There are many reasons why Matthew Marks is a perennial figure on this list, but all of them come back to the artists the New York and LA gallerist works with. King among these is Jasper Johns (who exhibited over 30 years of monotypes in one of three NY spaces this year). The American star has this to say about his gallerist: ‘Artists… like to think that they are the center of attention. I think Matthew is capable of making artists feel that.’ His other artists are no less iconic; considered as a group, they feel like a who’s who of American art and beyond. Between Robert Gober, Nan Goldin, Ron Nagle, Charles Ray, Brice Marden (who had a show of new paintings in LA earlier in the year) and the late Ellsworth Kelly, one could write the history of the country. Couple them with Thomas Demand, Fischli/Weiss, Katharina Fritsch and Luigi Ghirri (who also got a show in New York) and Marks’s skill at making each of them feel the most important person in the room is doubly impressive.