Clarien Bank Brings In Sotheby’s Art Expert
[Written by Don Burgess]
There’s an effervescent smile to Courtney Kremers as she exhorts the virtues of Ed Rsucha.
The passion is visible as her eyes twinkle to the qualities of the American pop artist.
There’s a good reason for that sparkle — Ms. Kremers [pictured] was in Bermuda to speak at a special event for selected investors and artists at Clarien Bank on Thursday evening [Apr 23].
She is the Head of Contemporary Curated Sales for Sotheby’s in New York, a position she has held in 2013, where she helped revolutionize the mid-season auctions to its new title, Contemporary Curated.
And revolutionize is no hyperbole for what she has done.
Ms. Kremers has overseen five consecutive record-breaking sales for Sotheby’s auctions.
She was hired to revamp the mid-season sales, which did not receive as much attention as the big May and November auctions and usually received the art that were “the leftovers”.
“But no more,” Ms. Kremers said. “We’re now being very selective on what we take. We have become incredible platforms for those works in the $100,000 to $1,000,000 range that during the May and November sales tend to be in the back of the catalogue.”
Art such as Andy Warhol’s Flowers now gets a prime boost by being in the March and September auctions.
Part of the success is not just picking the range, but by giving more thought to who the purchasers might be.
Ms. Kremers said: “In March and September we have a higher percentage of new bidders, people who have never raised a paddle before. About 20 per cent, when they buy, they have never bid before.
“These people really want to be educated and they want to know how to think about art because there’s no one right way to build a collection. So the Contemporary Curated was not just to rename the sale and be more selective about the material but also to bring in individuals with unique perspectives.”
Ms. Kremers eyes dazzled and her smile broadened as she beamed: “It’s paid off. Every single sale has done better than the last one. Christie’s and Phillips are nowhere near us in this category anymore, which is exciting.
“But it’s also increased the pressure because every auction season I’m that much more stressed because I’m looking to beat the last record, but it’s not about beating records — it’s about the works and finding the right homes for them.”
She said the inspiration for the Contemporary Curated all came down to being thoughtful about who the audience is.
“What they are looking for,” Ms. Kremers added. “And what they might be interested in seeing. It’s also about keeping up with the times.
“It’s also being aware of the social media culture. We do think about somebody as a curator and how many Instagram followers they have and whether that will help us promote the sale. It’s not the first priority by any means, but it’s nice to having people help us get the word out.”
She said besides Warhol, other artists who are attractive for the Contemporary Curated include Alexander Calder and Ed Ruscha.
“Alexander Calder is a great artist to invest in on all levels,” she said. “What makes him safe as an investment is that he has one of the best authentication bodies I’ve seen.
“He is an artist that is known world-wide; he’s been exhibited in every museum so he has institutional support… and he was an amazing artist who is still inspiring people today.”
Ms. Kremers added that Ruscha is an American who was included in the first pop art exhibition in Pasadena, California in 1962.
“His prices have already started to reach the levels of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, artists who are no longer with us. Ed is still around creating. He is one of the most conceptually brilliant artists of the 20th century.”
She said artists like these are safe investments rather than emerging ones because they have an established track record.
“I think it’s great that Clarien is doing this because, in a sense, we’re a competitor — to direct their money to” Ms. Kremers said. “It speaks a lot about the individuals at the bank.”
Clare Spearing, Head of Private Banking for Clarien, said Ms. Kremers was invited to speak to their clients as part of an initiative to “add value to our clients outside our usual suite of bank products to get them thinking about alternative asset classes for their portfolios. We’re doing a series of these and hopefully we can get Courtney to come back because our clients, really, really enjoyed it.”
Ms. Spearing said the clients at Thursday’s meeting included artists and collectors.
“They started to talk and there was a buzz around it. It was a great evening. It created a lot of interest and I heard some people say they want to attend her next show in New York. A lot of people asked for their catalouges and it will cause people to think about things differently.”
Michael DeCouto, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer for Clarien, said the bank’s strategy is to bring in speakers to discuss interesting topics to high net worth people and their lifestyles. Mr. DeCouto already had a relationship with Sotheby’s when an invitation was extended to bring Ms. Kremers to Bermuda.
“We’re very pleased to have Courtney in Bermuda to present to our clients and she’s definitely going to return to provide more insight on the trends that’s she seeing. Like Clare said, it adds values to our clients,” he said.
“We’re not about being product pushers but about providing information that’s useful to the clients and their lifestyle.”
He said art, along with wine and cars are investment vehicles that people can pass on to the next generation of their family.
Paul B. Finn, Executive Vice President, Head of Wealth Management for Clarien, added the bank wants to have a sphere of experts that it can direct its clients to help them with these types of investments.
“That way they can get the right advice and the right interests. If we can do that, then we’re doing more, as Mike said, for the individual and the family than just selling a product. In this business it’s about relationship and the more we can know about a client, the more we can help.”
Fun facts
- She originally set out to be an economics major at Duke University, but her passion for art saw her decide on a different career path.
- Ms. Kremers first art piece she purchased was one by Jane Byron — and it also happens to be the favourite work of art she owns.
- If money were no object, she would love to own something by Ed Ruscha.
Clearly this is an up and coming area for investment. Cedar lined closets are so last year. The latest trend must be an art collection stored in a vault in the UAE.
more importantly, is she single?
This part of the Clarien turn around ? “We will do better!” Really. Still wondering why so many top people left the Bank last year…the recent press release was dubious!