|Reſlections|
|Reſlections| London-based painter Flora Yukhnovich’s I’ll Have What She’s Having (2020) Please Handle With Care Money alone doesn’t always talk, especially when it comes to buying blue-chip artwork in a red-hot market. Claire Wrathall lifts the curtain on behind-the-scenes considerations of gallerists and artists when choosing the right buyers for their works PHOTO © FLORA YUKHNOVICH, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND VICTORIA MIRO 34 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
If we don’t know someone, we’re not going to sell to them without really understanding their motivation – Louise Hayward PHOTO © LISSON GALLERY Not so long ago I attended a dinner given by an art gallery to celebrate one of its stellar artists. Opposite the great man sat a well-respected collector, hoping to buy one of his paintings. The wine flowed, as did the conversation, and all seemed set fair until the collector’s wife decided to order off menu. The artist had selected the food (grilled fish and vegetables, all intolerances accounted for) and didn’t take kindly to having his choices challenged. Suddenly the atmosphere chilled. Perhaps these weren’t the sort of people to appreciate his austere abstraction after all. The substantial sixfigure sale was never concluded. “The artist’s wishes are very important,” says Stefan Ratibor, senior director of the super-gallery Gagosian (not the gallery in question). “Some are more bothered than others, but their pleasure and good will are critical to our success.” As he sees it, buying and selling art is “a three-way collaboration between the artist, gallerist and collector, a relationship of trust and confidence. Great innovation can come from that,” he adds. And lifelong friendships may be forged. But don’t think buying blue-chip art on the primary market is simply a matter of being able to afford it. So how does one become a collector? “You talk to people,” says Ratibor. “Every gallerist is open to dialogue. You say: ‘Can we have lunch so that I can tell you what I want to do? This is what I love; these are my plans; and this is how you might be able to help me.’” Then, if he feels the aspiring collector is offering what “seems like a good home and is passionate about the work and wants to hold on to it, live with it, enjoy it and sees it as something other than an investment, I’ll call the artist and say so-and-so wants to buy a painting, and this is why I think it’s a good idea. It’s as simple as that. But we do consult the artists.” Louise Hayward of Lisson Gallery Louise Hayward, senior director of Lisson Gallery, takes a similar approach. “If we don’t know someone, we’re not going to sell to them without really understanding their motivation,” she says. But “there are criteria that can help” make a good impression. Artists want their work to be seen, so a willingness to lend to exhibitions is always a plus. As are museum connections. “If a collector is a patron or a trustee, that’s a great indicator that their interest is sincere and they’ll be committed to supporting the artist over a long period and building a legacy around them.” It doesn’t have to be a major institution: a connection with a small but influential nonprofit – she cites London’s Chisenhale Gallery and South London Gallery – can be just as convincing of someone’s “genuine belief in supporting the cultural ecosystem”. But don’t assume that offering to buy a painting for a museum is a route to getting one for oneself. “I think people can overthink the institutional connections,” CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 35
