a grand opening; Art dealers Stefania Bortolami and Amalia Dayan are all set to stir up the New York scene, writes Eve MacSweeney.

Byline: Eve Macsweeney

When two charismatic female art dealers quit their jobs at New York's Gagosian Gallery last fall and announced they were opening their own space, the frisson was felt from Basel to Miami. Stefania Bortolami and Amalia Dayan were greeted with various combinations of enthusiastic support, gossipy glee, and intense speculation. "Actually, I was very excited," says collector Don Rubell. "It's rare to get a joining of two such dynamic people, and New York's been so stable for so long, it's good to have things shaken up a little." Adds Frieze cofounder Amanda Sharpe, "They're heavy hitters, so it's created a bit of intrigue. Everyone wants to know what kind of gallery it's going to be." Will they try to raid other dealers' artists? Will they focus on established or emerging talent? Will they surge ahead or fall flat on their faces?

The suspense is nearly over, as Bortolami Dayan is set to open its doors on September 21, its identity suggested with a group show entitled (funnily enough) "Closing Down . . . ," a bold and playful lineup featuring works by, among others, the British neo-pop duo Tim Noble and Sue Webster (who will also have a solo show at the gallery in November), Damien Hirst, Paul Pfeiffer, Sylvie Fleury, and the performance artists Los Super Elegantes. "It basically points to an aspect of contemporary art that we both really love," says Bortolami, "the more ironical, cynical, clever part of the commentary on reality that artists now do."

Respectively Italian and Israeli-a combination that gives them an impressive global reach when it comes to artists and collectors-Bortolami and Dayan each landed in New York a handful of years ago with no grand plans in mind. "I arrived pretty much penniless in 1999 to work for Gagosian," says Bortolami, who had previously run her own small gallery in Barcelona and worked as a director for the influential Antony d'Offay gallery in London, where she brought in such current superstars as Maurizio Cattelan and Reineke Dijkstra. Dayan came to New York in 1997 as a postgraduate student of art management before working for Jeffrey Deitch and Phillips auction house. Independently they built up strong pedigrees that have earned both glowing testimonials from colleagues.

"She one day appeared in my gallery as a potential intern," recalls Deitch of Dayan. "Maybe within a week of her being there I realized this girl just had so much capability, and very quickly she became one of the gallery directors. She's a natural." Of Bortolami, New York art adviser Mark Fletcher, a former d'Offay co-worker, reflects, "She's extraordinarily good at what she does. She came to New York with no contacts and no family, put herself in a tough working environment, and made it work. She started from scratch, and she did it very elegantly."

As codirectors briefly at Gagosian, the pair had discussed forming their own gallery "in a very vague, 'maybe one day' sort of way," says Dayan. Bortolami had always hoped to start her own business ...