The Art Business

David Bellingham

The Art Business is a bi-weekly podcast dedicated to talking about both cultural and business aspects of the art world with some of its key players. It is hosted by Dr David Bellingham, Programme Director of the MA in Art Business at Sotheby‘s Institute of Art London. read less
ArtsArts

Episodes

LOUIS BUYSSE, MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERIST
May 2 2024
LOUIS BUYSSE, MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERIST
From his childhood initiation into the arts at the Academy de Beaux-Arts in Bruges, Louis Buysse has fostered a deep connection with art, design, architecture, and craftsmanship. This early start paved the way for a life steeped in creativity and a broad understanding of artistic techniques and mediums. His educational journey, marked by a fusion of artistic and business acumen, began with an architecture-focused secondary education, followed by a degree from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK). Here, under the mentorship of notable Belgian artists like Vincent Geyskens and Narcisse Tordoir, Louis delved into fine arts and contemporary art. Continuing to bridge his artistic passions with business savvy, Louis pursued international business studies, with a focus on digital marketing and corporate finance, at Tughai University in Taiwan. This multidisciplinary approach culminated in a Master’s in Art Business at the prestigious Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. His dissertation on cross-collecting reflects a unique approach to art - collecting based on art history, personal identity, and intuition, resonating with Clement Greenberg's philosophy. Louis's professional path led him to Lempertz, a family-owned auction house with deep roots in the art world, where he specialized in Modern and Contemporary Art. In 2022, he embarked on a new journey, focusing on project-based work like Triangle Knokke and offering his expertise as an art consultant to galleries and online auction houses. His recent role as a sales director at Nosbaum Reding gallery in Brussels further illustrates his ability to connect artists with the market, as seen in his introduction of Vincent Geyskens to the Flemish art scene. Despite leaving before the 'Par Contre' exhibition launch, Louis continues to push the boundaries of art and business. The 2024 relaunch of louisbuysse.com marks a new chapter in Louis's career, one focused on increasing market visibility and pioneering new projects. His dedication to blending artistic creativity with business insight shines through his work, as he continues to inspire and transform the art world.   Links: https://www.louisbuysse.com/  https://www.buysse.gallery/    music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)
VIRGINIA DAMTSA, GALLERIST & CURATOR
Apr 12 2024
VIRGINIA DAMTSA, GALLERIST & CURATOR
Virginia Damtsa- CULTIVATING ARTISTIC FUTURES & CATALYST FOR CONTEMPORARY VISIONARIES   With a wealth of experience spanning twenty-seven years, Virginia Damtsa, Director of VVA VirginiaVisualArts Ltd., stands as a seasoned and respected Art Dealer, Art Gallerist, Curator, Cultural Strategist and Artist Agent, bringing a unique and invaluable perspective to the art world. Damtsa's passion for the arts began at a young age when she helped her uncle open the Museum of Alekos K. Damtsa in The Art Centre Giorgio de Chirico at just sixteen years old. She went on to pursue History of Arts in Cambridge followed by two Master's degrees in Art Management at the University of the Arts and Contemporary Art at Sotheby's, where she honed her expertise in the field.    Throughout her career, Damtsa has curated several exhibitions in her personal gallery space, as well as in other galleries, temporary spaces and art fairs. From 2003-2017, she co-owned with composer and writer Tot Taylor, Riflemaker London, a contemporary art gallery housed in a historic gunmaker's workshop off Regent Street. Built in 1712, it is one of the oldest public buildings in the West End of London.    In addition to her work as a gallerist and curator, Damtsa has also lectured at Christie's for the Master's degree in Art, Law, and Business. Damtsa, who co- founded iconic gallery Riflemaker, counts Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran and Michael Seresin, cinematographer of Harry Potter, amongst her collectors. Annie Lennox has also been a long- standing enthusiast of the gallery’s representation of visionary powerful artists. Virginia Damtsa has also worked with musician Peter Gabriel on an art and music project for his new album, i/o. The project features renowned artists such as Annette Messager, Olafur Eliasson, Ai Weiwei, Tim Shaw, Nick Cave, David Spriggs, Cornelia Parker, and many others. Damtsa is currently planning to tour the project in various museums.   With her extensive experience and impressive network of industry connections, Virginia Damtsa continues to push boundaries and expand the reach of contemporary art.            Curated Exhibitions Damtsa curated several exhibitions with emerging and established artists such as Martin Kippenberger and Maria Papadimitriou, Judy Chicago, Takis, Yoko Ono, William S. Burroughs, Liliane Lijn, Penelope Slinger, Gavin Turk, Alice Anderson, Chris Levine, Christopher Bucklow, John Maeda, Julie Verhoeven, Ralph Ziman, Conrad Shawcross, Wolfe von Lenkiewicz and many others.    She also worked with legendary musician Peter Gabriel and his team for an amazing collaboration of art and music bringing artists such as Ai Weiwei, Cornelia Parker, Judy Chicago, Nick Cave, Olafur Eliasson, Tomas Saraceno, Barthelemy Toguo, Annette Messager, Tim Spriggs, for an impressive immersive exhibition live and online. The album is now number one in the UK.    Virginia Damtsa is a highly respected art dealer, curator, and gallerist with a deep understanding of the art market. In 2018, she founded VirginiaVisualArts, an art agency and gallery that represents more than fifty artists and manages their careers, introducing them to new opportunities, exhibitions, museums and collectors.  As a strategist, mentor, advisor, consultant, and PR expert, Damtsa provides artists with the support they need to break into the art market and achieve their full potential. She is deeply committed to working closely with each artist, guiding them through the art world's complexities and assisting with sales and promotions.  In addition to her work with VirginiaVisualArts, Damtsa runs her own art school, where she teaches professionals about art history and the art market. She also provides mentorship and guidance to artists and creatives and writes about art in major financial newspapers. Her expertise has also led to numerous appearances on TV as an Art World Expert, where she shares her insights on the contemporary art world.    Damtsa curates over twenty exhibitions per year and uses several exhibition spaces in Fitzrovia, Marylebone, Mayfair, Notting Hill and other galleries to showcase her artists' works. She actively participates in art fairs and collaborates with other galleries to curate exhibitions and create connections and sales between artists, galleries, major collectors, and museums. With her extensive experience, vast network of connections, and in-depth knowledge of the arts and the art world, Virginia Damtsa continues to make a significant contribution to the contemporary art scene, empowering artists to achieve their full potential and bringing their works to new audiences.    Reference All artists need help and support to build their careers and Virginia Damtsa is well equipped to provide that. Judy Chicago, Artist    I worked with Virginia on the IO art & music project where she coordinated and helped to select artists for each of the different songs. It has been a pleasure to work with her. She made some great recommendations, was very thorough putting everything together and her deep knowledge of the art world was a real asset for our project.  Peter Gabriel, Musician   Links: www.virginiavisualarts.com www.virginiadamtsa.com  www.riflemaker.org Instagram:virginia_damtsa virginia@virginiadamtsa.com  https://youtu.be/cjRcBK_ztrI​    music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)
LAURA PEH, PUBLISHER & ART COLLECTOR: SINGAPORE ART WEEK
Jan 25 2024
LAURA PEH, PUBLISHER & ART COLLECTOR: SINGAPORE ART WEEK
Laura Peh is the founder and creative director of Cinnamon Art Publishing - an independent publishing house specialising in illustrated non-fiction books for children. She is also an accomplished concert harpist and keen contemporary art collector, focusing on socially-engaged practices from artists of Southeast Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern heritage. As a publisher and collector, she has spoken on panels and given talks with AWITA, Art&Summit (Singapore), National University of Singapore, Courtauld Institute of Art (London) and Sotheby's Institute of Art (London). She is a laureate of Prestige Singapore's 40 Under 40 2023, and has been featured in media articles including Channel News Asia, The Straits Times, Singapore Global Network, Lianhe Zaobao, Prestige Singapore and Tatler Asia. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Singapore, Laura moved to Paris at the age of 15 to study at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and graduated with a Bachelor's degree from the Royal College of Music in London. After shifting her focus to art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art and obtaining a Masters in Art Business at Sotheby's Institute of Art, London, Laura spent two years working in the art industry in Hong Kong before moving back to Singapore in April 2020 to realise her passion project, Cinnamon Art Publishing.   Favourite Artist: Citra Sasmita Links: www.laurapeh.com and www.cinnamonartstories.com   music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020) PRS/MCPS/PP
MARINE TANGUY, CEO MTArt AGENCY & AUTHOR OF 'VISUAL DETOX' (2024)
Jan 19 2024
MARINE TANGUY, CEO MTArt AGENCY & AUTHOR OF 'VISUAL DETOX' (2024)
Marine Tanguy launched Certified B Corporation, MTArt Agency in 2015, following a career in visual arts in London and LA. MTArt agency is worth £35 million and is the art sector’s leading talent agency representing some of the most talented, forward-thinking artists in the world. The agency looks to support, promote and enable artists to work with the broadest canvas possible, from working with brands to public art and fine art institutions. The agency works with global organisations and cities, nurturing an international community of art-lovers and collectors as well as diverse brands ranging from Apple to Dior and even the World Cup. Marine is an influencer and passionate advocate for the role of the artist in guiding the public through a world flooded with visual noise and the agency seeks to ensure artists are rightly recognised as the spokespeople for a visual age.  As a business person, Marine was awarded Forbes 2018 30 under 30 Europe: Art & Culture, UK entrepreneur of the year for the 2019 NatWest Awards and Woman of the Year 2021 by the magazine WOTC. She is a writer and keynote speaker on contemporary art and art investment. Her talks include two TEDx Talks on how to transform cities with art and how social media visuals affect our minds and she has recently published her first book “The Visual Detox – How to Consume Media Without Letting it Consume You” with Penguin.   Links: https://mtart.agency/  https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/298745/marine-tanguy https://www.ted.com/talks/marine_tanguy_how_artists_can_transform_our_cities_jan_2017 https://www.ted.com/talks/marine_tanguy_how_social_media_visuals_affect_our_mind    music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020) PRS/MCPS/PP
CLAIRE MANDER, DIRECTOR & CURATOR OF theCoLAB FOR WOMEN SCULPTORS
May 4 2023
CLAIRE MANDER, DIRECTOR & CURATOR OF theCoLAB FOR WOMEN SCULPTORS
Claire Mander is the Director and Curator of theCoLAB, a London based curatorial practice which has operated beyond the white cube since 2011.   She conceives and creates opportunities for women sculptors to use unusual sites as experimental laboratories to realise their most ambitious, far-flung and life-affirming work. She recently transformed a neglected half-acre roof terrace on the roof of Temple tube station into the Artist’s Garden a platform for women artists to make large-scale site responsive interventions. She has curated over 40 mainly site-specific interventions including Sculpture Shock residency/commissioning programme for interventions into subterranean, ambulatory and historic sites in London, Headlands to Headspace landscape art commissions across Morecambe Bay and Sculpture showcasing the work of seventeen Nordic sculptors across three sites in London.     theCoLAB runs Body and Place drawing residencies in the landscape and is working on the Morecambe Bay Triennial, a residency based series of site responsive commissions across 100 miles of coast in the north west of England. Claire Mander sits on Westminster’s City of Sculpture panel and is a Board Member of the National Festival of Making and of the artist-led 303 Projects in Lowestoft, Suffolk. She was formerly Deputy Director of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and a Trustee and Chair of the Steering Committee of UK Friends of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington DC). She is a member of AICA and has published two books and numerous catalogues and has given/chaired many talks about women artists and site-specific commissions including at RCA, The National Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery and about Skulpturlandscap Nordland. She holds an MA (Distinction) from the Courtauld Institute of Art and was a City solicitor. @thecolab.art [instagram] https://www.thecolab.art/temple            music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020) PRS/MCPS/PPL
JACK DAVIS, ARTIST
Apr 5 2023
JACK DAVIS, ARTIST
I got to know Jack Davis and his art whilst visiting the renowned seaside artists' colony of St Ives, Cornwall, with my students.  My students were involved in  curating small group exhibitions with Livingstone St Ives Gallery and Jack's tremendous seascapes were selected by several of the groups. Jack graduated from Falmouth University in 2012 and has been painting professionally ever since. He lives and works near St. Just, painting the rugged West Penwith landscape between Sennen Cove and St. Ives. Jack recently became a member of the St. Ives Society of Artists, has been a tutor at the renowned Newlyn School of Art since 2016, and the Aesthetica Art Prize named him as one of the Future Now 100 contemporary artists 'The West Penwith peninsula is at the end of the line, remote, rugged, and embodied with an ancient primal majesty. Living in such an impressionable environment evokes plenty of inspiration on a daily basis: I am drawn to the raw power of the natural environment and the sublime effect of light. I harness the impulsive energy of my subject matter and create order out of chaos like the landscape I inhabit.' (Jack Davis)   Jack has a solo show, 'Cornish Light' at Livingstone St Ives from 7-21 April, 2023   Links: https://www.jackdavisfineart.com/ https://livingstonestives.co.uk/artist/jack-davis/     music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020) PRS/MCPS/PPL
ART MARKET RESEARCH (AMR) WITH GUESTS SEBASTIAN DUTHY & VERONIKA LUKASOVA
Mar 24 2023
ART MARKET RESEARCH (AMR) WITH GUESTS SEBASTIAN DUTHY & VERONIKA LUKASOVA
SEBASTIAN DUTHY CEO Art Market Research      Sebastian brings a wide-ranging expertise into his role as AMR CEO. He has transformed the pioneering art market price trend provider, established by his father Robin Duthy in 1978, into a sharped eye art market observer by formulating new analytical tools viewing the art market in a larger context of culture and economy. Complemented by a successful career in producing and editing broadcast documentaries such as the BBC's 'Civilisation' and in-depth knowledge of art history, Sebastian combines rigorous statistical detail with a captivating narrative to examine the evolving art and luxury auction markets. Sebastian regularly comments on the art market in leading art and financial publications.     Dr. VERONIKA LUKASOVA Senior Analyst & Researcher Art Market Research      Veronika employs multiple layers of inquiry to bring an understanding to historical and contemporary shifts in the art market and visual culture.  As an editorial photographer in the US for over 10 years, Veronika produced stories for publications such as the New York Times and Washington Post, before her interest in art led to further academic study. As a freelance writer and visiting lecturer in art market and photography, Veronika provides critical examination of emerging technologies in the contemporary arts.     ART MARKET RESEARCH (AMR)   Art Market Research has been an independent provider of global intelligence for Fine art, Antiques and Collectible markets since 1976.  Established in London with a goal to bring transparency to price trends in the burgeoning art market, AMR pioneered the concept of the fair market value as a benchmark for valuing Art, Antiques and Collectibles. As the longest running authority on the global art market in the world, AMR has forged working relationships with tax authorities (HMRC), financial publications (FT), insurers (Hiscox) and others.   AMR’s statistical analysis and insights are frequently featured in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Times, The Art Newspaper and others. AMR’s subscription-based online platform provides access to a range of innovative tools and services and AMR’s latest research.  AMR does not derive profits from selling or dealing with Art, Antiques or Collectibles.    Links: www.artmartkeresearch.com https://veronikalukasova.photoshelter.com/ https://cargocollective.com/kamurai/N-U-C-L-E-A-R   music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020) PRS/MCPS/PPL
MIKAELA MILICURI, ART ADVISOR
Feb 23 2023
MIKAELA MILICURI, ART ADVISOR
Mikaela Milicuri is a Cypriot-born London-based art advisor who specialises in art sales, collection management and investment portfolio development. Having lived in five countries and eight cities, 'she navigates the international art market with confidence and combines her extensive art knowledge and business skills with meaningful industry connections to help her clients build collections which suit their needs and contribute to their wealth.'   Specialising in Contemporary Art and with an emphasis on Painting, Sculpture, Mixed Media, and New Media Art, she has placed several works of art by emerging and established artists in private and corporate collections. She has also pursued collection management projects in various other sectors, from Impressionism to Surrealism to NFTs. An art collector herself, Mikaela’s advisory services are informed by constant research and a 7-year-long experience in the art world. Prior to founding MAA, Mikaela gained museum experience at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, art fair experience at the 55th edition of the Venice Biennale, and a 5-year experience as a commercial art gallery director and client liaison.   Mikaela is expected to complete her PhD in the summer of 2023. She is also an Associate Fellow of the HE Academy and holds lectureship positions at UAL LCC and Royal Holloway UoL. She is also a guest lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in their MA in Art Business. Her educational and tutoring capacities allow her to implement a systematic and structured experience for her clients that fosters their collecting aptitude and solidifies their growth as collectors. With an ongoing mission to empower art collectors, she is currently writing her first book: a collectors' guide through the various stages of acquiring, owning, and parting ways with art.   Links: https://www.milicuri.com/ https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/en/persons/mikaella-milikouri      music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020) PRS/MCPS/PPL