Brent Sikkema, New York Art Dealer Found Dead

Brent Sikkema, right, with Kara Walker. (Credit: Patrick McMullen)

Brent Sikkema, founder of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. in New York, tragically passed away at 75 in Rio de Janeiro. This was reported by several Brazilian news outlets and confirmed by his gallery. According to Estadão, a newspaper in São Paulo, and citing the local Fire Department, Sikkema was discovered with stab wounds. The specifics of these wounds are currently under investigation, as noted by CNN.

Sikkema Jenkins & Co., renowned in New York and globally, is celebrated for representing high-caliber artists. Among its notable artists are Jeffrey Gibson, set to represent the U.S. at the Venice Biennale, and Kara Walker, who held her inaugural New York solo exhibition at the gallery in 1995. The gallery has been instrumental in the early careers of artists such as Deana Lawson, Amy Sillman, Mark Bradford, Arlene Shechet, and Shahzia Sikander.

Sikkema embarked on his gallery career in 1991 with Wooster Gardens in SoHo. Michael Jenkins, a foundational member of the gallery, became a partner in 2003. The gallery relocated to Chelsea in 1999, positioning itself among leading galleries like Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, and Pace.

Born in 1948 in Illinois, Sikkema was an alumnus of the San Francisco Art Institute. His gallery career started in 1971 as the director of exhibitions at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, N.Y. He later served as the director of Vision Gallery in Boston from 1976 to 1980, eventually owning it until 1989.

In a heartfelt statement, Sikkema Jenkins & Co. expressed deep sorrow over Sikkema's passing: “The gallery grieves this tremendous loss and will continue on in his spirit.”

Simone Nunes, Sikkema’s lawyer, informed O Globo, a Brazilian newspaper, about her unsuccessful attempts to contact Sikkema over the weekend. She discovered his body upon entering his residence in Rio, where she had a key for house-sitting purposes.