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Guest Lecture: Astrid Rosetti

The lecture with art advisor Astrid Rosetti was my favorite this semester. Not only did she have a great presentation with lots of in-depth details and facts about being an art advisor, but she made it fun and engaging. She’s also close to my age, so I was able to relate to her really well and see how she came to be where she is with her business.

After years of working in traditional art roles at auction houses and galleries, Astrid started her own art advisory company and it’s clear that she has been successful so far. She attributes most of her success to her strong network of collectors, which was built up over years of working in art. I do think that her job has a lot of demands and that she constantly has to be on call for collectors, but there are also clear perks. She gets to travel around the world, attend all the art fairs, deal with incredible works of art and share her art expertise with others.

I learned a lot about what it is to be an art advisor from her presentation and how she has to put the needs of her clients first before her own or a gallery’s. It’s really important as an advisor to be very up-to-date on the current prices of art and what is going to be a good investment, because ultimately you want your clients to have a great collection, not one that depreciates in value.

I think no matter which path I take in the art world, having the knowledge about what the major players in the art world are doing is valuable information. I may at some point do some art advisory as it does appeal to me to a certain extent.

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Visit to the Auction Houses

Recently, we took a class trip to Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillip’s auction houses. It was during the week before their Evening sales and the focus was on Surrealism at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s, which meant that there were a lot of high-quality works by Magritte in particular. I was amazed at how the auction houses had created truly immersive experiences to view the art. For example, at Sotheby’s, they built a facade in front of their building that looked like Magritte’s "L’Empire des Lumieres," which was a painting up for auction. At Christie’s, they also had a whole room of Surrealist works with the doorway made to look like the clouds from another Magritte work. Christie’s also had a special viewing room for the painting, Die Fuchse (Foxes) by Franz Marc. The room had a timeline of the artist’s life when you first entered and the walls were colored to resemble the painting. I was not as impressed with Phillip’s, who did not seem to have done anything out of the ordinary.

I found this site visit very educational. To see all the art specialists in action, taking works off the walls to show to collectors was thrilling. I think that you would need to do well under pressure to work in such a fast-paced work environment, but the excitement was really palpable. I think that the immersive aspects will only be pushed further as technology develops and people look for new and more exciting ways of viewing art. I predict that eventually, there will be digital installations to accompany the physical works. It’s really a time of change for the art world and as auction houses are at the center, they will certainly need to adapt to keep up with collector appetites and the spectacle of it all.

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Who am I?

I'm a self-driven and dedicated art professional with a strong background in art curation and digital content creation. I consider myself an artist, but also a businessperson. I really don’t follow a traditional path, instead, I forge my own path. I’m a connector who likes to bring groups of people together to learn from different opinions and collaborate on exciting projects. It brings me joy to see people connecting because of me.

I am a very positive person who values discipline and hard work. Living in multicultural countries has enabled me to understand diverse cultures and the importance of exchanging ideas for further development. I believe technology is fundamental to my success and continue to expand my horizons in this aspect. My degrees and experience have enabled me to achieve success in understanding the interrelated dynamics between writing, curation, business and a host of other essential skills. The opportunity to work in different organizations has broadened my perspectives, excelled my business acumen, improved my leadership skills and enriched my creative skills.

In terms of my work experience, I have 5+ years of experience working in communications for art institutions as well as numerous luxury B2C retail companies. I also founded an online art platform that hosts virtual and in-person exhibitions for emerging artists.

BHAG:

My 1 year plan - To expand my writing business and reach out to art galleries and see if I can do writing for them. To continue Landing Contemporary art and the occasional show with my artists.

My 5 year plan - To do full writing packages for clients and outsource some of my writing to employees. It will be at least a 6 figure business and I will be able to work only 4 days a week. I will have a great art advisory on the side as well and be able to do independent curation.

My 10 year plan - I plan to run my own physical gallery and have a booming online business. I’ll plan and manage the shows, have booths at art fairs, and serve as an advisor to major collectors. I’ll also have a full staff so I won’t need to be everywhere all the time. This will allow me to pursue my other company ideas and I will become a serial entrepreneur. I’ll also be heavily involved in philanthropy and will have a family.

To reach my goals, I will need to continue to build my reputation in London as an art advisor/curator. I plan to keep attending as many art openings as I can and meeting people so that I’m not a stranger in the art world. I think it would be beneficial to ask for more help — this is something that I have trouble doing, but if you don’t ask, you don’t get! It would probably be good for me to talk to others who have started their own galleries here and see how they did it and what that looked like along the way.

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I’m glad we’re talking about personal brands today because I think mine isn’t quite aligned with my business.

I am very driven by a desire to share art with collectors and support artists. I am also currently driven by money, which is a strong motivator at this point in my life as I am tired of struggling with super low-paid jobs or internships. I love writing and believe that in whatever direction I go with my career, writing will be a part of it. I like working with people who inspire me and in creating my brand, I think I will take bits and pieces of what I’ve seen others create. At the same time, I’ll infuse it with my personality because to have a successful personal brand, it must come across as authentic.

My unique value proposition is that I have years of knowledge in the art industry from going to school, working as a Director in an art gallery, and visiting endless museums and art fairs. I am building a network at the moment in London and I think that is critical to having a successful career in the art world in particular. I’m very highly self-motivated and love the feeling of building something myself and seeing tangible results. I think overall my personal brand will be a mixture of beautiful art with an edge but presented in a polished, professional, and innovative way that audiences can trust.

I think behind it all, my purpose is to share my love of art with others. I aim to inspire and also to support artists because the world needs more art, always and it’s not an easy career. This is easy enough to convey to the world. The difficult part is presenting myself in one way all the time when I’m multifaceted (as are we all). I have a lot of interests like experimenting with styles and trying new things and have so many ideas for businesses that come to me all the time. As I move forward with my personal brand, I think I will aim to be a bit more focused on LCA and keep my personal brand cohesive with that so that I can be an industry leader in the arts.

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In regards to emotional intelligence, I tend to be able to handle situations in a balanced and measured way. It’s very important to have a high emotional intelligence at work because, as we learned, it makes you a better team member, helps you stay organized and keeps you calm in stressful situations. When you can control your emotions, you’ll feel happier overall than if you react to your impulses.

I think that I often use my friends as a sounding board for anything I am struggling with and having that source of support is invaluable. In the past, I have done gratitude journaling and found it really helpful to start the day with a positive mindset. I should probably start doing that again because there is really no downside. I do yoga and practice meditation.

I do think that I’m an "extroverted introvert” meaning that I love being social, but after a few hours, I usually need a break to just be alone, take a bath, read, and relax. I think I have a pretty high level of self-awareness and no longer take it personally when someone doesn’t react warmly to me at first.

I have learned to cope with negative feelings when they arise. If the feeling is anger, I tend to take deep breaths and step away for a moment. I’ll go do something that I enjoy, even if that’s only for 5-10 minutes to reset my attitude. This might be going for a quick walk or reading a few pages of a book I'm enjoying. I would never text angry — it’s always better to wait to respond until the next day when emotions have cooled. Sadness is a bit harder to deal with because when I’m in a funk, it can be hard to pull out of it. Usually, it takes until the next day after a good night’s sleep for me to feel normal again. To manage when I'm feeling blue, I generally take the night off and just watch movies, light some candles and treat myself to yummy food.

According to the test we took in class, I'm someone who takes action right away, often without any preparation. I do think this is true in some ways because if I say that I’m going to do something, I make sure that I do it. The worst thing is to wait on your ideas because the situation isn’t entirely perfect in your mind. When you do that, nothing ever gets done. I think the best way to progress is to try. If that means failing, then at least you will have learned something valuable.

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I am a 30-year-old American woman living in London. I’m the Founder of Landing Contemporary Art, an online art platform that supports emerging artists. At the same time, I am also a student who is working on an MA in Art Business at Kingston University. I am a daughter, sister, and friend to many. I love animals but don’t currently have a pet of my own.

I’m tall with blonde/brown hair and blue eyes. I have a feminine style with an edge. I really love aesthetics, so environments and beauty are really important to me. This is why I love London so much and want to make this my longtime home.

I feel like I am working all the time right now to try to make something out of myself. Turning 30 was really a wake-up call in a way that I need to act now if I want my life to be on the path I envision. I am fairly happy in my life now and am trying to appreciate the process because the process is life. Always thinking that you are saving up or working for something bigger and better makes you miss out on the important day-to-day moments that are happening right now.

The good is that I have a plan and am moving forward with it every day. The bad is that Rome isn’t built in a day and results are slow. I think that I am someone who gets really excited about ideas and then who loses focus fairly easily, so keeping myself motivated for the long run is really a challenge. This applies mainly to work endeavors, but also hobbies.

Future Career Success

Gold

I have an online art platform. My gold would be to make it really successful so that I can just do that. I would love open one or multiple physical galleries with blue-chip artists and be able to curate shows without being tied down to the gallery 24/7. I want to be able to showcase at major art fairs and have artists who achieve international recognition.

Silver

For me, silver would be working for a major auction house or blue-chip gallery and being successful in my job and feeling fulfilled. I would also like to have my art platform where I can curate shows on the side.

Bronze

Bronze for me is working in art sales for a blue-chip gallery or auction house and making important connections to set me up for my future career.

By December 2022, I would like to be working for a blue-chip gallery, auction house, or other art career position that I find fulfilling and that is paid decently so that I have financial security. I would like to be doing exhibitions in London for LCA artists.

In 5 years' time, I would like to be very established in the art world as a dealer and curator. I will have worked with numerous large art institutions and will also have my own blue-chip gallery.