Artfixdaily Blog Network

My neighbor described it as a desperate act.  An act forced upon dealers whose need for sales outweighed any other factors.  With this, I envisioned a rather gloomy scene of empty show aisles, dealers trolling booths looking for steals for which they could offset payment and the few potential customers that might be there would be saying over and over, "I'll think about it...".   But that was not to be the case.  Instead it was a vibrant show.  With happy dealers.  And a buying public out in full force.  While it wasn't the best show of my career ...

Yup.  I've tried them.  And a whole bunch of other techniques.  What is happening with the art and antiques business?  I'm hearing one thing and seeing another.  I'm hearing horror stories of stuff selling for virtually nothing or not selling at all, while I see my inventory at my boutique in Center44 depleted each month with sales and rentals of my inventory are on the rise.  Huh?  Well, to further complicate and confuse the already muddy waters, I've chosen to jump in with both feet and set up at the Pier Show on November 19th and 20th.  Here's why it's confusing...  My neighbor at Center ...

I heard that the other day.  "Art is back".  It was said so matter of factly that I nodded my head as if to say, "Yes".  But really, where did it go?  Or maybe the question is not where but for whom.  It appears that the New York interior designer crowd are discovering or re-discovering painting.  They are touting the benefits of owning art.  How a painting can complete the room.  And this is pushing sales.   I've always thought that a painting can make the room.  It sets the tone and gives you something to work with in designing the remainder of the space.  But more than that, it gives to ...

Can you follow your passion?  Can you live a life full of only what you hold dear?  Is this possible?  Well sure.  Sort of.  Let's talk about artists.  Creators who produce work that is wholly about their passion.  Artists who break barriers and cause us to stop and think.  Artists who challenge the old guard and what has always been to create what will be.  Often times, these artists are not fully appreciated in their own time.  So, I ask you - Can you follow your passion or do you have to follow the money?   The idealistic me says that of course you can live a life following your ...

  For those of you who have set foot in New York City within the last thirty years or so - you have probably seen 'The Brute'.  Square jawed.  Strong.  Felt tip marker or paint.  He's been everywhere.  On mid century furniture, books, art, walls - you name, 'The Brute' has been there. He's the creation of famous New York City artist and icon, Robert Loughlin. Robert's story is a great one.  He's been in all the right places at all the right times.  He was buying important mid century furniture before it was important.  He was creating art and selling it to the movers and shakers of the ...

It's been a pretty interesting transition so far.  The days when I would pile frames on my shoulders and hoof it to the nearest subway station to travel to the Upper East Side art galleries are now only fond memories.  Or when I would bring home piles of frames, paintings, even a six foot tall metal easel on either the Metro North or LIRR train (and then, of course, on the subway to my tiny apartment in the West Village) are also now just funny stories.  Family life has brought me into the 21st Century and all that the internet has to offer.  Websites, social networking, blogs... you name, ...

Have you heard that?  Have you said that?  I'm not speaking about dating, but rather singles and pairs in the antiques and design business.  Lamps, chairs, vases, chandeliers, mirrors, sconces - just about anything.  For those of us in the antiques and design business we seem to be all too preoccupied by pairs.  The desire to have a mirror copy of a room, to have even numbers throughout, to have a numerical balance - it just doesn't add up.   Let's examine your living room.  A sofa with a matched pair of end tables on either side with a matched pair of lamps or vases sitting on top.  ...

You know this already.  We've all heard it.  The three most important things in real estate are location, location and location.  And when you're speaking of Manhattan real estate you had better add numerous zeros.  This 'City that Never Sleeps' offers everything you could want (and maybe some things that you don't) throughout the city.  And there's a price for that convenience.  Whether you rent or own, a Manhattan store is no small investment.  With rents in the 10's of thousands of dollars per month and prices to own in the millions, what is a start up business to do?  That all depends on ...

Ever since I moved to New York City in 2002, I have been an early morning (well before dawn) shopper at the flea markets along 6th Avenue.  By the time I had arrived on the scene, and I do mean scene, there were a few different parking lots and an indoor parking garage packed with hundreds of dealers set up selling every imaginable treasure, and some trash, you could ever hope to find.  Celebrities and rarities.  Sure, I was told of the good old days in the 80's and 90's, when there were many more lots and even better choices, but this was my time and I made the most of it.     I was the ...

Have you ever heard that?  Have you ever said that?  Well, we won't be taking names, so don't worry.  Maybe you've asked yourself, "what is abstract art?".  Here's my take on it.  It is emotional.  It is strong.  It is powerful.  Abstract art is more than splashes of color, squiggly lines and paint splatters.  It is spontaneity.  It is the raw emotion of the artist presented for all who dare to look.  It is the visual representation of a feeling, or mix of feelings.  An artist strives to represent something without external likenesses.  The thing is not represented in realistic terms, but in ...