Adam, good evening from Tel Aviv, Israel. Looking forward of reading your articles, and the first-glimpse views on some of the most interesting living artists. Still, wanted to ask you what is your attitude towards Israeli art in general and the young generation of Israeli artists such as Maya Bloch (who has had two solo exhibitions at the Thierry Goldberg Gallery in NY), Elad Lassry and so on, not to mention artists like Yehudit Sasportas, Tzibi Geva, Sigalit Landau. If you are familiar with the Israeli market and artists, I would love to hear why it is hard for Israeli artists to “make it big” in London, NY, etc. on the same scale of success occidental artists have.

Dear Vera, I really don’t know why Israeli artists haven’t done better in the Contemporary Art market , but I think I can find the answer in your question. By this I mean to say that those Israeli artists have remained for the most part “Israeli”, they have never become simply “artists”. Their nationality is always part of their work, and today , among the top artists in the world,… Read more
Published
Categorized as Q & A

Where’s the g#(@&damn photo???!!!

Well sir, You are right to wonder. However, they were up for about 15 minutes this past Monday of Halloween. Unfortunately, I received a threatening email from the Chief Curator of the Guggenheim Museum, which wasn’t pleasant, and I felt was unjustified. The Chief Curator had already leaked images to the NYT and then NY Magazine and Art in America, and as a patron of the show, I had pictures… Read more
Published
Categorized as Q & A

Dear Mr. Lindemann, In the forthcoming November sales of contemporary art there is a high number of Richter abstract paintings. In your opinion, does such an apparent flooding have the potential to harm the market of an already very high-priced artist or do you think that because of the quality of what is on offer, it will have no negative influence?

Merci Claude, In the question is the the answer, I agree, logic would dictate that one or two of them will have to underperform, same is true of the Clyfford Stills at Sotheby’s, they can’t all make the money. Whenever multiple examples of a body of work by an artist are lumped in a single auction, there is the chance for opportunity. That being said, I think the Richter market… Read more
Published
Categorized as Q & A

Dear Adam, We noticed the you took a picture of a piece of art with your phone last night. We were wondering how you feel about people in general photographing work at art shows. And we also wonder what you intend to do with your photograph. XO

Dear Melet Mercantile friends, I often take pictures of what I’m looking at to jog my memory the next day, and rethink the work I was looking at. But you are perceptive! And indeed I have another purpose, I plan to launch a photo blog on my website…and you are doubly right, technically you can’t take a picture of someone’s art and post it, publish it, use it etc…but people… Read more
Published
Categorized as Q & A

Quick question: On a contemporary painting does the medium of “oil on canvas” have any difference from “acrylic on canvas” in terms of value, quality or longevity? Trust all well…. Appreciate all, Charlie

Good to hear from you Mr. Ayres, This is indeed a tricky point. The classic rule is that paint on canvas (acrylic, oil, oil stick etc.) is more valuable than any work on paper, including those with paint, watercolor, pencil or pen. That’s why often you’ll find works on paper that have been “laid on canvas”, which, in theory, makes it more valuable, because if it’s “on canvas” it’s a… Read more
Published
Categorized as Q & A

Dear Mr. Lindemann, Apparently, the Warhol Authentication Board has decided to dissolve itself in view of the mounting legal fees it has had to support following various actions against it. In what way if any, according to you, should this impact the Warhol market?

Merci Claude, This is huge news, and you are right to point this out, no one has. Back in 1984, as a 21 year old kid, I once sat in an after-hours bar with Fred Hughes in Alphabet City around 3 or 4 am. He was a terrible anti-semite and an evil man. When Andy died, I suspect he sold several “rejects”, screens the artist rejected but that Fred saved,… Read more
Published
Categorized as Q & A

Is there any jewelry that you would consider as art?

Dear Maria, Artist jewelry for me is mostly overrated with some flashes of brilliance. Remember that artists have done jewelry for the past 100 years, and it’s never become very popular, perhaps for good reason. On the other hand, I love Calder jewelry, and this market has boomed for good reason, his pieces are real mini-sculptures. I’m a big fan of Cesar’s “compression” gold jewelry, where he crushed old gold… Read more
Published
Categorized as Q & A

Regarding the Richard Prince “Canal Zone” piece you purchased, what is the “whole chapter in this story yet to been told”? Also, has the value been affected post copyright infringement?

Well Katie Jean, This is how I see it: Richard Prince makes a lot of work, and it sells for a lot – BUT, name a body of work he made full-on, that he dedicated a huge 24th Street Gagosian show to (his first there), that got stuck in a market crash (Fall ‘08) and for which he got sued and lost! Only “Canal Zone” fits that bill, and only… Read more
Published
Categorized as Q & A

Help, please. My wife says that my taste in art is too passé, and that hanging works from artists who are dead is just not cool or interesting. I am looking to spend around $1.5m for 3-5 works, but refuse to buy works at any Madison Ave. Gallery. Which artists would you suggest looking at and why? BTW, I love video art, but displaying it is a bitch, and photography scares me re: its appreciation potential due to multiples. Justifying valuations, I find challenging, even with artnet… I’m always skeptical that auction pricing is manipulated by collectors and dealers. So, please, let’s focus, if possible, on painting and/or sculpture.Thanks for the help!

Wow… that’s a tall order- you are saying you want a different art world than the one you’re in. Fear not! There are plenty of galleries who specialize in artists with little or no auction traction, and little or no secondary market. Take David Zwirner’s roster, or Brent Sikkema’s, or you can try the programs of Gavin Brown and Michelle Maccarone. Focus more on the art and less on the… Read more
Published
Categorized as Q & A