A Design Industry Powerhouse Pivots to Open a New York City Gallery

Amongst the tight-knit design community, Michael McGraw is a familiar presence as his venerable agency helps shape the narrative around major interiors studios, architecture firms, collectible design galleries, and covetable brands. However, this month, McGraw is branching out, opening Dernier Cri, an exhibition space on New York’s Upper East Side that will debut on January 29 with “Night Shift,” a group show of sculptural works all rendered in deep, rich shades of black.

“I decided to open Dernier Cri not to fill a void in the market, but to build a physical extension of the work I’ve been doing for years as a design publicist, championing extraordinary design and the people who create it,” McGraw tells Galerie. “New York is already home to many excellent galleries, each of them bringing an important and distinctive point of view to the broader conversation around art and design. My own point of distinction comes from years of immersion in editorial design culture—studying what gets published, what gets passed over, and why. As a design publicist I see so much interior design and constantly think about what makes it sing, what makes a space linger in the memory. My aim is to inspire interior designers with outstanding pieces that help them conjure spaces that truly captivate, by giving a platform to art and design that is compelling and thought-provoking.”

Included in the gallery’s inaugural show are geometric, high-shine stainless steel chairs by Julian Mayor, a UK artist and designer McGraw discovered on a photoshoot with designer Jamie Drake. Also on view are hand-carved biomorphic wood totems by North Carolina talent Casey Johnson; ceramic forms by Paros, Greece, sculptor Todd Marshard—a dynamic artisan McGraw was introduced to by designer Genevieve Gorder; and designer Jessie Nelson, whose work popped into McGraw’s social media feed when the artisan was working in a Connecticut town not far from the gallerist’s home during the pandemic.

“My inaugural exhibition is a glimpse into my phone’s screenshots and my computer’s bookmarks tabs—I have been obsessively keeping track of artists and designers and their work for years,” says McGraw, who is also introducing the work of Dutch abstract artist Marit Harte to a U.S. audience in “Night Shift.” “I am starting with a cross section of my favorites. What unifies them into a very cohesive and beautiful show is that I limited the palette of everyone’s work to a single hue: black.”

Its a very apropos theme considering how the Manhattan gallery got its name. “Dernier Cri is a name I borrowed from a men’s fashion boutique that once stood on the Upper East Side—not far from us—in the 1960s,” says McGraw. “Le Dernier Cri specialized in the latest looks, the ‘latest thing.’ Halston’s studio was above it. I first became aware of the boutique while watching The French Connection, where there’s a fleeting glimpse of Le Dernier Cri during a suspenseful chase scene—pure, classic New York. The name has captivated me ever since. I love a double entendre: its literal translation, ‘last cry,’ feels romantic and slightly dark, while in common usage, dernier cri means ‘the latest thing.’ It fits me perfectly.”

While the first showcase runs through March 5, plans are already in the works for the future of Dernier Cri. “I am endlessly fascinated by artists’ histories and how their lived experiences have gotten them to where they are, creating what they create,” says McGraw. “We are all shaped by our past, and how artists channel their experiences into physical objects—a painting, a sculpture—piques my interest. This will be a major focus of our second exhibition, which will dive deeper into personal histories and past lives. The backstory will be a through-line across everything we do.”

“Night Shift” runs January 29 through March 5, at Dernier Cri, 247 East 60th Street, Fl. 2, New York.