Joshua Roth has a great relationship with the Wall Street Journal. Last Spring the paper ran a puff piece on the young art lawyer. This year they float a vaporware announcement based upon his joining UTA to develop an art representation practice. A cursory reading of the story shows that Roth’s gambit is more hope than business plan. Though the Journal got under Marc Glimcher’s skin and got him to give some contentious quotes. Roth is a lawyer but he’s not the first to think—or talk—about representing artists. No less a figure than Amy Cappellazzo floated the idea when she joined forces with Allan Schwartzman to launch Art Agency, Partners:

Joshua Roth, an art lawyer hired to head the new division, said he plans to spend the coming year building the agency’s art clientele. He is known for working with Los Angeles-based artists Sterling Ruby and Mark Grotjahn. “We want the best names in the industry,” he said. Mr. Ruby and Mr. Grotjahn declined to comment. […] “You look at artists’ careers these days, and it’s so much bigger than showing in the rarefied world of the gallery,” he added. “They’re vital to a larger community.”

There is a broader issue at play here. The traditional gallery system is becoming a bottleneck in the growing demand for artists and their images. Glimcher warns that artists who get over-exposed risk becoming “just not cool anymore.” Roth and Art Agency, Partners may not succeed in breaking that bottleneck but they are strong evidence that pressure is building:

Scott Hodes, an art lawyer who represents the New York-based artist Christo, said he doesn’t believe Christo will sign up for a talent agent, but he isn’t surprised to see agencies angling for a piece of the art world. “There’s so much money to be made, and those guys know better than anyone how to merchandise.”

Hollywood Talent Agency’s New Division to Manage Visual Artists’ Careers  (WSJ)