Collecting Art in The OC

By OCinSite At-Large | November 07, 2011 11:47 AM

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By Kedric Francis

Art collectors travel the world, visiting museums, galleries and auctions hoping to discover art that they simply must own. Even if buying a painting, photograph or sculpture isn’t the primary purpose of a trip, exploring the local scene with an eye toward adding to an art collection is part of the pleasure of travel for many.

The beauty of the stretch of the California coast where The St. Regis Monarch Beach makes its home has inspired artists for more than a century. From California Impressionists such as Edgar Payne and William Wendt in the early 20th century to edgy conceptual artists in the 1970s, Orange County has a long creative history.

Art lovers visit Laguna Beach for its summer art festivals (Festival of Arts, Sawdust Art Festival and Art-a-Fair), and the monthly First Thursday Art Walk opens galleries and retailers for what often becomes a citywide party. But the serious collector will want to look beyond the festivals and art walks to see which galleries that OC’s cultural cognoscenti are visiting and the artists that museum curators and other art aficionados seem keen on collecting.

Local Lore

When Bespoke Magazine sought advice from experienced SoCal art collectors on how to collect art in the area, all said the key is to do your homework before the trip to identify collectors, galleries and museums that show and collect the same genre of art as you do.

“What I typically do when I go into a city I’m not familiar with is ask people I trust which galleries I want to visit and to whom I want to talk,” says Greg Salmeri, a seasoned collector of contemporary art who has homes in Los Angeles and Laguna Beach. “I’ll also research the city’s art scene by going to Artforum magazine to see which galleries they typically profile in the city and what artists are being acquired by museums and local collectors.”

Salmeri cites Dennis Szakacs, the director of the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach, as one of his trusted advisors in compiling a list of galleries to visit. “I go to people I trust, and most experienced collectors likely have similar contacts. As the director of an important museum, Dennis is a valuable source.”

“Untitled” by Jack Goldstein, courtesy of Orange County Museum of Art

Szakacs spends about a third of his time traveling the world, looking for art and artists with potential for OCMA to exhibit and works to acquire for its permanent collection. He chooses galleries to visit or to suggest to collectors based on his own knowledge and experience. “There are galleries that have broad reputations,” Szakacs comments. When researching galleries and artists, important questions to ask include: Does the gallery advertise in Artforum or Art in America magazines? Do the artists participate in important international art fairs like Art Basel, the Armory Show in New York City or the Los Angeles art shows? “That’s a sign the artists that the gallery represents are plugged into the larger art market,” he says.

OC’s Own

So how does this worldly wise advice apply to a collector visiting Orange County who is interested in local artists but wonders where to start? “I would send them to Orange County Museum of Art (ocma.net) and to Laguna Art Museum (lagunaartmuseum.org) to see what’s in the permanent collection and to get background in the history of the local art world,” Salmeri says. “But I would send them to Peter first.” The Peter he’s referring to is Peter Blake, the owner of Peter Blake Gallery in Laguna Beach (peterblakegallery.com). Featuring work that’s often monochromatic and abstract, the gallery is worlds away from the stereotypical seascapes and plein air-type paintings that fill many OC art galleries.

On most days Blake can be found conferring on his cell phone or having impromptu meetings with friends and art aficionados in front of his gallery, and his art opening parties are a “who’s who” of SoCal’s creative class, with collectors, curators and artists hobnobbing with Laguna locals.

Blake’s advice for a serious art collector visiting this area (or any other) can be condensed to one word: Google. “It used to be I’d make phone calls to galleries, collectors and curators before I visited a place or before I’d give advice to clients traveling to collect art,” Blake says. “Now you can research online specifically what you’re looking for. Go to the websites of galleries that have art you’re interested in. A collector with an experienced eye can look at the work, read the artists’ bios and reviews or other stories on the artists.”

Doing the research and then actually visiting galleries is one of the best ways to plug into the local art world, experts agree. “It’s important to go out and see as much as possible of what’s out there, says Laguna Art Museum’s Curator of Exhibitions Grace Kook-Anderson. “Laguna gets niched in a certain identity that’s partially true, but there’s a lot brewing underneath in museums and galleries that’s exciting.”

“Juniper Oil” by Jeff Peters, courtesy of Laguna Art Museum

But the initial research is still key. “I have an idea on what I’m going to do when I get to a gallery,” Salmeri says. And often the artists on display aren’t the ones a collector is interested in seeing. “Most galleries will bring art out of the back room,” Salmeri says. Galleries may also be able to set up a private showing for you if you call in advance.

“I’ll buy on the spot if I know the gallery and the artist,” Salmeri comments. And if he discovers an exciting new artist he doesn’t know about while visiting a gallery? “I’ll ask the gallery if they’ll hold the piece, then I’ll do the research on who the artist is and what they’re doing in their lives to see if I remain excited about the work.”

Peter Blake relishes when serious collectors like Salmeri visit his gallery for the first time. And they’re easy to spot. “There’s a way they look at the work that’s different from how a casual visitor or even an artist looks at it,” he says. “There’s a certain language they use.”

And even if Blake doesn’t represent the type of artist a collector is interested in, he most likely knows who does. “If they’re looking for contemporary realism and figurative art, I’d send them to Sue Greenwood (gcgallery.com). If it’s social realism they’re after or if they’re interested in Latin American art, I’d send them to Salt (saltfineart.com). And that’s just in Laguna Beach.”

A Night at the Museum

Museums regularly make the must-see list for jet-setting VIPs and casual tourists alike. For art collectors they’re even more crucial as a sure way to tap into the creative zeitgeist of a community. Southern California has dozens of art museums, with several within a quick trip from The St. Regis Monarch Beach. The most influential of the museums are also the nearest: Laguna Art Museum and the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA).

Formerly known as Newport Harbor Museum, OCMA in Newport Beach focuses on contemporary work. Laguna Art Museum is known for championing the work of California Impressionists since its founding in 1918. More recently, the museum has also focused on under-appreciated artists from the state, as well as emerging creative work arising from California popular culture.

Most museums of significant size or reputation have a collections area on the website showing both the permanent collection and recent acquisitions. There are often exhibitions of work the museum has acquired in the past few years and catalogs or other material related to those exhibits. Studying all of that information will give a collector insight into the aesthetics of the museum and interests of its curators, as well as the type of art and artists that the museum staff thinks are important.

Of most importance to collectors is what the museum is buying for its collection, especially when it’s the work of local artists. “The imprimatur of a museum makes all the difference in the value of an artist’s work,” Szackas says. “It’s like the difference between a professional and an amateur in sports.”

“Museum acquisition does increase an artist’s worth,” agrees Blake. “And if it encourages other museums to purchase the artist’s work, it’s hard to even put a price tag on it.”

A museum’s group shows and biennials are an important potential resource for identifying interesting work of artists in the early stages of their careers (which often means the work is less expensive, though the odds are longer that any particular artist will go on to a successful career).

“The best information you can get on young up-and-coming artists is through our California biennial,” Szakacs says about the semi-annual OCMA show. “There’s no other exhibition that dials people into what’s happening with young artists in this state.”

However, purchasing works by an artist included in a biennial in no way makes the investment a sure thing, and museums may include hundreds of artists in one biennial, such as the Whitney Biennial in New York. “Biennials are inherently problematic,” says Kook-Anderson of Laguna Art Museum. “The shows are casting a wide net. If anything it would present an opportunity to help gauge the temperature of what’s happening in contemporary art.”

Szakacs agrees that choosing an emerging artist to collect can be problematic, especially if a primary purpose is that the work will increase in value. “If 25 percent of the time that artist goes on to have a bigger career, and the work increases substantially, then we’re doing a really great job,” he says of works by young artists that museums purchase. “And this is our profession. It’s so speculative with young artists, that if we’re right a quarter of the time, we’re happy. As you move up in price level and in career recognition that becomes less of a concern.”

Spending $100,000 or more on an artist in mid-career with an international following is a much more secure investment, if you can afford it. “That’s why people are spending millions on art in a recession,” he says. “They see it as a secure place to put their money. But that’s only at the highest level of art collecting.”

Many savvy collectors take a middle road: avoiding the uncertainty of young, emerging artists and the expense of well-established ones by looking to the work of a lesser known or under-appreciated artist scheduled to be the subject of an upcoming museum show. The new media, public and academic attention those artists receive can often add to the value of their work after the show opens (though like any futures investment, some of that added value may already be anticipated by dealers before the show opens).

“Here’s a good example,” Szakacs says. “Mary Heilmann was a very undervalued late-career artist when we added her to OCMA’s collection.” The museum featured the artist in the well-received show “Mary Heilmann: To Be Someone” in 2007. The exhibition went on to a successful national tour. “We bought her painting ‘Surfing on Acid’ for $40,000. After the tour her value jumped tenfold.”

Artist Meet and Greet

Jeff Peters is a Laguna Beach artist who meets many of the criteria for collectability that the experts cite. He’s a young artist with several group and solo gallery shows on his résumé; he’s in the collections of the most important collectors in Orange County; his work has been included in museum exhibitions, and one of his signature paintings was acquired by Laguna Art Museum.

“I think Jeff is an incredible talent,” says Salmeri, who owns works by the young artist and was on the board of Laguna Art Museum when it added a piece by Peters to the collection. “His work has a depth that a lot of artists don’t have, especially in the beach communities. A lot of the beach is about life and happiness and fun and frolic on the surface. He has a city aesthetic. There’s such a depth to it you remember it later. And that’s what makes for a good artist.”

“It’s a wonderful thing to be part of any collection, but especially a museum,” Peters says. “I’m an artist making comments on what it means to be a human being right now. And that’s being applauded by this institution that’s buying with an eye on the history of the region. It’s a lovely thing to be part of this history.”

Many art collectors are looking for a connection to a time or a place when collecting art from a specific region. And following a museum’s example in acquiring work with that link is a common method for top collectors. Whether or not the work is visually compelling is the first thing that Kook-Anderson and her colleagues at Laguna Art Museum look at. “Is it a stunning piece? Does the artist have a lot of promise? And what guesses can we make about the work’s value for the future?”

There are different rules for established artists, Kook-Anderson explains. The work has to have a rich provenance, be a primary example of an artist’s work with a lot written about it before it comes to the attention of a museum and possibly into its collection. Just like any other industry, the art industry is not one to take unnecessary financial gambles.

“The museum purchased a piece by Jeff Peters in 2008. Now in 2011, he’s constantly pushing his own practice and the conceptual underpinning of his work, reaffirming that we made a great purchase and a great investment.”

Art From the Heart

“There’s never been a better time for Southern California in the art world,” advises Blake. “It’s second only to New York right now. And because of the economy you can pick up work that normally would have been taken by collectors with relationships with the galleries.”

But Blake and most others involved in the art world agree that if appreciation in value is the main motivating factor in collecting art, there are much better investments out there. After all the analysis and research is over, it’s about what the work of art means to the collector that’s most important. “I always base my decision to purchase on what I feel and how authentic the work is to me,” Salmeri says. “If it’s authentic, I’m more interested in where they’re going to go then where they are. Sometimes you just fall in love with it; it speaks to you and you need to have that piece. If you buy with your guts and you buy from authenticity of the work you won’t be sorry.”

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