To be fair, the wording on this item in the Financial Times has enough leeway to assume that Serge Tiroche is not talking about Serge Attukwei Clottey, the Ghanaian artist who is highly visible on Instagram, when he says that he discovered two artists at the 1:54 art fair in New York. (Indeed, as the Tiroche’s IG post shows, he’s been invested in Clottey for some time.)
Nonetheless, the juxtaposition of Instagram and art fairs does increasingly raise the issue of discovery. How do we find new artists and how are their reputations built?
The fair is another far-flung experience, though being in the trendy area of Red Hook, Brooklyn, makes it something of a destination. Its small size — there were only 19 galleries — was arguably an advantage. “It’s concise, so I quickly discovered two artists,” said Serge Tiroche, who runs the Art Vantage art fund. He bought quickly too, including two charcoal portraits by the Ghanaian Serge Attukwei Clottey priced at $8,000 each through Gallery 1957 from Accra.
Tefaf takes on Frieze in Manhattan (Financial Times)
