|
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
  |
|||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
Class of 1977, On the Internet: Vanina HolasekFROM: psychoPEDIA.comMarch 14, 2007 Confessions of an Art-World Survivor Vanina Holasek On Navigating Her Way to the Top By Sara Costello << “I grew up in New York in the ‘80s and there wasn’t that much to do. My mother, being French, would take me to see art on the weekends. I remember being 5 years old and literally falling in love.” You could say Vanina Holasek’s career as an art dealer began then. And with the current booming art market, getting started young may not be such a bad idea. She has paid her dues. Before opening her namesake Chelsea gallery, the Nice-born Holasek started interning as a teenager at the Guggenheim and the Wildenstein Institute. She then got her undergraduate degree in art history at the Sorbonne, worked as David LaChappelle’s fine-art agent (helping him develop his fine-art career), and put in several years working at galleries uptown and downtown -- including three years at Gagosian. “Being an art dealer seems so glamorous. But there is a whole structure and code. It’s a language, and I don’t understand people who haven’t studied art history.” Her education paid off. When she walked into Gagosian (without ever having had a paid job) and handed her resume to the receptionist she was hired soon thereafter: “It’s almost unheard of not to have a recommendation.” The experience was invaluable. In addition to spending time with Cecily Brown, James Rosenquest, Damian Hirst and Francesco Clemente, she was exposed for the first time to the business of art. “I had the knowledge of art history but not the money aspect.” When giving prices to potential buyers she had to write the amount on a piece of paper and hand it to them: “ I wasn’t sure I was reading the numbers right.” Aside from the $25,000-a-year salary, the dinners, catalogues, and rapport with collectors and artists were the real pay: “It was extremely constructive and interesting - but you put up with a lot. You have to be determined and really want it.” Holasek certainly was determined. Later, after being laid off at LaChappelle’s post-9/11, she worked as an assistant for five different artists simultaneously. No stranger to hard work, Holasek, even before her gig at the Gagosian, worked odd fashion-industry jobs in order to make ends meet. An average day could include anything from “buying Shalom Harlow organic tampons” to “finding a customized bed for Francois Nars’ dog.” Fast-forward less than a decade later: she was offered the position of Gallery Director at Stellan Holm, where she worked until 2005, when she left to launch her own gallery. Since going out on her own, Holasek’s eponymous gallery has become an independent jewel amongst Chelsea’s commercial giants. “Without sounding corny, it’s a dream come true. I never thought it would happen.” She now spends much of her time catering to the needs of the artists she features. “I’m on the artists’ side. People are interesting in my field and artists are crazy. But they are my heroes and I personally like taking care of them.” This and her view that her work is not work have clearly been reasons why she has gotten this far: “It’s fun when you get to hang out with the artist and have a studio visit. Or look at a drawing. And the collectors are equally important. They are like addicts and thanks to them the art world exists.” However illustrious her background, Holasek offers that there are many ways to start: “Gagosian is not the only school. The art world is so varied. I have friends who make a really good living being artists’ assistants or working at museums – which is such a delight.” Her big advice to young artists is not to give up, but also before jumping in, know “it’s a game. I feel like I’m playing chess. It’s about tribes.” But the game is here to stay. Holasek asserts: “Someone once told me that the twentieth century was all about invention, and the 21st-century will be all about art.” >> SOURCE: http://www.psychopedia.com/dailynews/2007/03/the_artworlds_survivorvanina_h.html |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||
|
|
|
||
