The Dealers: Rajiv Menon Connects Cultures

Photo: Claire Preston

Since founding his eponymous gallery Rajiv Menon Contemporary (RMC) in 2023, the gallerist has brought South Asian hospitality and style to the West. In February 2025, the gallery established its quietly capacious headquarters on Highland Avenue in Hollywood. RMC aims to not only preserve but also amplify South Asian culture in Los Angeles—already home to a robust and diverse art community. By choosing to exhibit predominantly South Asian diasporic artists, Menon contextualizes modern American perspectives through Indian heritage. In the past year, RMC hosted 12 exhibitions, participated in two global fairs, and produced a historic debut show at Jaipur City Palace in India. Through press, meaningful connections, and institutional placements (six in one year, with more to be announced), RMC facilitates an impactful global dialogue through the artists featured within its walls.

Inspired by the stories of Jhumpa Lahiri, a contemporary British-American writer of Indian descent navigating the grief of displacement, Menon has built a central art palace, offering a haven for conversation, idea exchange, and belonging. A natural orator, Menon encourages gathering through public speech, genuine curiosity, and a warm disposition. He previously worked in the film and television worlds and enjoys situating himself at the intersection of aesthetics and storytelling, which is visible in his wardrobe (a mix of travel finds and Indian labels like Raw Mango). He identifies Fairfax District as his personal homebase, consistently collaborating with local restaurant Badmaash and frequenting nearby markets for the occasional client run-in. Often overlooked as a district for fine art, Fairfax has depth, much like the artists Menon prefers to work with: emerging global artists deserving of recognition in the United States.

What kind of dealer are you?

I’m driven by culture first. I come from an academic background. I did my PhD at New York University in my 20s and that deeply shaped my way of seeing the world. Intellectual curiosity and cultural impact are the driving forces behind how I engage with art.

I see myself as both a dealer and an educator. I’m not just selling art, I’m also helping people understand the art history and context that shapes the artists’ practices.

I’m also very mission-driven. When you have a specific cultural focus like I do, this isn’t just about the buying and selling of art. This is building a collective sense of visual identity.

Photo: Claire Preston

Why do you deal?

To bring my culture and my community into the global mainstream.

the global mainstream. I want to create the next generation of custodians for work that I believe is deeply important and culturally significant.

I firmly believe that bringing art into your home can change your life, and bringing art into an institution can change an artist’s career.

What are you proud of?

I’m very proud of building a market from the ground up in Los Angeles.

When I started the gallery, it came from wanting to see more energy around South Asian art in Los Angeles. I wanted to build the gallery I wasn’t seeing as a collector, and I also saw so many potential collectors who wanted to invest in culture, but had no idea where to start. I don’t think there was a gallery speaking to them. I don’t think there was enough infrastructure or education around why collecting art is important, and I take a lot of pride in fostering new collectors in a place that didn’t previously emphasize the South Asian diaspora.

What changes would you like to see in the art industry?

Connoisseurship needs to be more accessible. Appreciating and loving art should not be an insider’s game.

The goal should be to bring in new collectors and create a love of art that’s contagious. Sometimes the industry focuses too much on existing bubbles and established ways of doing things.

What makes a piece of art ‘important’?

Cultural significance.

Art should change the way you experience reality or the world. A significant work does that.

I think of it similarly to great literature or an award-winning film—work that fits within a larger cultural canon, and changes the way people experience the world around them.

I want to show artists who are shifting the cultural conversation. The best works of art for me feel wholly singular, but also challenge and push the way we view the wider world.

Photo: Claire Preston

Best advice you have received?

I am really lucky to have great mentors. When starting my career, I was very reluctant to put myself forward in any public-facing way. But my mentors encouraged me to share my voice and to own my perspective, and I think that’s been key to the gallery’s success.

Worst advice you have received?

To downplay my cultural interests and background to be more palatable to a mainstream audience. I fundamentally rejected the idea that I needed to operate that way. I was constantly being told I was “too academic,” but I increasingly find that to be a strength.

I was also told early on not to emphasize being South Asian, that it might be off-putting or pigeonholing. I completely rejected that idea, and I’m very glad I did.

What advice do you have for artists on gallery etiquette?

Be mindful of timing and stress.

Don’t bring a portfolio to an opening when staff are busy taking care of guests. Instead, come during gallery hours, introduce yourself, leave your information, and let things happen organically. Adding stress to an already hectic moment isn’t a good way to build a relationship.

Which artists dead or alive would you start collecting given money was no constraint?

I love twentieth-century British figurative art—Lucian Freud is an all-time favorite, and I would love to live with his work.

Among contemporary artists, I think Salman Toor is one of the most significant painters of my time. I would love to live with one of his works.

Who are some of your favorite players in the field and why?

In Los Angeles, there are so many great galleries. Megan Mulrooney is showing how a young gallery can thrive in this climate. Emilia Yin at Make Room is contributing to L.A.’s global culture. I also love programs like Vielmetter, Nicodim, and François Ghebaly, who have built Los Angeles as an international art hub.

And of course, I really admire dealers like Jeffrey Dietch and Bill Powers, who embrace a strong sense of perspective and personality.

In India, I admire Experimenter, Jhaveri Contemporary, and TARQ.

In Dubai, The Third Line is doing incredibly compelling global emerging work.

Photo: Claire Preston

What do you value most in working with an artist?

I love working with artists who are culturally curious, who are reading and expanding their worldview. I love exchanging articles and books with artists and collaborating to build a larger critical framework around their work.

How do you define good taste? How has your taste evolved?

For me, taste is all about perspective, both informed and innate. Good taste is about being able to place and assess a work within a larger context, but also having a personal point of view. Social media culture has produced a lot of armchair critics who can give you a curt answer about why something is bad, but it can be a lot more challenging to effectively communicate why something is successful.

What’s one thing you wish more people asked you about?

Overlooked mid-career talent. There’s a strong focus on young emerging artists, who I also love working with, but I also want collectors and curators to take chances on artists who maybe didn’t get noticed in their emerging years.

What is your least favorite trend in contemporary art?

The art market is already fixated on larger waves, and the TikTokification of culture has made people treat trends as an absolutely certain cultural framework.

I want to reject trendbased thinking. Art should be about longevity, permanence, and singularity—not time-sensitive boxes we call trends.

In your opinion, what responsibilities do galleries have beyond sales?

Cultural impact.

That includes press, institutional placements, introducing artists to meaningful collectors, and bringing them into broader cultural conversations.

Sales follow—but cultural impact is the mission.

Do you believe in art world karma?

Yes—everything comes back around.

The art world is a small, interconnected ecosystem of artists, collectors, and galleries. Treating people well matters, because energy, trust, and reputation circulate constantly.

Photo: Claire Preston

Photo: Claire Preston

Based in Los Angeles, Claire’s experience includes creative production (event/photo), film photography, and artist marketing/management. She is skilled in understanding a vision, building on ideas and wrangling humans for execution.

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