LONDON—When Pilar Corrias opens her eponymous gallery on October 16, she will be a rookie gallerist in name only. Long a veteran of the London art scene, she’s had stints as director of two blue-chip London galleries: Lisson and Haunch of Venison. Her 3,800-square-foot space is in the emerging art district of Fitzrovia, in west London, and has been designed by Rem Koolhaas’s OMA practice.

A week ago, ARTINFO caught up with her over the telephone and asked whether she was nervous about the timing of her new venture and what her predictions are for the London market.

Why did you decide to open a gallery?

I wanted to implement my own ideas after having worked for other London galleries for over 15 years.

Aren’t you worried that with the economic downturn this could be the wrong time to do it?

The economy is a worry — it’s been the biggest market crash since 1929 — and to ignore that would be stupid. Nonetheless, I strongly believe that the market is not going to disappear. The key to success is to show the best art I can and work with the best artists, but also try not to inflate their prices.

So there are still collectors out there with money to spend?

Absolutely. Many private collectors are wealthy enough that they are not affected by the recession. It’s those in the middle who might get in trouble, but it is the former that the bulk of art sales comes from. I was speaking to a big collector this morning; he’s coming to visit the gallery and going to Frieze, and I can assure you that he won’t be leaving the fair without having bought something.

You know the London market well, having been with both Lisson and Haunch of Venison. What effect will the downturn have on the wider scene?

I started working at Lisson in 1992. That was during one of the art world’s biggest slumps, and though I was young at the time, I remember that the team of eight had to work incredibly hard to get a sale. Since then, the industry has exploded beyond recognition; there are now so many galleries and so many collectors. What I do think this present economic crisis will do is clean out some of the middle-market galleries and artists that are selling and being sold way above their value. If you inflate your prices artificially, you will go down.