YSL Auction

Now that I've given you all a little bit of an overview of the art world - don't worry I'll keep writing and keeping you informed - I wanted to note that one of the biggest sales of my lifetime has just happened in Paris. Christie's held a three day, six auction sale for the estate of the late Yves Saint Laurent. All the proceeds are going to his partner's foundation for research into AIDS. Well, the sale went phenomenally well selling over 96% of all items for $477 million. Yes, you read the right - almost half a billion dollars for an art, decorative art, and furniture sale. Incredible right.

So while all the world is worried about finance there are people who have the money to spend $28 million on a "Dragons" chair. The sale may well save Christie's this year (no such luck for Sotheby's yet) and will hopefully show the world that we're not in a permanent downward spiral.

Navigating Auctions

Auctions are one of the more scary elements of the art world. They are big, they are public, there is a lot of money changing hands and there is a whole world of auction language and procedures. I want to give you a couple of tips of the trade to help you navigate this world. And once you get in there and start your bidding, you'll find out that there is really nothing to be afraid of. In some ways auctions are the least scary of any of the art world entities - at least they are transparent. 

Bidding: remember to register for a paddle number if you're interested in making a bid.

Phone Bidders: many of the big-time bidders in the art world don't actually make it into the auction room. They may use phone bidding to make a buy or may ask an art consultant, like me, to purchase the piece for them. 

Chandelier Bidding: This is a somewhat controversial procedure in which the auctioneer takes fake bids in order to rev up energy in the room. It's not illegal because he never goes above the point where a piece could actually sell -- all this fake bidding is done before a piece meets a reserve. 

Catalog: get a catalog well before you're ready to attend the auction so you can look over the estimate prices (how much the auction house thinks things will sell for). This also gives you an idea of the reserve price - the reserve MUST be below the low estimate and is usually 70-90% of the low estimate. 

Now remember don't be intimidated. While auctions used to be primarily trade (gallerists, dealers, etc.) many more public figures are attending. But you can see one of these "Trade" auctions by attending a rug, jewelry or wine sale. Have fun!

Lower East Side Galleries

Since the New Museum moved into the Lower East Side of NYC not long ago, several (well...maybe 45) galleries have shifted operations and moved their locations into the area. It is making the LES into a bit of a hotbed of artistic creation and innovation in the gallery scene. I had the pleasure of attending an opening at one of these new, hot galleries recently. 

The show, called This Has Been, is about the intersection between creation and technology, old and new, start and stop, analog and digital etc. It was a show that was well-curated with some really great artists who I was unfamiliar with. Michel de Broin is a well known Quebecois artist who creates giant fluid sculptures out of common objects - his piece in the show was a fireplace made to look like a television set. It was so clever while still being very beautiful and sleek. I very much enjoyed it and if I were making more money than I am right now I would have bought it up in a second. There was also an artist called Anne Deleporte - she created a giant wall mural out of newspaper which she then selectively painted over to leave only clever sayings or pictures. I really enjoyed the show a lot and would recommend that anyone out there with some free time hanging around the LES (as many of you are want to do) should stop by. 

The gallery is called On Stellar Rays and is located at 133 Orchard St. 

Navigating the Art Fairs

If you're from a big metropolitan art city like New York, navigating the art world if your city is half the battle. So if you can master the galleries (or at least get a good feeling about getting around them) you're nearly there. But if you 1) are not from London, Milan, NYC, Beijing, etc. or 2) have exhausted your interests with your local art you need to expand your agenda and take to the art fairs.

Art fairs are an amazing way to see international galleries of all sort with really great quality art. If you live in the US, Miami Art Basel is the place to go. Not only will you get a whole slew of art from the best galleries in the world all in a single convention center in Miami (what more could you ask for) but there are a plethora of satellite fairs in and around Miami. If you live in Western Europe you might find yourself visiting the Frieze Art Fair. If you live in China or Eastern Asia you might find yourself visiting the Shanghai Art Fair. Maybe I should profile the different art fairs because they are all different and interesting in their own way. 

Navigating the Galleries

One of the prime roles of an art consultant (whether dealing with commercial/corporate clients or private clients) is being able to navigate the art scene in a given city. I've spent way more time than I'd care to admit traversing the streets of New York City's gallery districts - Chelsea, 57th St., SoHo, Williamsburg, The Lower East Side, etc. Where there is a gallery, you'll more than likely find me there. 

All this wandering and looking and studying has made me something of an expert in the gallery field. I know quite a few of the gallerists personally, I take a strong interest in knowing what shows are up now, which are worth seeing, which are especially well or poorly done. It's all part of the job.

One of the first things I do upon meeting a potential client is to try and get a feel for their personal likes and style. We might go through MOMA and wander through picking through an "ideal" collection. Do they like modernist, dark colors, pastels, uplifting depictions, photography. Once I get a basic feeling for this, I can then narrow down which galleries the client would most enjoy. It's then that we get serious about our work. It's up to me to put together a sort of travel itinerary of galleries and finally get the client out there to see some art that's for sale. 

Private Consulting

Private consulting is a whole other beast from corporate consulting. When dealing with large corporations, you'll often have to deal with committees, bureaucracies, paper trails, etc. When dealing with a private family or collector, you've got to deal with clashing personalities, budget inconsistencies, changing tastes, and all matter of relational issues. Each is certainly challenging in its own way, and art consultants must learn ways and means of dealing with each.

In my years of consulting, I've learned some tips of the trade that I'd like to share. These work both when dealing with commercial and private clients, but I've found them particularly helpful with private clients. 

1. A client is a person, too. Appreciate personality differences and learn to laugh about your differences.
   
2. Listen, I mean really listen to what people have to say
3. Be honest with expectations
4. Don't make promises you can't keep
5. Work hard, do good.

Commercial Consulting

When most people think of art consulting, they probably think of the private client art consultant - the man or woman who goes around with ritzy clients trying to find that next Picasso that completes their collection. But art collecting goes beyond the private home and in fact many of my clients are commercial entities like banks and law firms. 

Businesses use art as a way to brand themselves - that is to create a message about what it means to do business with XYZ, LLP or ABC, esq. In boom times, these entities have also used art as an alternative asset class. For a while, art was seen as a more stable alternative to stocks and bonds. According to the Mei-Moses index, art sales have kept up with or outpaced the S&P 500 for years and years (this may, as it turns out, be a bit biased since the Mei-Moses index only tracks works of art which have gone through public sales and if you're shopping around an expensive piece and you take it to public auction, you better hope it sells. Only the best, and most likely to sell, are ever taken to auction. The rest of these pieces often sit in attics for years). Banks and law firms or other companies with lots of capital tend to put their money in art both for investment and for decoration or branding. 

Depending on the size, scale and ownership of the business, budgets and aims differ widely. But these relationships can be more long-lasting than with private clients and often more lucrative because these firms often can afford and can hang more pieces of art than a private collector. Personally, I think corporate art consulting very challenging and invigorating. But it may also be more taxing as you have to learn to deal with committees and bureaucracy.