Amanda Singer is a former Artist Liaison and Assistant Curator of Blain|Southern and now the Managing Director of Anton Kern Gallery in New York. The inimitable personality and art world darling welcomes us into her home in Brooklyn to tell us about her impressive collection of art (including a singular selection of Flash Tattoo designs from David Shrigley), the particular social bite of the hardcore lifestyle, as well as introduces us to her two (German-Speaking) dogs.

Provenance: Brooklyn, New York

Current Residence: Brooklyn, New York

Occupation:  Managing Director, Anton Kern Gallery,

Exciting Recent Projects:

Nicole Eisenman: Skulptur Projekte Münster - Nicole is a fantastic artist and approaches every medium with such enthusiasm and ingenuity. This project was a challenging and rewarding learning experience.

Problem in New York with David Shrigley and Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth, the goal was to challenge the limits of music making by inviting a who’s who of local New York musicians to interact with David’s “improbable” instruments. The results were amazing!

Last Exhibition Seen: The last museum show I went to was Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World. Having worked with Chinese post-modern and contemporary art for some years, I was beyond excited for this show. I was just in Berlin last week and loved the Axel Kasseböhmer show at Sprüth Magers.

Some of your favorite artists: This is a tough one, I’d have to say, Gardar Eide Einarsson,  Matias Faldbakken, Banks Violette, Sarah Jones (who is an amazing photographer we represent at Anton Kern), Asli Cavusoglu, and New York locals like James Miller, Julie Curtiss, and Trudy Benson

Favourite Museums: Brooklyn Museum (I grew up going here and my trips there with my grandmother definitely shaped who I am today), Baltic Art Center, Whitechapel Gallery, Moderna Museet in Stockholm and Ludwig in Cologne.

Your flat is on fire, you can only salvage one artwork: Is this cheesy? It would have to be my Grandma's artwork, she is an incredibly talented painter. She seldom painted from subjects and I learned everything I know about art from her.

If money/space was no object?: ***If money was no object I’d want to own a piece of history - Ascension II or Not Yet by Eva Hesse.

Art collection goals: I’d love to own a large Ellen Berkenblit painting, honestly. I fell in love with her work the first day at the gallery and my love of her work has only grown since I’ve had the honor of working so closely with her. There’s also always space on my wall for a Gardar Eide Einarsson or a Raymond Pettibon.

Fiac or Frieze: Frieze.

Basel or Miami: Basel, I don’t do well in the heat.

Venice Biennale? Yes! We’ll wait to see if our artists are involved.

And because Art is not only in museum and galleries...

Favourite Authors: Han Kang, Guy Debord, Shirley Jackson, H.P. Lovecraft

The movie you watched a 100 times: Army of Shadows by Melville is my all-time favorite film. It follows the French Resistance during the Second World War. Melville was a master at building suspense.

The TV Series you could totally watch all over again (if not already) : Black Books and Peepshow, I’m a sucker for a good Britcom.

And the one you are obsessed with now: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, it’s set in a stylized 1950’s Manhattan with quick-witted amateur comediennes. It’s a must-watch.

You are listening to a lot of: Ben Frost and Jenny Hval 

Cookbook most splattered with food and grease: Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz  

You shop at: I shop at a lot of specialty markets for my food. I have a tofu dealer in Chinatown–he’s great. I have a tea guy in my neighborhood with rare tea varieties but also love getting herbal infusions and coffee from McNulty’s in Greenwich Village. I travel to Bensonhurst occasionally to stock up on italian food from Ciao Bella Market and get my veggies from a CSA. 

The restaurant you keep going to for special occasions: Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s (again) Modern Love. And because I’m Italian-American, Pontevecchio in Bay Ridge… it’s tradition.

Food heaven? The best place to be vegan is Prague, and the Tesco vegan products in London are also top-notch.

Drink of choice: Definitely not Jameson. Whiskey, specifically, Oban. Anton [Kern] gifts me with whiskey after a good exhibition run or long-term project. 

The secret place you don't want anybody to know about: Slovenia, there is so much history, phenomenal architecture, a vibrant DIY punk scene, and beautiful natural surroundings. I also really love the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in Iceland. It’s less touristy than the south and east of Iceland and is just stunning.

Ideal Vacation: I’d love travel around Norway, starting at the Peter Zumthor/Louise Bourgeois Steilneset Memorial in Vardö and working my way down to Oslo via various stave churches and sites of Norwegian death metal significance.

Retirement Plan: I’m never going to retire, I love my job, I’m going to haunt the building. Anton would love hearing that.

ART AND HORSES

The subject of art as an investment is always a difficult one. On one side you will have people saying that art should not be considered under the investment angle, and that you should only buy art you love. On the other side you will have a myriad of financiers touting the merits of art as a new asset class, art as an investment, and loads of people hearing their call, mesmerized by the seemingly unstoppable rise of auction prices.

When asked whether art is a good investment, I usually respond with the following question: would you invest horse racing? Silly isn’t it? Art investment relies on a set of measurable, quantifiable facts: auction records, exhibitions, media exposure, etc. But so are horse races: horse pedigree, track record, form, age, trainer, racetrack, etc. But most people considering art investment would not think of putting their money in a fund betting on horse races.

So keep that in mind, investing in art is not unlike betting on horses. You may make some money (some people do), you may loose some money (most people have) but one thing is sure: it will be a thrilling ride!

STOCK MARKET AND VENTURE CAPITAL

Having said that, there are some interesting parallels to be drawn between the world of investing and the art market, that can help you better understand the risks and potential returns associated with buying art.

Auction houses are like a stock exchange. To be listed there, you have to be a large and established company, with desirable shares (at least for the IPO). Likewise auction houses will only accept works by artists that are well established and have a reasonable chance to sell. Artists that are too emerging, or who fell out of fashion will most likely be turned down.

Just like in the stock market you will have the big respectable New York or London stock exchanges (say Christie’s or Sotheby’s) where it is harder to be listed and the smaller, regional, more speculative stock exchanges (Phillips could be the Nasdaq, Artcurial could be the Paris stock exchange).

If auction are the stock exchange, contemporary art galleries would then be more like venture capital. When you buy a work by contemporary artist from a gallery you may be able to do an IPO (i.e. sell it at auction) but you will need a large and diverse portfolios as very few of the companies you invest in will make it to the IPO.

You can choose to buy from established galleries (Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner, Marian Goodman to name a few) or at established art fairs (Frieze, Fiac, Art Basel), which is a little bit like investing in promising start ups backed by powerful VCs (think Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital) or having gone through renown incubators (Y Combinator). But to be able to do so you have to belong to a closed circle of “serious collectors” and pay your dues by supporting museums, younger artists, and above all, commit to never ever resell your artworks at auction (which sort of defeats the point). Collectors who have become known for “flipping” works at auction too soon are put on dealers' “black lists” and find it much more difficult to buy promising artists.

You can also choose to focus more on early stage or seed investing by going to edgier art fairs (NADA, Untitled, List) and smaller galleries with a good roster of artists. Some of the artists there sell works for $10-50,000, which could then be resold at auction a couple years later for $400-500,000. Think Oscar Murillo, Lucien Smith, or David Ostrowski, but you have to buy early, and, most importantly, sell at the right moment. Lucien Smith was selling works for around $10-20,000 in 2012 in small galleries. His prices then climbed as high as $200,000 at auctions in 2014. He is now back around $30,000. Ostrowski had a similar rise and fall. Murillo (born 1986!) held up better thanks to the support of mega-gallery David Zwirner. Buying such artists can be an exhilarating ride, but given the risks, more akin to horse racing than investing.

Then you have the equivalent of "love money" (investing in your cousin’s startup because you love him even you don't quite believe him when he is telling you it is the next Facebook). Some galleries or art fairs are showing artworks that will never go up in value and that you will not be able to resell. But you will still buy because you love the artist, the gallerist, the artwork, or just because it matches the colour of your couch. And this is fine too.

CAVEAT!

However there are some notable differences between the art market and traditional investments.

First the cost of entry is enormous. You can easily invest in a blue chip company (say Apple) without being a billionaire, just by buying Apple shares through a stock broker. But it is more difficult to invest in a blue chip artist without being a billionaire because artworks cannot be divided into more affordable shares. There has been a lot of talk about artworks securitization, but all attempts to do so have failed. And even if you want to buy very emerging artists, a modest artwork by a totally unknown artist at a good gallery or fair (i.e. with a very small but real chance to increase x 50) will still cost you between $10,000 and $50,000. And to diversify your portfolio you will need to buy 50 such artists.

Second the transaction costs are very substantial. While your stock broker will charge a fraction of percent, and the most expensive hedge funds used to charge in their heydays 1% management fee and 20% carried interest, a typical auction house will charge 25% Buyer’s Premium and between 5 and 20% vendor’s commission depending on how good a client you are. This means the auction house will keep 30-40% of the final sale price. Galleries will charge 50-60% commissions on new works (and believe me, they deserve every penny. Opening an art gallery is an even surer way to lose money than investing in art). Again there have been a lot of talk about new trading platforms, especially online, where transaction costs would be much lower. But such platforms have either gone bankrupt (remember Fine Art Bourse and their 5% buyer’s premium) or increased their commissions under investors' pressure (e.g. Paddle8). A notable exception is Sotheby's who launched to much fanfare no buyer's premium online auctions though they still charge hefty vendor's commissions. 

In conclusion, buy art you love, do your homework if you want to be able to resell it one day, and maybe one day when technology catches up with the art world, you will be able to add some Warhol or Picasso shares to your stock portfolios. But it would not be much fun, would it?   

Provenance:

Thessaloniki, Greece

Current Residence:

London

Occupation:  

Founder of RAW Editions, a dealership specializing in contemporary prints and multiples.

Exciting Recent Projects:

I have been working on getting a new restaurant furnished with art, and just launched our e-commerce website. And we are preparing for our first fair in January. (Battersea Decorative Art & Antiques Fair January 23-28, 2018)

Let's talk about Art...

Last Exhibition Seen:

Rachel Whiteread at the Tate, and the Basquiat show at the Barbican. So many people. But the really cool part was the Banksy around the corner.

Some of your favorite artists:

It has to be David Shrigley. I am obsessed with him at the moment. But I do also like Grayson Perry, and Jasper Johns was my first “print” love. And Eduardo Paolozzi.

Favourite Museums:

MoMA and Tate Britain.

Your flat is on fire, you can only salvage one artwork:

I would take Michael Craig-Martin’s Fountain, over here. One of the very few works here that is NOT a print.

Art collection goals:

There is this one work that I will probably never find, but there is this 1972 Jasper Johns lithograph “A Cartoon for Tanya” that is dedicated in the stone “To Tanya With Love from Jasper”. Obviously it was not dedicated to me but to Tanya Grossman, the founder of ULAE that introduced Johns to printmaking. It is only an edition of 10 and an impression has not come on the market for over 20 years, but if you have to aim high.

and If money/space was no object?

That would be an Antony Gormley sculpture. Or a Grayson Perry pot.

Fiac or Frieze:

Well Frieze, but to be honest Frieze Masters really.

Basel or Miami:

Never been to either. Both fairs have always coincided with my London auction sales in December and the height of the business getting season for the summer prints auctions, so I had to give them a miss. But I will try to make it to Miami next year.

Venice Biennale?

Not this year. With the launch of RAW Editions just before the summer, we have spent the summer adding to our inventory rather than travelling.

And because Art is not only in museum and galleries...

Favourite Authors:  Gabriel Garcia Marquez has to be my top one. I went through a phase when I was reading EVERYTHING he wrote. And Albert Camus.

The movie you watched a 100 times:

I don’t do movies or books many times. OK Harry Potter. It is my Christmas movie. We go through all of them every year. .

The TV Series you could totally watch all over again (if not already):

Stranger Things.

And the one you are obsessed with now:

Well, Stranger Things.

You are listening to a lot of:

I have a very confused playlist from jazz to 90s Greek pop music from when I was a teenager.

Now for earthlier nourishment...

Cookbook most splattered with food and grease:

My handwritten notebook with my grandma’s recipes.

You shop at:

I love London food markets, they remind me of home. Leisurely Saturday mornings at Venn street food market in Clapham Common for fish and veg.

The restaurant you keep going to for special occasions:

We spent our first Christmas party with RAW Editions at Counter Culture in Clapham, a tiny tiny place with local seasonal food. The only place I will literally order the whole menu.

Food heaven?

Greece. Silly question. I would live off fish and tomato salads.

Drink of choice:

Lately Negroni, because my other half makes a really good one.

To get away from it all

Ideal Vacation:

The small Greek islands of the South Aegean. And if not there, then Machu Picchu.

The secret place you don't want anybody to know about:

This complex of tiny islands in Greece called Koufonisia. But I am getting married there next year so it is not gonna be so secret anymore.

Retirement Plan:

Like Persephone in Greek mythology, to spend 6 months here and 6 months on a Greek island. But I hope this will happen before retirement and that I won’t have to retire.

There are a lot of ways to address this question, but I usually start by asking them this simple question:

Do you want to resell it?

It may seem a bit premature to think about reselling when you have not bought it yet though think about it this way: you are just a the beginning of your collector’s journey, you have everything to learn and chances are your taste will evolve. You are not listening the same music you were listening at15, and you surely do not wear the same clothes (thank God!). Same with art. You will buy something you love, then you will fall out of love, and if you have spent a couple of thousands pounds on it, you may be happy to be able to resell it. Even (especially) the world’s greatest collectors do have that in mind when buying art.

You may also decide that you don’t care about reselling, and that you would prefer find the perfect piece, and keep it forever, or just move it to storage when you don’t like it anymore. Also not uncommon among the world’s greatest collectors. Actually most collectors don’t really ask themselves this question, just buy what they love, and realize after the fact that their collection is roughly divided in two categories:

• “Commercial” artworks: artworks by artists who are well established and have a strong secondary market and a substantial auction record. Think Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons.

• “Decorative” artworks: artworks by artists who do not have a secondary market, and whose works are not frequently sold at auctions. There are many excellent artists in this category, but they are just not part of the “commercial” art world, for a lot of reasons.

Again most collectors buy both “commercial” and “decorative” works. I do have in my collection works that I know I could resell if I wanted to, say Rauschenberg or Richard Serra prints, and others that I love just as much, if not more, but have zero commercial value and that I will never be able to resell.

Of course price points are very different between these two categories. You are probably not able to afford a unique Warhol or Damien Hirst, which sell for millions, but most “commercial” artists are also doing limited edition signed prints that can be very affordable. But if you really want a unique painting on canvas, you may only be able to afford a “decorative” artwork whose long term value is very hypothetical.

Artists and artworks can move between the two categories. Artists do fall out of fashion, and works that were once frequently sold at Christie’s and Sotheby’s can be today absolutely impossible to sell. Looking at a Sotheby’s contemporary art catalogue from the mid-90’s, you would find many artists who have now little commercial value. The contrary is less frequent, though artists do some time make a come back or get discovered late in their life (think Carmen Herrerra, who was recently rediscovered at age 102)

So to go back to the original question: where to buy art online?

• If you would rather buy “commercial” artworks, you will preferably to go to a secondary market platform selling “second-hand” (or “pre-loved”) works. ArtSnap is one such platform. Auction houses are also a good place for that. Sotheby’s and Christie’s do online auctions. Paddle8 is an online only auction house, focusing strictly on contemporary art.

• If you would rather buy “decorative” artworks, it is best to go to primary market platforms selling directly from the artists. Artfinder and Saatchiart are two platforms selling directly from the artists and they have thousands of artists. There are also more curatorially focused platforms  offering a tighter selection of artists and are more akin to the traditional gallery model. There are many, many of them. You will just have to find those that correspond most to your taste. My personal favorites are Artuner, New Blood Art, ExhibitionA and Singulart.

This is of course very simplified, but a good first point of entry. There are also aggregators, such as Artsy, and ArtSpace, that have a lot of both commercial and decorative works, there are publishers and museum shop websites that can have amazing “commercial’ works straight from the artists, and new models are emerging every week.

But this will be the subject of another post. Stay tuned :)

I have worked in the art world for the past 10 years, and during these 10 years I have had countless conversations with friends who were not working in the art world and wanted my advice about how and where to buy art.

This is a immensely complex subject, and you will find countless curators, art advisors, dealers who will all volunteer their advice and give you vastly differing answers. I don’t claim to hold the truth, but there are definitely a few important things you should know before making your first art purchase. Since I have launched ArtSnap, I have had a lot more of these conversations with friends and clients, none of them seasoned collectors, even though most already bought art in the past.  And I realised that a lot of the things that were obvious to me, were absolutely not clear for, well, pretty much everyone else.

So I thought it may be interesting to put down in writings a few things I have learnt over the years, and maybe start a conversation (don’t hesitate to leave comments). I hope this will be of interest to all those who would like to buy art, but just don’t know where to start. In this series, I will address some of the questions I hear frequently:

• Where can you buy art without spending millions?
• Is art a good investment (I hate that one but it is inescapable)
• Is this young artist I just discovered the next Van Gogh?
• Are prints original works?
• Is it safe to buy art online?
• Etc.

I hope this will shed some light on the opaque world of art and give those who want to make the leap the confidence to do so. I also expect fiery debate and disagreement (the comments section is open and will remain so). Buying art is arguably one the least stupid thing you can do with your money (small carbon footprint, no child labour) even though some will find some art buying excessive (see op ed in the NY Times about the recent Salvator Mundi $450m sale)

Articles will come out every week or so, stay tuned :)

Provenance:

Istanbul

Current Residence:

London

Occupation:  

Founder of Artkurio Consultancy (www.artkurio.com), curator, foundation director, writer

Exciting Recent Projects:

Taking on the directorship of the Gaia Art Foundation (gaiaartfoundation.org)

How did your art collecting start?

The first art work I ever owned was a gift from my mentor and former boss, renowned Old Masters dealer Derek Johns. He saw that I really liked this exquisite jellyfish glass piece by Steffen Dam and surprised me with it as a Christmas present. Coming from an Old Masters background, I developed a great appreciation for craftsmanship which is reflected in the artworks that I’m drawn to; the first piece I bought myself was a sculptural ceramics wall piece by Australian artist Juz Kitson.

Where does your interest in Japanese antiques come from?

To be honest, although I appreciated it, I had never really looked at Japanese antiques as works that I would collect. My boyfriend grew up surrounded by it and introduced me. I love their connection to nature, respect for materials, exquisite craftsmanship and the folk stories that they represent. You can lose yourself while examining even a small object, they are so detailed and beautifully made. Most of these items were actually used on a daily basis: writing boxes, tobacco pouches, and inro boxes to carry small objects, such as seals and medicines.

How do you feel about the mix of historical works with contemporary?

I love and encourage it. There is a continuation and progress in art history and the historical pieces elevate the contemporary, putting them into context. The key is in the display, the works should compliment each other. There are several works not on view in our flat, simply because they didn’t fit well with the rest. You can keep it playful, find connections and don’t be scared to go for it.   

As a young collector, I think it is important to support young artists and galleries. I’m lucky for living in London and being surrounded by such exciting work. I’ve been a supporter of the Royal Academy as a founding committee member of the Young Patrons, and enjoy going to the Schools shows. I bought works from recent graduates and from the annual Summer Exhibition.

Last Exhibition Seen:

"Opera" at the V&A. A must-see!

Some of your favorite artists:

Such a hard question! I would rather pick a movement or a group of artists. Such as Paris in early 20th century with artists like Rousseau and Cezanne, or 16th century Florentine school. Their colors are amazing. Pontormo is a good example.

Your flat is on fire, you can only salvage one artwork:

A Japanese Art Deco screen that is hanging in the living room. It took us so long to find it.

Next art acquisition:

I really would like another work by Roy Pippin. He is a LA based artist who works with found materials and has recently been incorporating old master paintings. I have already emailed him. I would like to visit his studio next time I am there.  

and If money/space was no object?

16th century sculpture by Giambologna or an installation by James Turrell.

Fiac or Frieze:

FIAC. The Grand Palais is such a wonderful venue.

Basel or Miami:

Basel definitely. The art is much better and i love the museums there.

Venice Biennale?

I try to never miss it. I enjoy the exhibitions around the biennial as well, taking over old palaces and mansions. My highlight this year was the Axel Vervoordt exhibition at Palazzo Fortuny.

Favourite Authors:  

Zadie Smith, Orhan Pamuk, J.G. Ballard

The movie you watched a 100 times:

SF and fantasy movies such as Star Wars, or the Lord of the Ring trilogy.

The TV Series you could totally watch all over again (if not already):

I love Agatha Christie Murder Mystery. Scenery is so beautiful and everybody is so civilized, even the murderer. Though I am not quite in the demographic target (commercial breaks are all about cruises, retirement homes and chair stairlifts).

And the one you are obsessed with now:

The most recent Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi. Can’t wait to watch it!  

You are listening to a lot of:

LBC radio (a favorite among cabbies) in the morning for the news. iTunes playlists otherwise.

Cookbook most splattered with food and grease:

Nigel Slater cookbooks though most of the time i look at recipes on ipad.

You shop at:

There is a Tesco down the road for emergencies, but we like to go to the small shops for food. Clifton Greens has amazing, fresh vegetables and fruits. We realized later on the owner was Turkish. A coincidence (or not)

The restaurant you keep going to for special occasions:

Summer House. It is by the canals in Little Venice so it has that Bosphorus feel I grew up with. And it has clam chowder which reminds me of my time in Boston.

Food heaven?

Anywhere around the Mediterranean.  

Drink of choice:

A gin based cocktail.

Ideal Vacation:

Around the Mediterranean in a boat. You don't have to wear shoes, you can go to breakfast with wet hair. And that’s where I read the most.

The secret place you don't want anybody to know about:

Yakushima island in Japan.

Retirement Plan:

A house by the water with a big garden to grow vegetables and a boat to go sailing.