Art Sense

A conversation with artist Ilana Savdie. Ilana makes brightly-colored, large-scale paintings and drawings that are obviously abstract while concealing figurative forms that explore topics of identity, power-dynamics and the imperfection of the human body as a vessel. In the discussion, Ilana shares insights on her creative process, the influence of her childhood in Baranquilla, Colombia, her unique use of materials and her current show at White Cube in London.

https://www.instagram.com/ilana_savdie/

https://whitecube.com/exhibitions/exhibition/Ilana_Savdie_White_Cube_Bermondsey

A conversation with art world icon Simon de Pury. Simon is an art dealer, curator, artist, photographer and even a DJ, but he is most notably an auctioneer. After rising to the top of the Sotheby’s organization, he left to strike out on his own. That led to an eventual merger of his auction house with Phillips to form Phillips de Pury. These days, Simon runs the eponymous de PURY organization which provides access to artists and their work through conventional sales, auctions and charity events. I speak with Simon about how the auction world has evolved, the market dynamics for middle-market galleries and his upcoming launch of an auction model for primary market sales.

https://www.instagram.com/simondepury/?hl=en

https://www.de-pury.com/

A conversation with Ann Temkin, the Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Our conversation focuses on MoMA’s current exhibit “Matisse: The Red Studio” which revolves around the iconic painting of the same name that has been an integral part of MoMA’s collection since 1949. Ann spent more than four years researching, writing about and compiling the exhibit which features the Matisse artworks seen on the walls and tabletops of the studio in the painting. We discuss the work’s historical context, its significance, the secrets it holds and the hunt for all of the works in the scene.

A conversation with Ali Gass who is the Krieger Family Director of the new Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco. In our conversation, Ali discusses how the ICASF got off the ground, the programming vision for the institution, the benefits of being a non-collecting museum and the hurdles that lie ahead.

As a midweek bonus for listeners, we have a recording of Craig's panel discussion from NFT.NYC 2022 titled "The Bridge Between Traditional Art and NFT Art". The discussion was moderated by art advisor Nina Kong-Surtees and in addition to Craig, the panelists included artist Mary Lai and Known Origin Co-Founder David Moore. As a heads up, there is a three minute period about fifteen minutes in where the audio gets a little distorted, but hang in there because it goes back to normal.

A conversation with documentary film producer Debi Wisch about her latest project “The Art of Making It”. Debi (who also produced 2018’s “The Price of Everything”) discusses analyzing the art world again from the perspective of the emerging artist. She is a long-time advocate for the arts who serves on the advisory boards of the Cantor Art Museum at Stanford University and Hunter College’s Arts Advisory, while also serving on the board of the Film at Lincoln Center film society.

Another hour in conversation with artist Sarah Morris. Sarah was first on the program for Episode 51. In that conversation, we spent the hour trying to get inside the head of the noted painter and filmmaker. In contrast, this episode's conversation is more story time. Sarah shares a number of stories from the span of her career, including her entry into the New York art scene in the late 80s, her time in London during the reign of the YBAs, trying to shoot a sleep-deprived Kate Moss for Vogue and combating a museum’s power play.

The third in a series featuring conversations that took place recently at and around the world’s largest NFT conference - NFT.NYC.

This episode features a discussion with art market economist, serial entrepreneur and bestselling author Magnus Resch. At the age of 20, Magnus co-ran an art gallery in Switzerland to finance his university career. He later created a number of ventures that leveraged technologies to solve inefficiencies in the art world. Magnus holds a Ph.D. in economics and lectures on art economics at Yale. He is the author of six books on the art market, including “How to Become a Successful Artist” and his most recent book “How to Create and Sell NFTs” which we discuss in depth on today’s episode.

https://www.magnusclass.com/

A discussion with the unique and unparalleled Kenny Schachter. Kenny has been curating contemporary art exhibits in museums and galleries and teaching art history and economics at some of the top art schools for nearly 30 years. He is an obsessive collector with a home busting at the seams with renowned works and more in storage on multiple continents. Schachter has a “no nonsense” writing style that makes him a popular contributor at Artnet News. And above all else Kenny is an artist. He has been making work for years, but has found his greatest success in dragging the art world with him into the NFT space. He is so passionate about it that he has trademarked the term “NFTism” and has tattooed it on his arm.

https://www.kennyschachter.art/

The first in a series of discussions that took place recently at and around the world’s largest NFT conference - NFT.NYC.

A conversation with artist, author and collector Anne Spalter. Anne’s artwork combines traditional mark-making, digital tools and a collection of symbols to produce work that is highly collected. Her large-scale public art installations are in high demand, with one living in New York City’s busiest commuter hub for almost a year. Nearly three decades ago, Anne created the first digital art classes at Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design. That led to her writing the book “The Computer in the Visual Arts” which has become the go-to text for the instruction of the topic. In the process of writing that book, she and her husband Michael Spalter found a passion for collecting historically significant works of digital art. The Anne and Michael Spalter Digital Art Collection ( AKA Spalter Digital), is now one of the world’s largest private collections of early computer art, comprising over 900 works from the second half of the twentieth century. That being said, no one can speak with more authority about the state of digital art than today’s guest.

https://annespalter.com/

https://spalterdigital.com/