Former Saatchi CEO to launches art market disruptor Art Gazette

Art Gazette, a new, ground-breaking online platform for contemporary art, launches today with a two-fold mission to support artists in a post-covid world and to create elegant environments for working, living and leisure.

Art Gazette provides an online catalogue of over 7,500 original contemporary artworks that have been purchased directly from emerging and more established artists by expert curators, to suit a range of public and private spaces. To-date Art Gazette has acquired work by 458 artists around the world with a focus on smaller pieces ranging from A4-A0 in size – ideal for almost any space, including offices, hotels, restaurants, retailers and home interiors.

Clemente Vergara Ribs, Phoenix (2020)Led by former CEO of Saatchi Gallery Nigel Hurst, art collector, entrepreneur and philanthropist Martin Epstein, and curator Morné Visagie, the Art Gazette team has been busy buying work from artists well before the pandemic, since early 2019. This acquisition phase has provided an important lifeline at a fraught time for artists when many have had exhibitions and art fairs postponed or cancelled due to COVID.

Art Gazette recognises the inherent value in work that is not ordinarily monetised, such as preliminary studies and sketches toward more ambitious projects; works in series that examine recurring and changing ideas; and exploratory pieces through which artists expand their practice into new media and lines of enquiry. These would rarely be exhibited and so – through working with Art Gazette –artists can earn money from this important side of their practice as well as from gallery shows.

An entirely original business model, Art Gazette has inverted art market norms by acquiring work directly from artists and paying for them up front, thereby creating an ongoing and regular revenue stream for artists whilst operating in synergy with their exhibition and gallery commitments.

Art Gazette’s catalogue shows a dedication to work that addresses the diverse issues of our time in a broad range of media, including painting, drawing, collage, photography, print, sculpture, and textiles. Visitors to artgazette.com will be able to browse work by a range of artists including: Alice Wilson (b. 1982, UK), who explores the perpetual human need for shelter and belonging despite our technological advances; Lebogang Mabusela (b. 1996, South Africa), who subverts gender norms through harnessing childhood memory, lived experience, and found objects; Spanish photographer Clemente Vergara (b.1985), with his remarkable devotion to the art of composition and masterful blurring of the line between abstraction and photography; and Lakin Ogunbanwo (b.1987, Nigeria), whose enigmatic photography is erotic, unsettling, figurative and abstract, in turn.

Art Gazette’s new interactive website artgazette.com, which launches today enables artists to create online portals where they can submit proposals of work they wish to be included in the inventory. These submissions will be reviewed by the Art Gazette team, and, if selected, artists will be paid within ten days of the works having been received, checked and approved. Should a proposal be unsuccessful, artists receive feedback on their work and are encouraged to submit further work for consideration in future.

Buyers looking to acquire new works in groups of ten pieces or more are invited to register their interest via the new web platform. Once registered, they will be contacted by Art Gazette to create a selection of artworks for a quote . Alternatively, clients can draw on Art Gazette’s curatorial expertise and request the team’s assistance in hand-picking a unique group of works specifically for their space, as well as framing and installing them too, if they wish. In the coming months, prospective clients will also be able to purchase artworks online directly.

Nigel Hurst, co-founder of Art Gazette says: “The past year has been unimaginably challenging for artists around the world, so we are delighted to officially launch Art Gazette as a viable, alternative revenue stream at a time when many artists are struggling to make ends meet. As we begin to emerge into a post-Covid world, it is critical that the visual arts sector continues to innovate and create new opportunities for artists and buyers.

“A lesson we’ve all learned during the past year or so is that the environments we find ourselves in each day, matter. Through Art Gazette, we are connecting artists with those who wish to acquire and display their work, be it in public or private, and in doing so help create more beautiful, creative spaces for people to live, work, and play in.”