Curators’ Club Toronto

Nov 14 2012

1. Le Gallery
Wil Kucey

Q What do you look for in the pieces you select?
A I select artists and not pieces. So my approach is different than a number of other galleries where they’re looking for an inventory to provide to clients. For me, I’m looking for a group of artists that I can represent and move forward with for a very long time. So I’m looking for a commitment to an artist that has ambition, incredible skill and, of course, a drive and an understanding of artwork.

Q What makes you passionate about the industry?
A I love the idea of pure creativity, that this was one’s unique and singular vision that was being expressed to benefit society. I see art as something that’s helped me understand a lot of trauma in my life and a lot of hardship, but also a lot of joy. I collect work for myself when something major happens in my life. So if I get a new apartment, I buy something; if I have an anniversary, I buy something. So those pieces of work become intrinsically linked with those events. Every time I look at art I know that it’s loaded with not only the passion of that artist, but that I get to bring something from my life to that as well. To me it’s one of the most exciting points of conversation — to look at a painting and talk about what that means to you and the world in general.

www.le-gallery.ca

Photos by Le Gallery


2. MOCCA Gallery
[Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art]
David Liss

Q What do you look for in the pieces you select?
A I think art is about pushing at the edges of the human imagination, and I’m fascinated by art that I don’t initially understand. I see something in an art gallery and I look at it, and I go, “What? What is this? Why would somebody go out and paint this? Why?” I mean, those are fascinating questions. If you follow the thinking of the artist and you spend some time with it, you inevitably end up learning something. Discovery. It’s about discovery. Taste, to me, is the enemy of discovery and the imagination. It’s too limiting.

Q Do you think artists are born with their skill?
A To me, skill is a secondary consideration. Art is about the breadth and scope of the human imagination, and everybody has the capacity to explore it. Creativity, imagination, art in its various forms, is what makes us human, and for me, people that are not artists or musicians or actors go these days to art galleries and museums in record numbers; people go to the theatre, people go to concerts. There’s so many ways to engage with creative imagination. It’s an absolutely necessary part of our survival.

www.mocca.ca

Photography by Fayiaz Chunara and Toni Hafkenscheid


3. Navillus Gallery
Taylor Grant Sullivan

Q What do you look for in the pieces you select?
A I look for artists that have a really strong voice and sense of purpose. When putting together a show, I try to bring together pieces and ideas that clash in order to start conversations. I try to bring together works that have something powerful and relevant to say.

Q What challenges are prevalent in the art market that people may not realize?
A It has been a trend-driven market, in which major sales have catalyzed higher activity in certain categories, like surrealism, for example. The sale of Joan Miró’s Painting-Poem for $26.6 million was followed by the sale of his Étoile Bleue for $36.9 million. Also notable, the New York financier Wilbur Ross subsequently acquired Les Jours Gigantesques for $11.3 million, at nearly five times its estimate. At the highest level, I think it is a market filled with investors buying into areas they see as becoming “hot.” However, the broader market has not fully recovered since 2009. The middle-end of the contemporary market, in particular, has seen lower sales volumes and prices. Mid-level impressionist paintings have also underperformed. One of the big challenges is becoming relevant globally and speaking to new collectors worldwide.

www.navillusgallery.com

Photography by Le Gallery/Toni Hafkenscheid/Fayiaz Chunara

Curators’ Club Toronto

1. Le Gallery
Wil Kucey

Q What do you look for in the pieces you select?
A I select artists and not pieces. So my approach is different than a number of other galleries where they’re looking for an inventory to provide to clients. For me, I’m looking for a group of artists that I can represent and move forward with for a very long time. So I’m looking for a commitment to an artist that has ambition, incredible skill and, of course, a drive and an understanding of artwork.

Q What makes you passionate about the industry?
A I love the idea of pure creativity, that this was one’s unique and singular vision that was being expressed to benefit society. I see art as something that’s helped me understand a lot of trauma in my life and a lot of hardship, but also a lot of joy. I collect work for myself when something major happens in my life. So if I get a new apartment, I buy something; if I have an anniversary, I buy something. So those pieces of work become intrinsically linked with those events. Every time I look at art I know that it’s loaded with not only the passion of that artist, but that I get to bring something from my life to that as well. To me it’s one of the most exciting points of conversation — to look at a painting and talk about what that means to you and the world in general.

www.le-gallery.ca

Photos by Le Gallery


2. MOCCA Gallery
[Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art]
David Liss

Q What do you look for in the pieces you select?
A I think art is about pushing at the edges of the human imagination, and I’m fascinated by art that I don’t initially understand. I see something in an art gallery and I look at it, and I go, “What? What is this? Why would somebody go out and paint this? Why?” I mean, those are fascinating questions. If you follow the thinking of the artist and you spend some time with it, you inevitably end up learning something. Discovery. It’s about discovery. Taste, to me, is the enemy of discovery and the imagination. It’s too limiting.

Q Do you think artists are born with their skill?
A To me, skill is a secondary consideration. Art is about the breadth and scope of the human imagination, and everybody has the capacity to explore it. Creativity, imagination, art in its various forms, is what makes us human, and for me, people that are not artists or musicians or actors go these days to art galleries and museums in record numbers; people go to the theatre, people go to concerts. There’s so many ways to engage with creative imagination. It’s an absolutely necessary part of our survival.

www.mocca.ca

Photography by Fayiaz Chunara and Toni Hafkenscheid


3. Navillus Gallery
Taylor Grant Sullivan

Q What do you look for in the pieces you select?
A I look for artists that have a really strong voice and sense of purpose. When putting together a show, I try to bring together pieces and ideas that clash in order to start conversations. I try to bring together works that have something powerful and relevant to say.

Q What challenges are prevalent in the art market that people may not realize?
A It has been a trend-driven market, in which major sales have catalyzed higher activity in certain categories, like surrealism, for example. The sale of Joan Miró’s Painting-Poem for $26.6 million was followed by the sale of his Étoile Bleue for $36.9 million. Also notable, the New York financier Wilbur Ross subsequently acquired Les Jours Gigantesques for $11.3 million, at nearly five times its estimate. At the highest level, I think it is a market filled with investors buying into areas they see as becoming “hot.” However, the broader market has not fully recovered since 2009. The middle-end of the contemporary market, in particular, has seen lower sales volumes and prices. Mid-level impressionist paintings have also underperformed. One of the big challenges is becoming relevant globally and speaking to new collectors worldwide.

www.navillusgallery.com

Photography by Le Gallery/Toni Hafkenscheid/Fayiaz Chunara

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