Allan Schwartzman

 

For more than 30 years, Allan Schwartzman has provided short- and long-term bespoke advice to influential and sophisticated collectors the world over, guiding them in the formation of their holdings in modern, post-war and contemporary art. 

Known equally as a tastemaker in contemporary art and an authority on the art market, and widely respected as an independent curator, Allan’s advisory projects have included nascent and mature private collections; serving as creative director and chief curator in the formation and ongoing evolution of Instituto Inhotim, a visionary contemporary art park set within a 5,000-acre botanical garden in Brazil; conceiving of and executing legacy and market development strategies for artists, both those currently practicing as well as artists’ estates and foundations; developing and overseeing comprehensive cultural development plans for civic projects and municipalities seeking innovative integration of art within their initiatives; and supporting private individuals and family foundations in major gifts of their collections in alignment with their patronage of established museums, as well as in the formation of private museums. 

Allan was a founding staff member of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City and served as curator from 1977 to 1980. He has been a frequent guest speaker and panelist at notable institutions and events around the world, and has written extensively about art for publications including The New Yorker and the New York Times. He serves on the Board of Artists Space, one of New York’s premier alternative spaces. Allan co-founded and led Art Agency, Partners, an art advisory firm that was acquired by Sotheby’s. From 2016 to 2020, in addition to running the advisory practice, he served as Chairman and Co-Leader of the Fine Art Division at Sotheby’s.

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Fernanda Arruda

 

Fernanda Arruda has worked with Allan Schwartzman for over 15 years. In her senior role at Schwartzman&, she serves as an advisor to long-term collector clients and institutions, as well as a number of artist advisory clients. Fernanda is also a Curator for Instituto Inhotim in Minas Gerais, Brazil, a museum she was instrumental in developing alongside Allan and a position she has held for over a decade. Previously, she spent three years as director of Anton Kern Gallery in New York and ten years as director of Galeria Luisa Strina in São Paulo, Brazil. Fernanda has curated shows for Anton Kern Gallery, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, E-Flux, Apex Art, and The Moore Space, among others, has helped to organize several major international projects with artists including Hélio Oiticica, Tunga, and Félix González-Torres, and has contributed to numerous catalogues and press. 

Fernanda earned her M.A. from New York University.

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Corinna Durland

 

Corinna Durland has worked across the spectrum of the art world for over twenty years. Prior to joining Allan Schwartzman at Art Agency Partners in 2017, she was the Director of Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York for more than a decade, and helped to establish the gallery as one of the most influential and unique of its time. Corinna has also worked as an independent artist manager with artists such as Elizabeth Peyton. She began her career working with the Museum of Modern Art’s Contemporary Arts Council, where she developed programming and led fundraising efforts for the group.

Corinna earned her B.A. in Art History from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and has served on the National Advisory Board at the University’s Ackland Art Museum. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the House Foundation for the Arts.

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Simon Preston

 

Simon Preston heads artist advisory at Schwartzman&. His work is focused on advising artists and their galleries with innovative strategic planning, legacy and philanthropic initiatives and the commissioning of new work, offering precisely tailored advice, as well as implementation and management services in a broad range of endeavors. Prior to joining the team, Simon was the founder of Simon Preston Gallery, which ran from 2008 to 2019. Before establishing his own gallery, Simon was a partner of The Project, a gallery based in Harlem in the early 2000's and prior worked at Thomas Dane Gallery in London.

Simon lived in both Hong Kong and London before moving to New York and earned a B.A. (Hons) in Fine Art from St. Edmund Hall, Oxford.

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Claire Robertiello

 

Claire Robertiello oversees business development for Schwartzman& and plays a key role in strategic overview for the firm as a whole. She also leads multiple artists’ estates projects and focuses on secondary market transactions on behalf of collector clients. Claire joined Schwartzman& from Sotheby’s, where she most recently held the position of Senior Vice President, Commercial Office, specializing in deal strategy. Raised in Rome and educated in the US, Claire has worked internationally in both the fine art and financial industries for over twenty years, serving variously as: head of the Bids Department at Christie’s Rome & Milan; Executive Assistant to the founder of one of the most successful and prestigious hedge funds in New York City; Business Director for the West Coast at Sotheby’s Los Angeles; and head of the Fiduciary Client Group at Sotheby’s New York. 

Claire earned her B.S. from Stern School of Business and her B.A. from the School of Fine Arts at New York University.

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Augusto Arbizo

 

Augusto Arbizo's focus at Schwartzman& is on gallery relationships and sourcing for the advisory team, actively connecting with dealers and artists through gallery visits and at international exhibitions and art fairs and contributing to the firm’s expanding artist advisory activities. Augusto joined Schwartzman& in 2021. He has been active in the art world for over twenty years, with a dedication to emerging and under-recognized artists. Augusto has curated projects for White Columns, Chapter NY, and Rachel Uffner Gallery, among others. Prior to joining Schwartzman&, he was the director of 11R Eleven Rivington, where he organized over 100 exhibitions from 2007 to 2017; and then a partner at Van Doren Waxter from 2018 to 2021. He has served in advocacy roles for leading arts organizations, including The Art Dealers Association of America, The Armory Show, and Protocinema, and is a current board member of The New Art Dealers Alliance. 

 Augusto earned a B.F.A. from The Cooper Union School of Art, New York, and an M.F.A. in Art and Curatorial Studies from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

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Daisy Edelson

 

Daisy Edelson joined Schwartzman& in the Spring of 2022, overseeing Operations, Administration and HR; she is also an active member of several Artist, Auction Deaccession and Project teams. Daisy came to Schwartzman& from Sotheby’s, where she most recently held the position of Senior Vice President, General Manager, Global Fine Arts. Her career at Sotheby’s ran over 30 years, primarily in the Impressionist and Modern Art department, focusing on Operations, Administration and Finance.

During her tenure at Sotheby’s, Daisy oversaw many high-profile projects, including The Estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, The Collection of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and The Estate of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney. In 2012 she managed the logistics, marketing, and promotion of the sale of Edvard Munch’s The Scream, and in 2019, the sale of Claude Monet’s Meules, both auction records for the artists.

Daisy grew up in New York City and earned her B.A. in Art History from Connecticut College.

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Stephen Gribbin

 

Stephen Gribbin has worked with Allan Schwartzman for over ten years, and he was a founding staff member at Art Agency, Partners. During this time, he worked with new and established collectors to ensure the safe stewardship of their collections. At Schwartzman&, Stephen collaborates with staff and a broad network of top art world professionals to provide clients with a wide variety of Collection Management services, including oversight and management of installations, conservation needs, appraisals, insurance matters, and loans to major institutions.  He also has extensive experience with domestic and international shipping, storage, and other logistical needs.

Stephen earned his B.A. in Art History from Vassar College and M.A. in Gender & Cultural Studies from the University of Sydney.

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Meredith Kirk

 

Meredith Kirk oversees collector advisory and manages content strategy for Schwartzman&. She is also closely involved in a number of artist advisory projects. Meredith began her career in the Contemporary Art department at Sotheby’s New York, where she worked as a Specialist for the biannual evening sales. In that role, Meredith was instrumental in securing works of art for auction, extensive researching and writing, and collaborating with colleagues and external stakeholders around the world to ensure successful biannual evening sales. Meredith began working with Allan Schwartzman when she joined Art Agency Partners in 2017. As director at AAP, Meredith worked jointly on the ongoing strategic development of private art collections as well as the conception and planning of a number of large-scale special projects.

Meredith earned her B.A. in Art History from Columbia University.

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Elsa Leal Cruz

 

Elsa Leal Cruz has worked with Allan Schwartzman since 2012. As the Controller for Schwartzman&, Elsa plays a key role in ensuring that the financial decisions and goals are well aligned with the overall stability, growth, and strength of the company. She keeps a close focus on everyday financial transactions, oversees the overall economic well-being of the company, and monitors new business development and special projects, whilst providing essential guidance to the advisory team on all levels.  Previously, Elsa was part of the founding staff at Art Agency, Partners, which was acquired by Sotheby’s in 2016. 

Elsa earned her B.A. in Accounting and Management from Pace University.

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Ali Nemerov

 

Ali Nemerov comes to Schwartzman& with over fifteen years of experience organizing exhibitions, publications, programming, and artist collaborations for leading institutions including Glenstone, MASS MoCA, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. During her seven-year tenure at Glenstone, Ali was a member of the team leading the museum’s expansion project and oversaw major exhibitions and publications on artists including Louise Bourgeois, Brice Marden, Cy Twombly, and Roni Horn. During her time at MASS MoCA, Ali organized exhibitions and curated a multi-year installation of the work of ten contemporary artists. For the Whitney Museum, Ali managed exhibition interpretation across wall labels, audio guides, and the video interview program.

Ali earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in Visual Studies and Communications and M.A. in Art History from Williams College. She is based in Los Angeles.

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Jeesun Park

 

Jeesun Park joined Schwartzman& in 2023 based in Seoul, South Korea and is working with collectors across Asia. Jeesun has worked across the art and entertainment sectors for over 16 years, always with a commitment to Korean arts and culture. In addition to her role at Schwartzman&, she serves as the Art Basel VIP Representative of South Korea, focusing on connecting Korean collectors, galleries and institutions internationally. Previously, Jeesun worked as Director at Kukje Gallery in Seoul, where she represented multiple international blue-chip artists such as Julian Opie and Jenny Holzer; she also managed the gallery’s exhibitions and events program from 2009-2015. She currently serves as Board Director for Ilwoo Foundation and on the Advisory Committee at the Korea Craft & Design Foundation.

Jeesun graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA, and obtained her M.A. from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London.

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Paola Saracino Fendi

 

Paola Saracino Fendi joined Schwartzman& in 2021 focusing on collector relationships and curation of new collections. She is a senior advisor and brings her expertise in the art market to all strategic development projects for both new and established prominent contemporary collections. Paola previously worked as a head of sale in the Post-war & Contemporary Department at Christie's, where she focused on securing works of art from around the world for auction and private sale, collection development, management, valuations and unique charity collaborations with artists and institutions. Paola currently works on collector and artist projects as well as legacy planning for large single-owner collections, private and public institutions. Paola is certified by the Appraisers Association of America to be Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) compliant. 

Paola has been involved as both patron and supporter of various art and cultural institutions in London and New York—such as the Tate, South London Gallery, Whitechapel Gallery, Camden Art Centre, the Brooklyn Museum, MoMA, and New York City Ballet—and has a passion for emerging talent and under-recognized artists. Having lived in New York, Paris, Lugano and London, Paola is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian and French.

Paola earned her B.A. in History of Art and Architecture and French from Boston University, and her M.A. in History of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Art Market.

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Michael Rudokas

 

Michael has been working with Allan Schwartzman since 2012. At Schwartzman&, Michael advises a wide range of collectors whose focus spans Impressionist and Modern to Post-war and the art being made today. Michael has a strong network of relationships that enables him to access works of art that might not otherwise be known to be on the market. He was a founding staff member and Director at Art Agency Partners, which was purchased by Sotheby’s in 2016; there he worked in both collections development and management for prominent collectors and institutions. While working for AAP, Michael grew the reach of the firm’s advisory projects worldwide, developed new initiatives and partnerships, and expanded the scope of services AAP could provide its collectors. He was a contributing writer for In Other Words.

Michael earned his B.A. in Philosophy and Visual Art from Marlboro College, Vermont and his M.A. from Hunter College, New York.

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Jules Hernandez

 

Jules Hernandez joined Schwartzman& in January 2022 and works across the advisory practice including artist advisory, business development and administration as well as assisting production for the podcasts The Art World: What If…?! and Hope & Dread: Tectonic Shifts in Power in Art. She began her career in the art world at Sotheby’s where she served as Executive Assistant to the Chief Commercial Officer and worked with the Global Transaction team on major consignments as well as managed global incentives for specialists in Asia, Europe, and the US before joining the American Art department. Jules comes to Schwartzman& from an art law firm based in New York where she worked as Office Manager, assisting the three managing Partners and two contract Partners.

 Jules earned her B.A. in Art History and Gender Studies from Rutgers University and the Douglass Residential College. While there she mentored students and taught two undergraduate courses on Gender Studies and later Art History and Film Studies. She was also a Fulbright recipient.

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Calvin Reedy

 

Calvin Reedy joined Schwartzman& in 2021. He manages and oversees the firm’s artist advisory projects, working with artists, estates, foundations, as well as respective gallery partners. Calvin has a passion for supporting artists, especially emerging talent, and those from historically under-represented backgrounds. He also works with new and emerging collectors to build collections that align with their vision and goals.   

Prior to joining Schwartzman&, Calvin worked at Jack Shainman Gallery as Executive Assistant to the Director, managing sales and working as an artist liaison to coordinate exhibitions as well as the execution of commissions and other outside commitments.

Calvin earned his B.A. in Art & Visual Culture from Bates College, where he also worked for a semester as a Curatorial Assistant at the Bates College Museum of Art and was co-President of Bates Arts Society.

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Paige Scanlan

 

Paige joined Schwartzman& in the Spring of 2021 to work directly with Allan Schwartzman, supporting his day to day, relationship management, and collector advisory. She also works closely with Claire Robertiello on business growth and client development. Paige has a background working in fine art auction houses and galleries with experience in research, writing, and client communication. She comes to the firm from David Zwirner Gallery and, before that, Christie’s. Paige is a Young Fellow of the Frick Collection.

Paige earned her B.A. in Art History and Corporate Strategy from Vanderbilt University.

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Cat Sensenig

 

Cat joined Schwartzman& in 2021 to assist with overall office management, and her role has since expanded to support cultural initiatives and artist advisory projects. She works closely with the advisor leads of these projects, providing research and support, project management, and relationship management between various artist and client teams. Additionally, Cat works closely on business and client development, focusing particularly on business development research, contact management, and the facilitation and planning of office events. Cat came to Schwartzman& from Smith College where she completed her undergraduate degree and partnered with the college’s museum, botanic garden, and art department on curatorial and research projects, two of which received departmental recognition. 

Cat is a member of the Young Leadership Committee for the Brooklyn Museum.

Cat earned her B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude) in Art History from Smith.

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Tess Starshak

 

Tess Starshak joined Schwartzman& in 2020 and supports all aspects of collector advisory. Working closely with senior advisors to ensure collectors are well cared for, Tess provides artist and market research, support for acquisitions and deaccessions, and project management. Tess is also on the S& project team for a major artist foundation. In addition, Tess collaborates with senior project leads to conceptualize and tailor our proposals to the specific needs of each potential advisory client. Tess comes to Schwartzman& from Owen Dec Arts, a small art appraisal firm, where she aided the founder in establishing the company. Prior to her time at Owen Dec Arts, Tess spent three years at The Conservation Center in Chicago. At The Center, she began in Client Services, eventually progressing to work closely with the art conservation departments, acting as the liaison between the client team, conservators, and registrars.

 Tess earned her B.A. in Biology, with a minor in Art History, from College of the Holy Cross.

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