Stefan Simchowitz

Last updated

Stefan Simchowitz
Stefan Simchowitz (cropped).jpg
Simchowitz in 2015
Born (1970-10-08) October 8, 1970 (age 53)
Johannesburg
Occupation(s) art collector, art curator, advisor
Years active1995–present
Political party Republican
PartnerRosi Riedl
Website Simchowitz

Stefan Simchowitz (born October 8, 1970) is a Los Angeles-based art collector, art curator, and art advisor. [1] He is a vocal proponent of social media as a legitimate way of discovering, distributing, and popularizing the fine arts, primarily using Facebook and Instagram as platforms for self-promotion, discovering new artists, and endorsing those he already manages.

Contents

Early life and education

Simchowitz spent his early years in South Africa, but otherwise lived a mobile childhood. He graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in economics, finishing the program in three years. [2] Shortly after, he attended the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Simchowitz would go on to produce and assistant produce fifteen films. [3]

Career

Simchowitz believes that conversations on social media hold a degree of influence over the artworld comparable to other canonical forums for artistic discussion and legitimization, including art reviews written by critics for key publications. [4] Supporters see his method as concerned with diversifying the number of systems which recognize and produce credible artists. A number of them, including, but not limited to Sterling Ruby, Oscar Murillo, Paa Joe, Lucien Smith, Petra Cortright, Zachary Armstrong, Kour Pour, Jon Rafman, and Marc Horowitz have all been advised by Stefan Simchowitz. In November 2015, he was ranked No. 95 in Art Review Magazine's POWER 100, a list of 2015's "most influential people in the contemporary artworld." [5]

Stefan Simchowitz engages in a hybrid practice that includes art dealing, art advising and art collecting. He believes that "the alchemy of art is that it’s not just the artist who produces the work but the spectator and the audience that essentially refines the art in its raw state into a refined product." [6] As such, once he discovers a young, talented, generally unknown artist with whom to work, he sets about generating a market for them and their work, building demand, which eventually drives up prices. This part of his practice functions not unlike that of an art gallery. In the meantime, Simchowitz provides a patron-like role for the artist, providing them with the finances needed to live, maintain a full-time studio and produce work. He believes that the artist must be committed to their creative work on a full-time basis and that financial hardship, as well as the need to make ends meet, can be detrimental to the challenge of making good art. However, in exchange for footing the bill, Simchowitz buys any new work at a discount.[ citation needed ]

Simchowitz gained attention when a 2014 Bloomberg article about speculation in the contemporary art market reported on his purchase on-the-cheap of 34 paintings by the Colombian artist Oscar Murillo [7] near the beginning of his career in the early 2000s, paying as low as US$1,500 for some canvases. [8] Since then, between 2012 and 2014, the value of a Murillo work surged by nearly 3,000 percent. [8] In the current auction climate, a typical piece by the artist can command as much as US$400,000 at auction. [6] However, Simchowitz rarely sells the work which he collects, and currently sits on a collection of over 1,500 contemporary works that he values personally at around US$30 million, with "five percent of the works accounting for fifty percent of the value." [1]

In addition to dealing and collecting, Simchowitz also works as an art advisor. He serves a roster of clients whom he advises about the acquisition of contemporary art, offering advice, not only on works produced by artists under his representation, but also on art outside his immediate reach (pieces typically for sale at galleries and auction houses).[ citation needed ]

Simchowitz is a noted photographer, describing his work as "The Simcoportrait". The Simcoportrait is a self created genre of photography in which he has collapsed documentation of anything and everything into a single thing - this includes still life, landscape, street, self portraiture, and documentation photography. The Simcoportrait is merely a portrait of the subject in whatever genre of photography it may fall.  What is unusual about his practice is that it accompanies him everywhere as a live documentation under the seemingly nondescript amateur everyday photographer. There is a formal discipline to his image taking and image making that is reflected in the obsessive compulsion to capture and create. Simchowitz's "Simcoportraits" have been published in Flaunt and Vogue. [9] [10]

On March 6, 2021, Simchowitz opened his first art gallery under his namesake, Simchowitz.com. [11]

Other ventures

Producer

After college, Simchowitz started a film production company responsible for a number of feature films and shorts, such as Darren Aronofsky's drama, Requiem for a Dream . [2]

Filmography

MediaVast

In 1999, Simchowitz co-founded the visual content provider MediaVast. Later in 2007, Getty Images acquired the company for a reported US$207 million. At the time of the sale, the repository held approximately 8.5 million images. [12] [13]

2024 United States Senate Campaign

In October 2023, Simchowitz declared his candidacy for the 2024 United States Senate election in California as a centrist Republican. [14] He primarily campaigned on homelessness and his belief that printing more currency would allow everyone to live comfortably. [15] He admitted that he had low chances of winning, this was proved true as he finished 25th out of 31 candidates in the blanket primary with 0.1% of the vote. [11] [16]

Controversy

Simchowitz is a popular target for critics who claim that his particular penchant for promoting young, undiscovered artists through bulk acquisitions of their work to later flip for profit, destabilizes established workings of the art world [17] — age-old, value-determining systems composed of a long-standing and tight network of critics, publications, universities, museums and galleries that collectively define the nature of 'good' art. He subverts the establishment by selling his curated acquisitions directly to a diverse network of wealthy clients who trust his taste implicitly.

In the media, he has received both ample praise and heavy criticism. He has been called the Michael Milken of the art world, [1] and "a Sith Lord from the Brotherhood of Darkness," [18] by Jerry Saltz. Art Review's entry on Simchowitz states that "if the artworld needed its Howard Stern, its Ari Gold, its Donald Trump, it got 'Simcho': a brash, publicity-hungry yet highly intelligent collector-adviser-dealer...". [5] Andrew M. Goldstein of Artspace argued that "his approach to collecting and nurturing artists systematically abrogates—annihilates—a whole series of beliefs that lie at the foundation of the art world's critical, institutional, and commercial structures." [19] Simchowitz's trademark transparent and honest attitude leads some to believe that he is simply lifting the veil off of previously hidden activities already prevalent in the artworld. Marc Spiegler, director of Art Basel, attributes Simchowitz's success to the fact that he does exactly what the galleries do, except at a significantly faster clip, and that "he has taken a market that was built on opacity and been much more transparent. He goes to an artist's studio; he puts the stuff on Instagram." [20] Spiegler characterizes Simchowitz's practice as similar in function to galleries of past, in that he holds exclusive access to his collector base. As such, the approach has been characterized as paradigm-shifting in the context of the contemporary art artworld, while snuggly fitting into an extended historical lineage of the artworld's many businessmen.

In 2013, along with Dublin gallerist Ellis King, Simchowitz sued Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama. Mahama had been paid by the dealers, but refused to authenticate derivative works they produced from Mahama's installations of Ghanaian coal sacks. In 2016, Simchowitz settled with Mahama. [21] [22]

In 2017 the Dutch art collective Keeping It Real Art Critics published a documentary about Simchowitz under the disguise of being a German television crew. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler</span> German-born art collector and art dealer

Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler was a German-born art collector, and one of the most notable French art dealers of the 20th century. He became prominent as an art gallery owner in Paris beginning in 1907 and was among the first champions of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and the Cubist movement in art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art world</span> Those involved in the business and lifestyle of fine art

The art world comprises everyone involved in producing, commissioning, presenting, preserving, promoting, chronicling, criticizing, buying and selling fine art. It is recognized that there are many art worlds, defined either by location or alternative definitions of fine art. Some may use the singular art world to refer only to the elite level of globalized fine art. The art world(s) are continually changing in response both to the creativity of those that create art and in response to social change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Saltz</span> American art critic & historian, b. 1951

Jerry Saltz is an American art critic. Since 2006, he has been senior art critic and columnist for New York magazine. Formerly the senior art critic for The Village Voice, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2018 and was nominated for the award in 2001 and 2006. Saltz served as a visiting critic at School of Visual Arts, Columbia University, Yale University, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the New York Studio Residency Program, and was the sole advisor for the 1995 Whitney Biennial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gagosian Gallery</span> Contemporary and modern art gallery with multiple locations

The Gagosian Gallery is a modern and contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. The gallery exhibits some of the most well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. As of 2024, Gagosian employs 300 people at 19 exhibition spaces – including New York City, London, Paris, Basel, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Rome, Athens, Geneva, and Hong Kong – designed by architects such as Caruso St John, Richard Gluckman, Richard Meier, Jean Nouvel, and Annabelle Selldorf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frick Art Research Library</span> Research library for Western art history

The Frick Art Research Library is the research arm of the Frick Collection. It is typically located at 10 East 71st Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. As of 2021, the library's reference services have temporarily relocated to 945 Madison Avenue.

Barbara Gladstone was an American art dealer and film producer. She was owner of Gladstone Gallery, a contemporary art gallery with locations in New York and Brussels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Ammann</span>

Thomas E. Ammann was a leading Swiss art dealer in Impressionist and twentieth century art, and a collector of post-war and contemporary art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artspace Visual Arts Centre</span> Contemporary art center in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, Australia

Artspace, officially Artspace Visual Arts Centre, is an independent, not-for-profit and non-collecting residency-based contemporary art centre. Artspace is housed in the historic Gunnery Building in Woolloomooloo, fronting Sydney Harbour in Sydney, Australia. Devoted to the development of certain new ideas and practices in contemporary art and culture, since the early 1980s Artspace has been building a critical context for Australian and international artists, curators and writers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Basel</span> Swiss annual art fair

Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel (Switzerland), Miami Beach (USA), Hong Kong (China) and Paris (France). Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, and works in collaboration with host cities' local institutions to help grow and develop art programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Powhida</span> American visual artist and art critic

William Powhida is an American visual artist and former art critic. Powhida's work is critical and addresses the contemporary art world.

Mary Boone is an American art dealer and collector. As the owner and director of the Mary Boone Gallery, she played an important role in the New York art market of the 1980s. Her first two artists, Julian Schnabel and David Salle, became internationally known, and in 1982 she had a cover story on New York magazine tagged "The New Queen of the Art Scene". Boone is credited with championing and fostering dozens of contemporary artists including Eric Fischl, Ai Wei Wei, Barbara Kruger, Laurie Simmons, Peter Halley, Ross Bleckner, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Originally based in SoHo, Boone operated two galleries, one on Fifth Avenue, the other in Chelsea. Following her 2019 conviction and sentencing to 30 months in prison for tax evasion, she indicated the intention to close both galleries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Bryan (art historian)</span> English art historian (1757–1821)

Michael Bryan was an English art historian, art dealer and connoisseur. He was involved in the purchase and resale of the great French Orleans Collection of art, selling it on to a British syndicate, and owned a fashionable art gallery in Savile Row, London. His book, Biographical and Critical Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, first published in 1813–1816, was a standard reference work throughout the 19th century, and was last republished in 1920; however it is now badly outdated.

Justin "Boosted J" Smith is an American high-stakes poker player living in Los Angeles, CA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Buckley</span> Australian artist

Brad Buckley is an Australian artist, activist, urbanist and is a Professorial Fellow at Victorian College of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, the University of Melbourne. He is also a foundation research fellow at the Centre of Visual Art (CoVA) at the University of Melbourne. Buckley was previously, Professor of Contemporary Art and Culture at Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney. He has exhibited widely, with exhibitions across Australia, and globally in the United States, Germany, Canada, Poland, Japan, New Zealand, Israel and Norway. He has also written widely on contemporary art, art schools, curating and the neo-liberal influence on society. Buckley's writings have been published by Pluto Press Australia, NSCAD Press and Wiley-Blackwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar Murillo (artist)</span> Colombian artist

Oscar Murillo is a Colombian artist working within the painting tradition. He currently lives and works in various locations.

Parker Ito is a contemporary artist. He is fourth generation Japanese American, or Yonsei, living and working in Los Angeles.

Robert E. Mnuchin is an American art dealer and former banker. After a 33-year career with Goldman Sachs, he retired to fund the Mnuchin Gallery in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibrahim Mahama (artist)</span> Ghanaian artist and author

Ibrahim Mahama is a Ghanaian artist of monumental installations. He lives and works in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale, Ghana. He is the founder of Red Clay Studio, Savannah Centre for Contemporary Arts and Nkrumah Volini.

Michael Xufu Huang is a Chinese art collector and socialite. Huang co-founded the M Woods Museum of Beijing's 798 Art Zone in 2015 and the X Museum in the Chaoyang district of Beijing in 2020. His art collecting activities have led The New York Times to profile him in 2017 as "something of a next-generation Jeffrey Deitch of China."

References

  1. 1 2 3 Glazek, Christopher (30 December 2014). "The Art World's Patron Satan". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Stefan Simchowitz: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Businessweek.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Crow, Kelly. "The Art World Loves to Hate Him. He's Building an Empire Anyway". WSJ. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Wagley, Catherine (26 June 2014). "Is Greed Good for Art?". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Stefan Simchowitz / Power 100 / Art Review". artreview.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 "How I Collect: Cultural Entrepreneur Stefan Simchowitz on the Merits of Flipping, and Being a "Great Collector" | Artspace". Artspace. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "Stefan Simchowitz Isn't as Controversial as He'd Like You to Believe". Hyperallergic. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  8. 1 2 Kazakina, Katya (7 February 2014). "Art Flippers Chase Fresh Stars as Murillo's Doodles Soar". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Boys Will Be Boys • Stefan Simchowitz". Vogue.it. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Jasmine Little's Retrograde at Night Gallery". www.flaunt.com. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Divisive Los Angeles dealer Stefan Simchowitz runs for US Senate". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  12. ↑ "Company Overview of MediaVast, Inc". Bloomberg Businessweek. New York. Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  13. ↑ Daurat, Cecile (22 February 2007). "Getty Agrees to Buy MediaVast to Add Celebrity Images". Bloomberg. New York. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  14. ↑ Armstrong, Annie (26 October 2023). "Marfa Invitational's Status as a Charitable Foundation Is Revoked, an Art Collector Runs for U.S. Senate, and More Juicy Art World Gossip". Artnet News. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "LA DEALER STEFAN SIMCHOWITZ AIMING FOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN'S SENATE SEAT". Artforum . 3 January 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  16. ↑ "2024 California Primary Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  17. ↑ Saltz, Jerry (31 March 2014). "Saltz on Stefan Simchowitz, the Greatest Art-Flipper of Them All". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  18. ↑ Drury, Dan (7 May 2014). "Stefan Simchowitz vs. the Art World". New York Observer. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "The Big Idea: The Sacred Cows of the Art World (Or, Why Everyone's So Nervous About Stefan Simchowitz) | Artspace". Artspace. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  20. ↑ Marc Spiegler: '10 Questions every gallerist should be asking themself now'. Talking Galleries 2015, 12 November 2015, retrieved 3 December 2015
  21. ↑ "Stefan Simchowitz Settles Lawsuit with Artist". Artnet News. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  22. ↑ "Stefan Simchowitz settles bitter legal case with Ibrahim Mahama". www.theartnewspaper.com. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  23. ↑ "Keeping It Real Art Critics".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.