United Talent Agency hires former Sotheby’s specialist to lead New York expansion

Los Angeles-based entertainment firm United Talent Agency (UTA) has tapped Harrison Tenzer to lead the company’s Fine Art and Artist Space divisions in New York, a move UTA calls “the next step in the long-term expansion strategy”.

Tenzer will be named senior director of UTA Fine Arts and UTA Artist Space, reporting to the organisations’ partner and creative director, Arthur Lewis. Tenzer previously worked as the head of digital strategy and a contemporary art specialist at Sotheby’s in New York, following prior roles at Christie’s and Wright auction house.

“UTA’s artist-first mentality and embrace of innovation feels like the perfect culture fit for me,” Tenzer said in a statement. “My aim is to tap into the extensive network of departments under the UTA umbrella to help artists realize their grandest ambitions.”

A spokesperson for UTA did not specify whether the group plans to expand with a permanent space in New York.

In September, UTA Artist Space will stage a pop-up gallery show dedicated to Devon Rodriguez, an artist who went viral on TikTok in 2020 for his portraits of strangers on the New York Subway. The exhibition will take place in the Chelsea gallery district and coincide with The Armory Show. It will be the group’s first contemporary art presentation outside its permanent gallery locations in Los Angeles and Atlanta, where UTA expanded last year.