COLLECTOR NEWSLETTER SPRING 2022

COLLECTING CONTEMPORARY ART IN LOS ANGELES - UPCOMING NEW YORK ART WEEK

I have recently returned from Los Angeles where I attended all three of the important Art Fairs that have bounced back nicely after a two year hiatus. Several Galleries also held important openings that week showing some amazing work by several artists I’ve been following over the years. Here is an update from the L.A. Fairs, followed by a preview of New York Art Week in early May, during which I would be happy to schedule time to meet with new collectors.

SPRING BREAK ART FAIR - LOS ANGELES

First up was Spring Break Art Fair, where many emerging artists have had significant breakout moments in their careers, including Julie Curtiss, Katje Farin and Emma Kohlmann whose art I have personally collected at the fair over the years. This Fair is based in both Los Angeles and New York each year.

Knowing that the art works would be viewable to Advisors and VIPs online very early, I was up at around 5am the morning of the Fair, and looked through all of the art works available at the fair that was due to open for its “VIP Collectors Only First Look” physical preview that afternoon. I noticed several works that were really interesting and might meet my clients’ criteria based on our discussions (tastes, objectives, scale etc etc.).

Where the artists were new to me, I did some research on their careers and looked up how they are doing in the relevant databases. One painting that I strongly recommended was acquired by my client, an established collector who had sought out my advice in the Ultra Contempoary Art space.

FELIX ART FAIR

Then it was on to the early previews at the Felix Art Fair, held in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with its David Hockney painted pool. Each “booth” was in fact a hotel room and poolside cabana on the lower floors and a hotel suite on the upper floors. This highly curated fair brings with it many of the hottest galleries and artists in the Art World. It took me two hours just to complete seeing and chatting with the art dealers on the cabana level! Many great artists and several great opportunities to buy art that I am happy to pass along to new collectors (of course the best opportunities tend to be taken very quickly) including this example of a work by Johnny Abrahams that was available when I saw it early.

FRIEZE LOS ANGELES

I walked Frieze L.A. on its second V.I.P. Day. This Fair is regarded as the “main” Art Fair that brings out the Hollywood A- Listers, with the likes of Leo DiCaprio (a very serious art collector), Gwyneth Paltrow and Will Ferrell all attending the first V.I.P. Day. Kendall Jenner was reported to have purchased a smaller James Turrell wall piece at the fair.

Most of the important works of art have been typically pre-sold or reserved days in advance of the opening of these major fairs and it provides more of a social scene and “people watching” for the attendees and galleries alike. Prices will average just under $100,000 for a majority of the works and with some asking as much as $2 or $3 million. While Art Frontier has professional relationships with many of these galleries, the other Fairs tend to present better opportunities for newer collectors looking to start their collecting journey.

UPCOMING: NEW YORK ART WEEK - MAY 4 - 8

The first week of May is New York Art Week, with three important Art Fairs running concurrently. Art Frontier is happy to schedule appointments beforehand and to show collectors the V.I.P. Experience at each.

Independent New York - Preview Day May 5th (Location: Spring Studios) - Another highly curated Fair with excellent and reputable Galleries showing some if the best Contemporary Art of today.

New Art Dealers Fair (“NADA”) - V.I.P. Preview May 5th (Location: Pier 36, 299 South Street) This Fair has many works available in the $5,000 to $15,000 range (Art Frontier’s “sweet spot”)

Future Fair - V.I.P. Preview Day May 4th.

TEFAF New York Spring - V.I.P. Preview Day May 5th (Location: Park Avenue Armory).

If you have any interest in attending any of these fairs with me, or visits to see New York Galleries, please just send me a note and we can have a preliminary chat and consultation well in advance of these dates.

ART FRONTIER

While attending the Miami Art Fairs in late 2019, I made the radical decision to pivot my career away from Finance and Accounting to making my career in the Art World. This is a large and well established industry with $65 Billion of Art objects transacted globally each year.

My inspiration is the idea of helping my friends and former work colleagues and alumni navigate the opaque and challenging steps towards building a Contemporary Art Collection, as my wife and I had done over the course of more than a decade prior.

The name “Art Frontier” came to mind as it embraces the newness, the uncertainty and the excitement of collecting Contemporary Art! And as with how we look at and appreciate Contemporary Art, sometimes the meaning may have several interpretations - what does it mean to you?

In brief, the following Chart summarizes how Art Frontier assists clients on their journey toward collecting fine Contemporary Art:

Art Frontier’s Instagram is a great way to see what is up in the New York Galleries and Art Fairs - lots of paintings to see and get you thinking about what you might like to collect.