Volume 1, Issue No. 2 - Revolt Magazine

certain that their work was original, referential
perhaps but still original, and suggest that they
in their persona develop something original.
I would focus on the commitment of a dealer
not only to sell but to place it properly with
collectors who will show and care about the
art, to obtain museum representation, and to
share with other dealers and not prevent the
art from circulating.”
In a twist on what we usually can expect
from the high-end art market and media, he
emphasizes that “It troubles me to talk about
art this way, it’s hard for me to mix actual
art and economic realities. My brain is very
divided. I am a collector and I adore art… when
I am dealing with one I try to divorce my brain
from the other.”
But Asher Edelman defies typecasting in any
role. Ubiquitously identified with Wall Street, in
his writings he weighs in positively on Occupy
Wall Street.
“I am optimistic for the economic and social
outlook for the United States! During the next
four or five years we will, once again, shift into
gear. “Occupy Wall Street” will come to be
thought of as “Save the Nation(s).” 1
“I think in the short term it has focused Obama
on his need to at least appear that he is
interested in the common man," he told us.
“He gave that impression in his 1 st run -- I was
a very serious supporter. During his tenure in
office he has evidenced much less concern
for the common man, much more interest
in having arrived in the establishment and a
seeming wish to remain there. He has ignored
many of his promises including those related
to preserving what we think of as democracy in
this country.
“Occupy Wall Street and other grassroots
groups will certainly influence how he runs
for office. They will also influence those
Republicans who have longed for the right
once again to be moderate Republicans. It is
likely that a vote may become more important
than a dollar to those running for office… I
believe we are seeing the beginnings of an
important economic and sociopolitical change
in America.”
Does this mean that Asher Edelman is no
longer a committed capitalist?
“The Occupy Wall Street crowd sees this
as a problem with capitalism. I believe that
they are correct in their target, but wrong
in their diagnosis. This is not a problem of
capitalism since Wall Street is a practitioner
of monetarism. A real capitalist system works
through real intermediation creating positive
opportunities for productive enterprises…” 2
“In a capitalist society, recoveries from
recession and depression can only be brought
about through a combination of fiscal and
monetary stimulation,” he explained. Fiscal
refers to government spending, for example on
projects such as schools or roads, to spur the
economy, monetary stimulation works through
control of interest rates. “It is not a problem
of capitalism that retards the recovery of the
system, it is the focus on monetary stimulation
and the lack of interest in fiscal stimulation
that will continue to deter a recovery. Both are
needed in times of stress.”
In other words, to build metaphorical bridges
our economy and society need in order to
recover, rather than tear down the existing
system, we should well, build bridges.
And what about the impact of the protest
movement on art… is the street the new salon?
“Maybe,” Edelman said, “It certainly was in the
60’s, in the 70’s, and to a very small extent
has been when addressing the torture [of
prisoners] issue in 2000’s. Whether the artists
are going to focus on social issues at this time,
when abstraction is such a strong movement
again, is doubtful.”
“The art world appears to be lost in the
funhouse, and the fun is losing its fizz,” reads
the press release for his recent exhibition at
Edelman Arts, “Abstraction: What is Real.”
It describe a “current shock-worn, étonnéby
numbers climate…” Anyone who has
attended a high-profile auction and watched
the numbers on the bid board next to the
mute object of the moment’s desire soar to
the stratosphere can testify to how it stuns the
senses and sensibilities of most mere mortals.
And in that climate “Abstract art takes us
totally by surprise.”
Elaborating, he explained that so many of
the works sold at these stunning prices,
“Warhol, Damien Hirst, Richter… are kind
of manufactured… Nothing is wrong with
manufactured art, but those who are really into
in art, as opposed to having what their friends
have, what some sharp dealer sold the group,
or what some museum curator was influenced
to buy, are going to have art that is above all
original in its execution and idea. This once
again includes abstraction, especially where
the artist is progressing the art of abstraction.”
When asked if abstraction was on its way
to the kind of dominance it attained in (and
brought to) America in the mid-20 th Century,
where it was embraced to the point that
many considered earlier American art to be
“provincial,” 3 Edelman stated firmly that
from his historical perspective, the public
popularity of the movement had little to do
with that attitude. “Americans at that time did
not grow up with the iconography necessary
to understand art before abstraction. It had
everything to do with the fact that they could
come to art, look at an image, and they did
not have to bring anything with them to enjoy
the image… sometimes you did not need
iconography or knowledge to look.”
The same does not apply today. “Now that we
have had 60-70 years of abstraction being
a force, it has its own iconography, its own
references, becoming complex in the way we
think of Modern (1906-45). There are quite
a few very good players, I only show some of
them, who have found ways to change the
face of abstraction, to be original again in
the world of abstraction, which is not easy.
If connoisseurs tended to be the winners in
an immediate way, then abstract art would
dominate again,” he concluded, but as far as
the public is concerned, “It is only in the long
term that we will understand the importance
of this present generation of abstract artists.”
“Abstraction: What is Real” was conceived
as “a very specific show, the idea was to put
together abstract work that has no reference
to any figurative or representational art… I just
wanted to do a ‘purified’ exhibition.” It also
features several generations of abstract artists
from the latest (Nahas, Argue, James Nares),
back through artists who emerged later such
as Frank Stella, Britt Boutros-Ghali, and Larry
Poons (all still active), and their late forebears,
Ashile Gorky, Fritz Bultman, and Michael
Goldberg.
Also featured was an artist of that first wave
who still paints today, Mary Abbott, who Asher
first learned of while putting the show together.
Mary Abbott’s strong personal and
professional relationship with de Kooning
influenced his output to an astonishing
degree. Abbott had experimented with abstract
landscapes from her Southampton home
for nearly five years by the time de Kooning
began his own landscape series… As Abbott
and de Kooning’s lives were intertwined, so
too were their works which seem to share
subject, technique, and even color palette…
When it comes to Abstract Expressionism, the
same auspicious names dominate: Pollock,
de Kooning, Rothko, Motherwell, Gorky ...
Imagine a largely overlooked protagonist in
this narrative, a crucial figure in the New York
Post-war art scene whose story is only now
surfacing. This new story is emerging and with
it the understanding of the profound influence
Mary Abbott had on the Abstract Expressionist
movement and especially on her lover, Willem
de Kooning.” 4
Back to the present, would current events
influence Edelman’s own behavior as a dealer
or collector? “The sociopolitical climate does
not have anything to do with my acquisitions
or the gallery,” he said, “Though the artist
in our next exhibition, Chris Winter, is about
sociopolitical climates, sometimes past,
sometimes present.”
In the spirit of “the 99%,” we asked Asher
how he would advise a would-be collector with
$1500 or less to spend. He replied that he
would give the same advice to a collector with
a budget of $1500 or $15 Million: “Spend 2
days a week looking at art until he is confident
that he can identify what is original, which is
not possible without looking at art. Then come
back to me and I will tell him what I think he
should buy.”
Sources:
1. “Optimistic” © Asher Edelman, 2011
http://asheredelman.com/?p=234
2. “A less than equitable arrangement” © Asher
Edelman, 2011 http://asheredelman.com/?p=241
3. “Art Wars” by Linda DiGusta (c) Cognoscenti
Magazine 2011
4. “Mary Abbott: A Wake Up Call” © Asher Edelman,
2012 http://asheredelman.com/?p=269