Just say YES to NADA!

Paul Wackers- First Time, Long Time. Jack Hanley Gallery

I’ve been to more art fairs than I can count, but the ones that I’ve had fun at I could count on two hands. Many are too big, dealers are either stressed out or bored, mundane work or work that is inaccessible or silly. The last show that I went to before the pandemic was The Armory Show at the westside piers. It was a few days before the world shut down and the fair was eerily empty. I wandered alone through a fair that typically had been jam packed with beautiful art lovers. And then everything went quiet for about a year and a half.

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Spotlight: “On Collecting Works of Art- An interview with Yelena Ambartsumian and Miroslav Grajewski”

Yelena Ambartsumian and Miroslav Grajewski at their home with work by Andre Butzer. Image courtesy of collectors and author.

Yelena Ambartsumian and Miroslav Grajewski are two young collectors who are passionate about contemporary art. They both have a sharpened sensibility of the art market. With a keen understanding of the auction prices, one of the things that separates them from other collectors is they firmly believe in going after the work they feel is most important to them. If there is such a thing as destiny their story would define it. Fittingly, they first met at the Museum of Modern Art in 2016. Six months into their relationship they purchased their first work of art together. They got married and continue to actively appreciate art and collect as a couple. I conducted an interview with them this past summer. I narrowed the field of questions to the nature of collecting; what interests them, and; the advice they would provide to other young collectors. The following is a transcribed interview.

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