Somebody isn’t having fun at Frieze London. Outspoken art collector Stefan Simchowitz has posted a rant about his experience at today’s invitation-only preview of the the fair on Facebook, railing at dealers for reserving works for museums, rather than selling to him.
The post, addressed to “Gallery Idiots,” slams dealers for attempting to generate interest in artwork by claiming that a museum has put the work on reserve. He argues that museums don’t actually have the money to buy all this art and are hamstrung by their board members anyway. Furthermore, Simchowitz adds, the practice drives away actual collectors, like him, especially those who don’t come from the old money crowd.
“These people like your bull shit, I understand, but they don’t buy that much art and if they do, its usually the same shit that their friends are buying,” Simchowitz writes.
If dealers don’t change their ways, he warns, “You will be left with the carcass remains of socialites, bored rich people, broke museum directors, and all manner of folk who have mastered the pretense of being wealthy, who have the mannerisms of being impressed by your ‘its on reserve for museums’ bull crap,” he wrote. “Meanwhile your artists will remain broke, you will eventually shut your doors, and complain about the art business lacking collectors.” Read more