Art Dealer Show

Tony Pernicone Owner of Avanti Fine Arts

I’ve alway been fond of the cautionary words from an unknown sage – “choose your profession before it chooses you.” These sobering words used to guid me as much as keep me up all night staring at the ceiling.

This week those words of wisdom have once again found their way back in to my head, as my business travels have returned me to the Hawaiian Islands to visit with some of my gallery accounts. While here I’ve been training many young art dealers on one of my artists during the day and by night I’ve been editing this new episode of the Art Dealer Show. And the juxtaposition of these fresh new art dealers with as little as a month or two of experience on the gallery floor in contrast to this episode’s guest Tony Pernicone, who has nearly forty years under his belt, could not be more striking.

Tony’s career in the art business is – like most of the greats I know – more of an odyssey than a CV. And while relistening describe his career that started in the entertainment world as an actor, folk musician and sit-com writer that led to a storied gallery career, I could not help by think this is someone who disproves the axiom that has haunted me for all these years.

Because often a career “finds you” but sometimes it’s a calling. And those are not the same things. For Tony I think it was the latter.

Tony Pernicone has been an art dealer since 1980, an appraiser since 1991 and an auctioneer since 1995.

He is an Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers; a Member of the National Auctioneers Association and the California State Auctioneers Association. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Northern California Division of the American Society of Appraisers as the Discipline Director of the Personal Property Division.

He successfully participated in the Society’s mandatory Reaccreditation program and has complied with its continuing education requirements, as set forth in the organization Constitution, Bylaws and Administrative rules. Formal reaccreditation was granted by the International Board of Governors and is valid through January 9, 2014. He is currently acquiring the educational credits to reaccredit again at that time.

In 2004, as one of only two appraisers in the nation, he was asked to assist eBay.com in their efforts to weed out any fraudulent art. His responsibilities were to offer his opinion as to the authenticity of questionable works of art appearing for sale on eBay’s Internet auction site, and to help establish permanent guidelines and standards for any seller to list their art for auction. Considered one of the leading fine art appraisers in the country, he is also qualified, and has served as an expert witness in all fine art-related fields; He’s a published lecturer whose most recent articles were for the 2011 and 2012 Journal of Advanced Appraisal Studies, respectively titled, ” Beyond Auction Sales: Selecting Fine Art FMV Comparables”; and “Caveat Emptor! Fakes and Frauds at EBay and other Online Auction Sites.” He lectured on the same subject at the 75th International Appraisers Conference in Washington D.C. in August of 2011. Currently, he is working on an article regarding the value of “Art as an Investment”.

Sponsors:
Art World News
Relavent Communications
Redwood Media Group

Guest:
Tony Pernicone, owner of:
Avanti Fine Arts

Us:
www.artdealer.show
[email protected]
@artdealershow
facebook.com/artdealershow

Allison Zucker-Perelman with Mick Fleetwood on art show tour.

Our guest on this episode of the Art Dealer Show is not an art dealer, gallery owner or even an art broker but she is, without a doubt, a notable player in the world of art sales.

Allison Zucker-Perelman is a publicist who has set the standard for promotion in the art business for the past decade. Along the way she has worked with a list of artists, galleries and publishers which amounts to a who’s who in the biz. Jane Seymour, Dr. Seuss (Chase Art), Peter Max, Tom Everhart, Beanie Taupin, and Dali to name just few. All benchmarks of success stories of art marketing.

The challenges of promoting an artist, gallery or art event are unique and deceptively challenging. All of which makes finding an effective publicist one of the most stressful tasks any art dealer take on. Despite the fact that there is always a long list of publicists who are happy to take you on as client, very few understand that promotion in the art world is unlike any other. Even less will prove to be good at it. And next to none have done what Zucker-Perelman has in turning this specialty into an art of her own.

In our conversation we went far beyond the basics of discussing the basic best practices in using a publicist and explored the deeper underpinnings of what makes for a great art promotion. We got at the fundamental truths that are often missed: that this is showbiz at the end of the day, our job is to create events, and PR can be about 1,000 little things vs. one big hit.

If you’ve ever had the feeling that you’ve been throwing money at your PR and they’ve just been throwing darts into the media void, you’ll want to listen to this one from start to finish.

Cheers.

Danny Stern.

Our Guests
Allison Zuck-Perelman
561.715.9525
[email protected]
@RelevantCom
http://relevantcommunications.net

Episode Sponser:
ART WORLD NEWS
http://www.artworldnews.com

Us:
http://artdealer.show
[email protected]
@artdealershow
https://www.facebook.com/artdealershow

Your host Danny Stern introduces this new podcast – Art Dealer Show. The first show about people who sell art and for people who sell art.

At a time when the business of selling art is going through so many changes, it is probably the perfect moment that we look around at where we are now, where we came from and try to figure out where we may be going.

Through thing ongoing series of discussions with the art business icons, authorities and those who have simply lived in it long enough to have some solid wisdom, we hope to give some insight. Or at least a little something to consider.

The wait is over, and we are back with part II of my conversation with Bob Chase, president of Chase Art. And If you enjoyed part one as much as I did, I can assure you that this second chapter is as interesting as it is different from the first.

(if you didn’t hear part I, this is your chance)

Previously Bob and I talked about the early days in the street level gallery business when his father and grandfather first started Merrill Chase Galleries. In this episode, we move on to Bob’s own personal experiences in the gallery world. Including the inspiring story about his company’s early struggles getting the Dr. Sues art program started in its first years. And how he was able to bring it to become one of the most represented and collected published art programs in the market.

We also spent some time digging down to the roots of what makes for a great, or even just good, art dealer. And as often is the case, the answer is the ABCs of good selling – Always Be Challenging yourself. I know it’s hokey, but it’s also true.

Picking up where we left off with Bob is not the only unfinished business in this episode. We also pick up from where I left you hanging after our conversation at the ol’ art dealer bar.

In part I shared a story about an old gallery owner friend of mine, who late one night after binge listening to several of our podcasts, called me up to hit me with a question many gallery owners would like to ask someone “What should I do next?” And after doing my best to skirt around the question, I confessed that I don’t possess those visionary powers. Despite having the chutzpah to pontificate into the mic show after show. But I did declare I knew one thing for sure. That an answer is coming and there will be a new day for the gallery business. And then with that tease I promised I’d tell you how I know that for sure right after the ad-break.

And when we came back from that ad... (nothin’) Well I guess I owe you and everyone else an apology. I meant to. Really I did. What I really meant was when we return with this episode.

But now the time has come. And in this episode I finally do deliver on my promise to make my case.

(Yes, I just used a tease again...Shamelessly.)

Cheers.

Sponsors:
Art World News
Relavent Communications
Art Expo New York

Guest:
Bob Chase, President of:
Chase Art

Us:
www.artdealer.show
[email protected]
@artdealershow
facebook.com/artdealershow

We are finally back with the second half of our conversation with San Diego gallerist Ruth Ann Thorn (Exclusive Collections). And maybe being a year and a half later you have concluded that the reason for the wait is because the second half was just more of the same. And if that’s you, prepare to be surprised.

I’ve heard lots of art dealers go on about how they need to find artists who are not just talented but are doing things their collectors have truly not seen before. And then wait for them to walk in the door, or hope to find them at the next art fair. But Ruth Anne does much more than keep her eyes open. She goes on the hunt.

Junkies, Schizoids, and Ex-Cons – oh my.

Listen to this new episode of the Art Dealer Show and find out what happens when a gallery owner makes a practice of placing ads on Craig’s list that start with “Looking for weird people creating weird things”. Follow her journey into Hollywood flops and other corners of the world no other art dealer I know is willing to brave, just to find their next artist.

But before we get into all that, a year and a half is a long time, particularly in today’s art world. So from our corner booth in the back of the ol’ art dealer bar, I gave Ruth Ann a call to check in and see what has been going on since we first spoke with her. And I’ll say this, it’s not a lot of same old – same old.

Ruth Anne has seen the changes coming come and like anyone who will survive to thrive, she’s adapting with the changing climate.

So slide on in, order yourself up the perfect tonic to carry you through the hour and join us.

Cheers.

Danny

Sponsors:
Art World News
Relavent Communications
Art Santa Fe – a Redwood Media Group show

Guest:
Ruth-Ann Thorn, CEO and owner of Exclusive Collections:
San Diego • Beverly Hills • Las Vegas • Laguna Beach
(619) 238-0320
www.ecgallery.com
https://www.facebook.com/ecgalleries

Us:
www.artdealer.show
[email protected]
@artdealershow
facebook.com/artdealershow