Another one off FAD’s occasional interviews with people leading companies that are changing the very fabric of the art world , up now is Jonas Almgren CEO of Art Finder.
To catch all of FAD’s interviews with industry leaders from the Art/Tech field please follow this link: bit.ly/Ximzho
1 Jonas who are you ? What have you done in the past ?
I’m the CEO of Artfinder, a curated marketplace for art where art lovers can buy directly from independent artists and galleries. Before becoming CEO at Artfinder, I started VIP Art Fair and Oneartworld in New York. I have a professional background in Silicon Valley, where I helped a few technology startups (Vantive, Interweave, Epiphany) through early stages to exits. I also started and sold an online yellow page business called PremierGuide. I’m a computer engineer by training, and spent a couple of years at SICS (Swedish Institute of Computer Science) after graduating from The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
I’m also an avid long distance runner, and a passionate art lover and collector. Some years back I ran the New York and Boston marathons, and hope to run the London marathon next year.
2 Who else is there at ArtFinder and what do they do?
Artfinder has three core teams:
Product development is headed up by Michal Szczesny (ex agency, Tangent Snowball) their role is to build our website and apps so that they are effective and easy for artists to sell their work and for customers to find what they’re looking for and buy it.
Business Development is run by Chris Ryan (ex Amazon). His team is responsible for artist acquisition and ensuring that we have a wide range of quality artworks from international artists.
Marketing – run by Claire Howard-Jones (ex TripAdvisor). Her team ensure that customers from around the world come to Artfinder to buy artwork. They are also responsible for retaining customers and encouraging them to keep buying.
3 What is ArtFinder ?
Artfinder is a marketplace where you can buy affordable authentic art directly from independent artists and galleries
Artfinder was launched in March 2011 by Spencer Hyman (former COO at Last.fm) with financial backing from Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn) and Wellington Partners, the venture capital firm behind Spotify. At the end of 2012, Artfinder began to build its marketplace for independent artists and galleries.
We’re passionate about helping artists live from their art, and provide consumers with a wide selection of authentic art, so that they don’t have to resort to canvas prints or posters to find something they like.
Every day we add new artists to Artfinder, and I’m completely addicted to tracking art uploaded by the artists. It’s amazing to see how many unknown artists have skills and a vision that easily could compete with much more established artists. My hope is that by democratising the art world, Artfinder will help artists, regardless of their geographic location or position within the art world, find the right buyers. Art is a bit like finding a soul mate, you know the right person is out there, but it can be hard to find them. Perhaps you can think of Artfinder as a dating site for art, we help match artworks with compatible buyers.
4 How important are smartphones to ArtFinder ?
Mobile is an incredibly important channel for Artfinder. Approximately 33% of our website traffic comes from people on mobile devices, and 45% of our sales. The iPhone app (which launched as no 1 in the Apple app store) contributes 13% of the mobile sales.
Art is beautiful, art evokes emotions, and mobile devices allow people to enjoy the art, and fall in love with art, in a comfortable setting, maybe when relaxing at home with a glass of wine. Contrast that with buying art at a white cube gallery, or at an art fair, and it’s clear which way is the more pleasurable way to buy art.
5 What is Authentic Art ?
Authentic art is signed art that was created under the direct control of the artist. Authentic art is never mass produced, though it can be produced in limited editions, as long as every artwork is signed and numbered by the artist.
6 At FAD we feel the bridge between ‘real world’ events/exhibitions and online will be a great bridge to be on in the future do you agree and why ?
We agree because online enables events and exhibitions to be seen by many more people, which in turn will drive awareness and understanding.
7 What revenue streams do you have now? and do you envisage new ones to come ?
Our revenue comes from the commission we charge the seller when a customers buys an artwork. As we extend the marketplace, we might allow artists to participate in specific promotional activities for a charge.
8 What are your favourite kinds of art and do you have a favourite artist?
I love to discover new artists. Not only young, up-and-coming artists, but also experienced artists that have been going at it for a while (sometimes for decades), but for one reason or another have not joined the art establishment. I really enjoyed all the outsider art at the Venice Biennale this year. My taste constantly evolves, and part of the thrill of art is that you can never see enough, and every day I’m surprised by the art I see on Artfinder, or in exhibitions at museums and galleries.
Some of my favorite established artists are Anthony Gormley, Kara Walker, Vik Muniz, Mark Bradford, Ghada Amer, and Jim Cambell, but there are so many more. An artist that really took my breath away at Miami Art Basel a couple of years back was Theaster Gates.
9 Do artists need galleries anymore ?
From an artist’s point of view, galleries provide a seal of approval that can help them with their future career, and from a buyer’s perspective, galleries provide a curated selection, and expression of the gallerists taste, and a certain quality guarantee.
The physical space that used to be the core value provided by galleries, will become less important. In fact, it is already less important, as art fairs have overtaken the gallery as the main venue for artwork sales. Over the coming years, as the art world moves online (art sales grow 20% annually online), the importance of the gallery space as a generator of sales will further diminish.
However, as taste makers and brands, the galleries and the expertise they bring to the art world, will increase in importance, as more art, and a wider selection of art, will be available for purchase, and consumers will need more guidance.
10 There are so many Art Platforms now , why is ArtFinder any different ?
You see a growing number of art platforms because art is one of the last verticals to migrate online and yet it represents a $60bn opportunity.
Artfinder is the only truly transparent marketplace for art online. We’re not an art e-tailer, we’re not an intermediary, we facilitate direct connections between sellers and buyers, between artists and collectors, between art makers and art lovers. By focusing on affordable art rather than the high end market (dominated by a small number of galleries, artists, and collectors), we help more artists make a living from art, and we help more people find and buy great art for their homes. We want to make art buying a pleasurable and friendly experience, available to everyone. And by providing a generous return policy, we take all worries out of buying online.
11 If you were an artist who wanted eventually to sell at the top end of the market wouldn’t you have too ignore the mid market to retain your credibility ?
We’d like to think not. We believe, and we already see, that popular artists selling through the Artfinder platform will be able to sell more art, at higher prices, and have tremendously lucrative careers, with or without the art establishment. Some of our artists have already (in less than two months) made more money than British artists on average make in a year. By creating a transparent marketplace, supply and demand will dictate prices, not gatekeepers within the art establishment.
12 Should there be more transparency in prices at the top level of the art market ?
The opaqueness and the inter-dependencies between actors in the high end art market are well documented (even in artworks by e.g. William Powhida). Prices are managed by gatekeepers rather than demand, and therefore often have an “emperor’s new clothes” feel to them. Gallerists buy art by their own artists at auctions, to keep the only transparent aspect of the high end market under control. All of this creates a climate in which the uninitiated buyer is likely to end up holding the short end of the stick. We believe that this opaqueness is doing a disservice to artists and art lovers alike, as it restricts access, and keeps potential collectors away. Artfinder intends to create a transparent marketplace, in which prices are set by market forces. This means that even though we initially focus on affordable art, some popular artist that are affordable today will surely become expensive over time, as demand outstrips supply.
13 Finally if you had a spare $15,000 what artists would you buy into now ?
For $15,000 I could buy 20 originals on Artfinder. I woud look for a mix of young and old, but all by unknown artists. Something exciting and fresh. If I had to spend all the money on one artist, it would probably be Theaster Gates
