of Cristin Tierney, New York
Where are you going on vacation this month?
One week at a small, remote inn on the Beaverkill River. It’s a fly-fishing spot in the Catskills. Fairly remote, no real Wi-Fi or cell service and low likelihood that we will run into other members of the art community. One week in Sag Harbor. Two weeks sitting by my pool pretending I am in witness protection.
If you’ve been there before, what keeps you going back?
This spot along the Beaverkill has so many memories for me and my family has gone there for 50 years. It is an essential annual visit for me. Part of my soul is bouncing off the rocks in that river. Sag Harbor because my son will be riding in the Hamptons Classic this year. Out there I will see many people I know, because… Hamptons.
What do you plan to seek out on your trip?
Are you kidding? Nothing. I want to play tennis, wade in the river, exercise, and read murder mysteries. Flip flops every day. No seeking out anything in August, thank you.
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
In general, in August, I take time away from the art world, and especially from New York. No commute, no business development, no client cultivation, no strategic planning. Nope. I need to clear my head for the coming season, and slow the pace so that my thinking is proactive rather than reactive. That is not an easy thing to do in the 21st century. It is an under-appreciated fact that flip flops and murder mysteries are restorative. Open toes lead to open minds.
Ebony Haynes, global head of curatorial projects at David Zwirner, New York
Where are you going on vacation this month?
I don’t “go” anywhere as a singular destination. Instead, I plan a few camping trips throughout the summer (tent camping, not glamping). I didn’t camp as a kid and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy camping in the woods; it’s quiet, calm, and unscheduled.
What do you plan to seek out on your trip?
I look forward to the camping trip at the Delaware Water Gap the most. You can’t beat a day trip down the river, in a canoe with a picnic basket.
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
I’m looking forward to hobnobbing with anyone who wants to make pancakes for breakfast and steak for dinner, over the firepit, in the same cast iron.
Sebastian Gladstone, founder of Sebastian Gladstone, Los Angeles and New York
Where are you going on vacation this month?
I typically visit the artist Dustin Hodges, who lives outside of Santa Fe. Not only does Santa Fe have an amazing art community, it has a mild climate in the summer and is exceptionally beautiful with its sweeping desert plains.
What keeps you going back?
The combination of great people, a serene environment to unplug, and honestly the great used bookstores.
What do you plan to seek out on your trip?
There’s always amazing new restaurants opening up in Santa Fe. This year the photographer Dillon Sachs took me to a new Thai restaurant called Leo’s that was fantastic. There is a coin store called Santa Fe Coins & Jewelry that has a great selection of vintage silver jewelry. Lastly, the drive to Chimayo, a famous holy site, is always breathtaking and never gets old.
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
My life is so ingrained with art that I can’t imagine not spending time with artists when I’m in Santa Fe, or anywhere else for that matter. Artists always have such a unique and refreshing perspective on the world. Paying attention to the sensitivity of artists is an expansive and enriching experience.
Lorraine Kiang, co-founder of Kiang Malingue, Hong Kong and New York
Where are you going on vacation this month?
Sardinia and the Dolomites. I will be soaking up sun and sea then resting in the mountains.
What do you plan to seek out on your trip?
Rest, eat, swim, and be happy.
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
Just family time! It’s important to disconnect from the media and recharge. I get to be moved by nature, it comes back to me in a positive way with my work, my spirit for what I do. As we think a lot, plan a lot throughout the year, it’s good to just let go of all of that.
Manuela Paz, co-founder of Embajada, San Juan
Where are you going on vacation this month?
Puerto Rico! My husband and gallery partner, Christopher Rivera, and I live between New York and Puerto Rico, and after a year of airports and art fairs we prefer to stay local. Fortunately, “staying local” in Puerto Rico still means visiting some of the best beaches in the world.
We actually escaped in July for our annual week on Puerto Rico’s west coast. The days revolved around beach hopping, hiking, and cooking together. We also make it a tradition to visit Mr. Harry, a Thai curry restaurant on the west coast run by chef and cultural producer, Glori Linares, who learned her craft from assisting and working alongside contemporary artist Rirkrit Tiravanija.
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
The only hobnobbing was with iguanas, coquíes, and pelicans! We’re opening our fall exhibition at Embajada in late August, then it’s back to New York just in time for the season’s rhythm of openings, events, and art fairs.
Silke Lindner, founder of Silke Lindner, New York
Where are you going on vacation this month?
Hamburg, Barcelona and Sitges. I grew up close to Hamburg and I’m going for my mom’s birthday. I usually go once a year to visit family. My best friend from high school lives in Sitges, a beach town by Barcelona, so I’m going to visit her and combine it with Barcelona.
What do you plan to seek out on your trip?
Hamburg: Currywurst, Fischbrötchen (German fish sandwich), Hamburger Dom (a large seasonal fair). Barcelona: Gaudí, Mies van der Rohe pavilion, Paloma Wool. Sitges: Beach.
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
Take time away.
Susanne Vielmetter, founder of Vielmetter, Los Angeles
Where are you going on vacation this month?
My plans for this summer are to stay right here in Altadena and to explore a different part of our neighborhood every day by foot. As you probably know, most of Altadena was obliterated in the wildfire last year and to see how our neighborhood is rapidly changing and coming back has been both heartbreaking and exhilarating. My family lost two homes in the fire and coming back to the “scene of the crime” so to speak is the most meaningful way for me and my family to move forward with an invigorated commitment to rebuild in a better and more resilient way.
What keeps you going back?
Walking in Altadena often still feels like being transported straight into an Octavia Butler novel, but there is also nothing more incredible and intensely beautiful than seeing how nature has taken over an entire city. Large swaths of neighborhoods are now entirely wild and if you explore them after sunset, you are enveloped by such a complete darkness and silence that is rare to find in an urban environment. Punctuated by an occasional coyote howl and a great horned owl hoot, the Altadena nights are unlike anything that we will likely experience again; there is a palpable sense of urban apocalypse and ravishing beauty at the same time. Some areas are now bustling with construction activity during the day, often multiple homes are being built simultaneously up and down a street and it is fascinating and ultimately hopeful to witness these dramatic changes every day.
What do you seek out there?
There are several excellent places to eat in our beautiful and post-apocalyptic town: Betsy on Mariposa, bizarrely right next to the burned down former State Farm Insurance office, Miya Thai, a sweet hole in the wall on Lake Ave, and for drinks and to hang out Good Neighbor Bar on Lincoln Blvd, where you can easily find local artists and creatives. There is also Unincorporated Coffee further up on Lincoln, a great coffee place.
Stefania Bortolami, founder of Bortolami, New York
Where are you going on vacation this month?
I go for a yearly week hiking in the Dolomites with my Italian family. Dad, stepmother, sister. Not our kids, as they are in their early 20s and absolutely not interested in being in a place where people go to sleep at 10 p.m.
Then I go to an island in Greece where I have been going for quite a few years. I rent a house with my friend [and fellow gallerist] Thomas Dane (he will thoroughly dislike me outing him!). So yes, we do talk about art and artists… But mainly we swim and eat! Kids come to this, even if it is not a party island, it is a fun and social one.
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
Most of my friends are artists or art world professionals, I would not know who to go on holiday with if I had to avoid the art world! And by the way, nothing wrong with art world people, we can have fun, and we can have interesting conversations. What more can one want from a holiday?
Rachel Uffner, co-founder of Uffner & Liu, New York
Where are you going on vacation this month?
I took my real vacation at the end of June and in July. I don’t like to be far from home in August because of back-to-school and back-to-work matters that always seem to pop up and make being away stressful. My son and I went to Spain, visiting Barcelona, Menorca, Mallorca, and then to Chateau La Coste in France for Sheree Hovsepian’s show. I had always heard so much about Menorca from Sheree and Rashid Johnson, so I really wanted to visit. It was, of course, very beautiful, as was Mallorca. In Menorca, we stayed at the Cristine Bedfor hotel and had wonderful restaurant experiences, of course at Cantina, Hauser and Wirth’s restaurant, and then on the other side of the island in Ciutadella, particularly at a restaurant called Ullises. I love seafood, and it goes without saying that it is amazing there.
In July, we were also lucky enough to spend a week in Maine. This is my third summer in a row going up there. Bianca Beck has a beautiful exhibition in Midcoast Maine at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art and I took my first trip to Monhegan Island. We then stayed with Anne Buckwalter in Durham, Maine, which is always a treat. We went antiquing, swimming, and always eat well; Anne even bakes!
In August, I’ll be mostly at the small house I bought at the beginning of the pandemic in Wading River, New York. It’s very quiet and easy to venture further East and visit people in the North Fork, Shelter Island, and the Hamptons. It’s also close enough to New York that I end up going back to take care of things at least once a week.
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
Like the rest of my life, these excursions are a combination of people in the art world and those outside, although admittedly mostly art people. After 25 years in this very immersive profession, that is simply my community and I am grateful for it.
Thor Shannon, senior director at David Zwirner
Where are you going on vacation this month?
Provincetown, Massachusetts. It’s like Maine, but with gay people!
What do you plan to seek out on your trip?
I plan on double fisting: iced coffees and Arnold Palmers!
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
I can’t think of anything worse to do on holiday than “hobnob.”
Katia Rosenthal, founder of KDR, Miami
Where are you going on vacation this month?
This year’s about real rest and exploring, but I’m a Sagittarius so I can’t be in one place for too long. Sardinia with girlfriends, then solo to Ischia and Matera, back to the U.S. for a collector’s daughter’s wedding in Aspen, Taos for high desert time with friends, staying in the coyote-head-shaped home built by one of my artists. Then home to Miami.
What do you plan to seek out on your trip?
I really like to mermaid out; swim and chill is the name of the game. I’m especially excited for Ischia, where I’m staying in a converted monastery, and for Matera, where I’m staying in a 13th-century cave! It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I live for a unique place to stay, somewhere that keeps me inspired.
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
Aside from the wedding—which I’m truly excited about since I’ve never been to Aspen and I know I’ll see many familiar, fun faces there—truthfully, I really try to take some time to myself in the summer, away from the “art world.” It helps me come back stronger and more “with it” for fall programming, since it’s full steam ahead to December with the fairs in Miami. I save up and wait for my August all year.
Mike Davis, senior director at Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles
Where are you going on vacation this month?
I’m going up to Esalen in Big Sur for an ecstatic dance class.
What keeps you going back?
I love the campus, the food, the baths… every part of it.
What do you plan to seek out on your trip?
I might venture out from Esalen once or twice, but the plan is to mostly stay put. The food there is great and you’re perched on a scenic cliff, so why leave?
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
I’m excited to be by myself. I plan on going nonverbal for about a week.
Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels, senior director at Jack Shainman, New York
Where are you going on vacation this month?
Bahia, Brazil.
Why? What keeps you going back?
I first visited at the end of 2024 and only had about 36 hours in Salvador. I’ve been fantasizing about returning ever since. It felt like one of those places that reveals itself slowly, and I left knowing I had barely scratched the surface.
What do you plan to seek out on your trip?
I’ll be in Cachoeira for the Festa da Boa Morte, a celebration organized by the Irmandade da Boa Morte, one of Brazil’s oldest Black women’s religious sisterhoods. It’s a remarkable expression of resistance, faith, and Afro-Brazilian tradition, and one that carries centuries of Black women’s leadership, resilience, and fire.
Beyond that, my ambitions are fairly simple: a meal at Preta on Ilha dos Frades (and a night in their guesthouse), wandering through Pelourinho with nowhere in particular to be, and eating moqueca [Brazilian seafood stew] like it’s my job. Mostly, though, I’m looking forward to resisting the urge to build a color-coded itinerary. That’s what officially qualifies as a vacation for me.
Are you looking to hobnob with art people or take time away from them?
I resist calling it hobnobbing, but there will absolutely be museums and galleries involved. I’ll also be traveling with the artist Diedrick Brackens, who’ll be wrapping up a residency at Casa Onze in São Paulo and also happens to be a dear friend. What can I say?! (Insert a little chuckle here). I know no other life, and I’m very lucky for it.
Amy Adams, founder of Adams and Ollman, Portland, Oregon
Where are you going on vacation this month?
We’ve been traveling far afield all year, so we decided to stay closer to home and enjoy the gorgeous summer here in the Pacific Northwest. August plans include a trip with friend and collector Sarah Miller Meigs to her family home in the quiet beach town of Gearhart, Oregon; a mother-son long weekend on the stunning PNW coast at Salishan, designed by John Storrs, a pioneer of Northwest modern architecture; a few leisurely dinners in Oregon wine country, especially at No Clos Radio; a day trip to float on the Sandy River with the artist Melanie Flood; and, of course, weekly farmers’ markets. I also wanted to be in town for Lumi Tan’s Converge 45, helmed by my dear friend Amanda Donnan.
More of our favorite stories from CULTURED
Audacious Ghosts and Sunbaked Villas: How to Make the Most of 36 Hours in the Veneto
Is ‘I Want Your Sex’ Actually Gregg Araki’s Tamest Film to Date?
What One Angeleno Learned From a Six-Week Bender With the Downtown NY Art Scene
McNally Jackson’s Sarah McNally Breaks Down the Modern Bestseller
The Best Parks and Pools in New York, According to Luke Evans, Sohla El-Waylly, Bowen Yang, and More
Sign up for our newsletter here to get these stories direct to your inbox.
in your life?
