Walking into his new, 2,000-square-foot space in New York’s Chelsea district, you would think Fred Torres had opened a gallery. But you would be wrong. Fred Torres Collaborations, which the 35-year-old launched in November with an exhibition of loosely figurative paintings and sculptures by Alessandro Twombly (son of Cy), is more of a management agency for artists than a traditional exhibition venue.

Although he sells artworks, Torres says he isn’t as possessive as a traditional dealer. He works with other galleries to offer what he calls "an all-encompassing support system" and "world-wide exposure" to a client list that includes, in addition to Twombly, whose work remains on display through this month, the photographers Luca Pizzaroni and David LaChapelle and the painter Chris McGraw.

Torres has managed LaChapelle for almost four years — at one point with his friend Nicholas Robinson, who now has an eponymous gallery — even though the artist is officially represented by Tony Shafrazi. Torres thinks this kind of collaboration may be a trend. "The whole idea of being territorial is so old school," he says. And working with other dealers may be advantageous in a recession. "I feel like I have a support system and a network. There’s safety in numbers." "Support Group" originally appeared in the February 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's February 2009 Table of Contents.