success immediately, run the other direction. It’s not going to happen. On the other side though, if you have a passion and love it and continue with it, there is endless possibility for success. I was not successful at this until probably about five years into it. Before that it was an extreme struggle and hardship. When I gave up my career as a surgeon to become an artist, that was a lot to give up. I literally lived in my car. I had no place to stay. I had no money at that time. And I wanted to be on my own. Not to say that my parents did not want to support me, they did. And they were very well off, but for me to give up a profession when they paid for me to go to medical school — I wanted to do it with no one’s assistance. And luckily, I did. Some artists may want to do this, and I encourage them. There’s going to be a lot of pain, crying, struggle, a lot of ups and downs, but if you go in knowing that and you are okay with it, I think you will be fine. I am always fearful that I’m going to struggle. There’s nothing worse than thinking back on your worst time. That is fear. But at the same time, I’m not fearful about what to do if that happens, because I’ve done it before.
Where do you see the future of the art business in the next decade? I’m not an oracle, but based on experience, I see it going more high-end. I see that because it is so much easier to reproduce a print, to do things that were not possible five-hundred years ago. There’s just more competition. So for galleries that want to be more successful, they are going to have to cater to the very high end. That’s the reason we created Winn Slavin Fine Art, to focus on galleries with much more sophisticated and elite artists. We expect the next decade to go in that direction. Renzo is so sophisticated, I think he is going to be successful even beyond his wildest dreams.
What would be your advice to art enthusiasts looking to collect at this time? My primary advice is to collect what you like. Period. Whatever your budget is, if you can afford $100 art, buy it. If you can afford $100,000 art, buy it. If you can afford $1 million art, buy it. Don’t buy it because somebody tells you it’s going to go up in price or the painter is an up-and-coming artist. The whole purpose of art is to provoke and have you appreciate it. My second piece of advice is don’t buy to decorate your house. That’s not art. That is decoration, like buying a sofa or a lamp or something that just fills up the space and looks nice. Art is something that truly moves you. And finally, my third piece of advice is don’t buy something thinking you are going to re-sell it. Those are the three rules. After that, just enjoy it. This is not to say you shouldn’t do your research. If you are buying something that is $100,000, you do not want to buy it and find out later that it is only worth $1000. Look at the criteria. What is the meaning or purpose behind the artwork? Why is it expensive, what are the credentials, what museums, awards? That is where an agency like Winn Slavin comes into play. We protect the integrity of the artists we represent, just as Medici, Vollard, and B. Gerald Cantor did in the past.
“Art is something that is so instinctively healing and powerful that there is no other form that communicates to us as human beings more.”
33 EXCLUSIVE COLLECTIONS GALLERIES
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