matt satz, art
I met Matt about 11 years ago when he came over to our house to hang a painting. Feigning that he knew what he was doing and our friend hired him for the job. The good news is just as the painting fell to the ground, two people were standing underneath him and caught it. The other good news is I went to his studio to see what he really does, art.
We own a few pieces of his work and it is wonderful to see his work continue to grow in different directions. His only issue is that he has never wanted to deal with the gallery world to get his work into more collectors hands and have someone represent him. Unfortunately, that is the way the art world works. After yesterday's visit, I hope a gallery will convince him otherwise. His work is fantastic and in over 110 collections. The pictures don't do the work justice.
His web site isn't up to date and is the dreaded flash but he is working on changing that in the very near future.
Comments (Archived):
Great Post! We love Matt and have been collecting him for years. He is very talented and a great guy. My bet is someday he will be truly famous, so people should start buying more of him now!!!!!!
In situations like this I’ve seen an intermediary be beneficial to the artist in dealing with galleries. Not a true agent, but more like a friend (like you!) who loves the work.
Agreed. That’s how he was able to get into 110 collections.
Hi Joanne! I’m visiting from AVC and your post caught my attention. I have a really good friend who is also a talented artist in NY. We were talking the other day and she was also voicing her frustration with galleries and the art world. She also told me that that is the way it works.I’m an entrepreneur and when I hear “unfortunately that’s the way the ___ world works” I always think well then, it’s time for someone to come along and change that. I know you are in the know, so do you know of anyone that is trying to change that? Is there a reason it can’t be done? I am not knowledgeable about this world, but I’m sensing there might be an opportunity for some ambitious artist. Is the goal to get it into more collector’s hands or just to sell more work so Matt doesn’t have to hang art and can actually make art?Matt’s work looks awesome, my friend’s work is incredible. Who knows what else we are missing out on?Just wanted to know if you had any thoughts. It’s really interesting. I would plug my friends name here but I think she actually succumbed and has gallery representation now :).
I have also been amazed with the concept of “that’s how it works”.There are a variety of people attempting to break the mold through the online world but seeing art that way when a piece could run into the thousands of dollars is hard for anyone to wrap their arms around.What the gallery provides is confirmation to the collector that the artist is being guided, supported and is someone that they are interested in by helping grow their reach and career. They also set the price and deal with the transactions which is something most artists don’t want to deal with and frankly aren’t that good at.The problem is the gallery community is very tight and its not easy to break in to, especially these days, for a gallery to add an additional artist to their roll.Keep in mind that a gallery also gets 50 percent.Its a crazy world. Yet, if you walked in to your friends studio knowing that they are not representing by a gallery (in essence an agent) and he or she decided to price the new work at 20 thousand vs being at 10 last year…it would be a tough one. If a gallery sold out the last show and got one of their pieces placed in the MOMA, you’d get it.Again, not sure how the online world will ever be able to change this. I hope they can but the visual component makes it really tough.
Wow. Thank you for the insight! An exclusive, brick and mortar community that gets 50% and frustrates talent. It sounds like this is just waiting for disruption.I will not be the one tackling this problem, but I can’t wait to read about the person that successfully does!And Matt, if you are reading this… Good luck!
Send me through email a link to your friends work.Hopefully one day the disruption will be huge but have yet to see how.
Joanne – I am particularly interested in this conversation, as I am actually working now on developing an online based service to help with this problem. (And I’ve been meaning to email you for another glass of wine as well, expect that soon!) I agree that online will always be a challenge because nothing compares to standing in front of a work, but I think a combination of a more artist-friendly commission and a strong return policy will make for a good start to disrupt the system. And I agree Matt’s work is amazing – I would love to have him as an early member on our site!
Would love to discuss over a glass of wine.
Joanne, I have just the ticket for talented and under represented artists like, Matt. (Matt, I love your work!) I am the director of The Artist Project New York, a new exhibtion platform for unrepresented artists to present and sell their work in New York City. Artists who exhibit in the March 17-20, 2011, juried show on Pier 92 will meet curators, dealers, collectors and the public.I am more than happy to supply you and your readers with more information about how to participate. Or, please visit the website at: http://www.theartistprojectny.com.Reed McMillan, DirectorThe Artist Project New York
This is beyond cool.