The collector and gatekeeper Stefan Simchowitz , seen by art market insiders as one of the biggest art flippers, has decided to start his own art gallery with a group of artists to discover.
The news is not that recent, but it came back to the lights the roster of the Simchowitz Gallery on social media a few hours ago.
The name of the collector Stefan Simchowitz does not go unnoticed by the most experienced in the art market.
Described by the New York Times as “The Satanic Patron of the Art World”, Simchowitz was unscrupulous enough about overriding the work of galleries to become the gatekeeper of very young, unprepared artists by implementing strategies of a seasoned flipper, as the expert Georgina Adam also recounts in her book “Dark Side of the Boom”.
WHAT IS ART FLIPPING
Art Flipping has been defined by experts as “ the gambling of the art market ”.
This a speculative practice often implemented by a small group of collectors who intend to create immediate profit in the shortest possible time to the detriment of the artists involved, often emerging and without a solid career path, who are part of a real speculative bubble ready to explode.
HOW THE SIMCHOWITZ GALLERY WAS BORN
It is October 2020 when, in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, Stefan Simchowitz turns 50 and, rethinking the path of one of the greatest gallerists Leo Castelli – he too a collector and became a gallery owner at the age of 50 – chooses to take the same path, but with a very different past behind them.
Stefan Simchowitz ‘s work as a collector has often been dismissed by artists, galleries and dealers as that of a speculator, ready to implement art flipping strategies in order to see the prices of newly acquired young artists rise immeasurably and very quickly.
In March 2021 the turning point, with the inauguration of the Simchowitz Gallery in Los Angeles and the desire declared in an interview with Christina Ruiz for The Art Newspaper to support young artists with the opportunity for new exhibition opportunities .
A different approach to the work of a gallery owner in the will of Stefan Simchowitz : no waiting lists, the collectors who arrive first have the right to buy the works, and the group of artists part of the gallery also offers services such as studios and spaces to work.
NEW LIFE FOR THE SIMCHOWITZ GALLERY
Since the opening of the Simchowitz Gallery, twelve exhibitions of as many artists have been inaugurated, for 2023 two exhibitions have already been announced.
Elizabeth opens in Pasadena Ibarra with “ Blue Hymn: Prelude ” and January 14 in West Hollywood is the turn of Cameron Platter with the exhibition “ More or Less ”.
The list of artists who will collaborate with Stefan Simchowitz ‘s gallery has also been announced, including Gene A’Hern, Craig Boagey, Alic Brock, Lawrence Calver and Attukwei Montana to name a few, all heavily devoted to the pictorial medium.
All that remains is to monitor the career of these artists and find out if the magic touch and the eye of Stefan Simchowitz will have prevailed on the market…
Cover image: Stefan Simchowitz . Courtesy artnet
