Official Richart Ruddie Blog - Internet Entrepreneur

Arts Most Powerful Person Larry Gagosian Profiled in the New Yorker

If you have an hour to spare and want to learn about the worlds most successful art dealer Larry Gagosian the New Yorker has done a 2023 profile that showcases his grit and hustle to break into the art world from Los Angeles into the global phenomenom he is today:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/07/31/larry-gagosian-profile

other profiles mentioned are from 2009 in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/business/08larry.html  and a 1989 piece that was republished online in 2019 from the  Village Voice that can be read here: https://www.villagevoice.com/7-days-larry-gagosian-arts-bad-boy/ 

Any aspiring gallerist should read all 3.

Astonishing Facts on the Fall of NFT Art

The NFT art world was all the rage in 2020, 2021, and part of 2022. As I publicly predicted in April of 2021 that the NFT craze would last into 2022 but expected it to fizzle out from it's peak. Sure enough my prediction rang true for the most part and I even helped invest into an NFT meets Metaverse game that is publicly launching now that we are seeing the market starting to rebound back after the FTX scandal and blowups.

So here are some interesting stats that appeared in one of my newsletters that popped up today:

Bored Ape Yacht Club surged to $346.1 million dollars just under a year ago in January of this year. Since then the sales fallen off a proverbial cliff with sales volume under $32 million dollars in September & October but now we are seeing a small rebound in November with that number doubling to almost $64 million in November of 2022. So at one point it was down around 90%. We also are now contending with lawsuits from plaintiffs who bought crypto coins only because celebrities backed and promoted them. This will greatly affect future celebrity endorsements and the legal jargon that will go with these future promotions. So thats why you may hear about Madonna, Steph Curry, Tom Brady, and other well known celebrities getting sued for something they promoted that may have been legitimate at the time but well... Thats how business goes with fads and trends. If the people made money were they going to donate more money to the celebrities that promoted these coins?

Other big NFT Drops are for NBA Top Shot, which is created by the Crypto Kitties family over at Dapper Labs in British Columbia. They used licensing agreements with the NBA to sell sports trading card clips and highlights from the NBA. This was a common sense NFT that made more sense than the majority of GIFs going around. Dapper saw sales volume top $200 million 21 and 22 months ago. Last month however it fell to $2.1 million. Seems to be in line with the 90% range of volume dropping or 10% of the peak numbers. Topps MLB NFT collection had $8.5 million in sales volume 19 months ago but by JJune 2021 they couldnt break $1 million in sales trading volume. NFL has also had a similar issue with numbers peaking in September of this year at $14.3 million.

So overall the peak NFT volumes has dried up but the lovers and users and innovators will stick around and create value that at some point we will have increased values but may never ever see the trading volumes that we saw over the past 24 months. So follow the trend but dont get stuck in it.

Richart Ruddie Art Market Statistic

Fun art market statistic to mull over when thinking about it from an investment stand point:

The 100 most expensive pieces of art work re-sold at approximately $3 billion. While thats a gigantic number it equates to only .00025% of all the art market transactions between auctions, gallery sales, and art fair sales. That $3 billion number though is half of 1% .5% of the entire art market. The artists are also almost entirely dominated by USA, Europe, Russia, and China. Yayoi Kusama is one of the biggest outliers who helps to skew the market a little bit in terms of diversity. 

Richart Ruddie on the importance of Culture

Culture is great not just for business but for learning the ways of the world. Thats why there is such an important emphasis to diversify your travels. Traveling around the world to new countries, cities, provinces/states, and continents that you only hear about in books or the internet growing up. When you do so you have the opportunity to learn about how other societies operate. 

When you experience a new city it's enlightening to meet people of different cultures, try their food, view their buildings and architecture, see the spirit of the people and this helps to change your perspective from potential subconscious biases you may have had previously. When you return and meet somebody from that culture or place you've visited you now have something to talk about and the ability to relate. Outside of reading books this is a great way to build knowledge, understandings of others, and traveling and eating are a great way to live life to the fullest. 

So if you follow my ZeeMap or Mapster showcasing all the places "Richart Ruddie" has been to know that there are so many more and yet so little time to make it to them all but if there's a will there is a way.

Art on Fire Burning Man Film

Art Films are a growing trend. As an art collector and a burner I'm happy about this trend. Sotheby's just launched an art interview with the film director who came to the 2018 Burning Man Festival and is releasing a film all about the art. While the burn is not commercial and needs to abstain from any commercial influences to retain it's alter-universe perfect world it has been nice to see the Art of Burning man outside of Black Rock City.

From art around Reno, Nevada and the Smithsonian in 2018 (I believe was the year) had previous art pieces that survived the burn so others that haven't made it out to the desert experience can get a small piece of what it's like out there. It's a way to help expand BRC for the normal people of the world and helps expand the world's interest in art.

For more information on the Sotheby's interview see it here: https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/art-on-fire-behind-the-scenes-at-burning-man-with-documentarian-gerry-fox

 

Also for art fans the JR Chronicles interview at the Groning Museum in the Netherlands: https://www.groningermuseum.nl/en/art/exhibitions/jr

 

-Richart Ruddie

Ponzi Scheme Fraudster Bernie Madoff Had A Botero In His Apartment

On the CNBC Show Bernie Madoff: His Life and Crimes they show photos from his New York City apartment and in a brief shot for half a second you can see a Colombian Sculpture from Fernando Botero. I was unable from a brief Google search to see what other art including the Botero Statue that Madoff had acquired through his financial scheme. When Sotheby's or Christies has a big auction they dont typically reveal when a famous piece comes from Death, Divorce, or Taxes. The same held true I can imagine from Bernie Madoff's Botero statue. If you know where the statue is currently I'd be curious to know. Drop me a line pretty please.

Art Basel 2021 Review

With only the Aqua Art Fair and Pulse (now called Volta) were unable to setup this year. All else was back to normal with the exception of some shows asking for proof of vaccination and asking that you put on a mask to enter the fair. Once inside there was a 65/35 spread of no masks to masks. Scope seemed to be the most popular on social media posts but was one of my least favorite shows this year.

I noticed in 2019 there was a strong showing from Okuda at Scope but saw only 2 pieces from him this year. Other major galleries seemed to not make it but were filled in with local South Florida and Miami galleries. Red Dot & Spectrum which I wasn't able to get to until Saturday was a packed house and had a massive amount of booths second only to Basel Convention Center & Art Miami/Context. The artists were mostly under represented artists or contemporary artist prints.

The best shows this year? Art Basel & Art Miami take the cake. If you only have time to go to two fairs take 2-4 hours (depending on how you peruse) and visit Art Miami/Contest and Art Basel at the Miami Beach Convention Center. I found a beautiful double sided Picasso that's peaked my interest along with Javier Calleja & George Condo Paintings.

Untitled Art Fair was the first fair to open and I attended on Monday for the preview (if you can do the previews and art a serious art collector this is the way to go before the crowds pile up). Untilted has an artist Bradley Hart out of Canada who uses bubble wrap as part of his paintings and creates two pieces out of one when he removes the bubble wrap and you get an abstract piece. Pinta Miami was an easy access as was NADA but I was left unimpressed this year. If there were events for Satellite Art Fair and Art Now I was unable to make them.

One thing I did notice was NFT Drops and parties were all the rage. Maybe because us in the crypto community like to rage and party or because there's been a lot of potential with the way NFTs are going.

P.S. I also was told that if you have a VIP Basel pass that you can gain access to the other fairs.

From Marc Spiegler Global Director of Art Basel Miami had this to say:


"Art Basel Miami Beach 2021 attracted over 60,000 visitors, once again proving to be a vibrant meeting place for the international artworld. The show drew a particularly strong turnout of both established and new private collectors, from over 72 countries, as well as leading cultural institutions. They include: The Met, Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Musuem of American Art, New Museum, Tate Americas Foundation, Walker Art Center, MOCA Los Angeles, ICA Boston, Blanton Museum of Art, Nasher Museum of Art, Serpentine Gallery from UK, SAHA from Turkey, Museo Tamayo and MUAC from Mexico, Tel Aviv Museum of Art from Israel, and Palais de Lomé from Togo."

There's an Art Basel in March of 2022 in Hong Kong but due to the quarantine restrictions I won't be attending as you'll have to quarantine 21 days upon arrival so that turns the 4 day fair into a 25 day venture. I'll add some photos when I get a chance.

-Richart Ruddie Art Enthusiast     

Retna Showing Strong Buying During Heritage/Artsy Auction

A Retna piece I was bidding on called White Noise an acrylic piece on canvas thats 5 feet by 5 feet broke through it's high estimate of $60,000 and thus a strong showing and indicator coming into Art Basel Miami at the end of the month for Retna pieces in the secondary market.

Daniel Poppers Fort Lauderdale Sculpture is called "Thrive"

As the most instagrammable pieces in Florida you will feel like you're back on the playa at Burning Man when you see Daniel Poppers 20+ foot tall sculpture named "Thrive". This beautiful piece of art work is what makes a place like Fort Lauderdale great and notable. Things like this deserve a mention on travel sites like Atlas Obscura so tourists will come, visit, and most importantly experience interactive art. Of course taking a photo and sharing with others is really important as well.

So if you were wondering who created this piece it's by South African Artist Daniel Popper and it is on permanent display next to Bodega of Fort Lauderdale, The Wharf and Society Las Olas just off of the river.

Enjoy!

Artist Kehinde Wiley Interview on Sotheby's

What a great interview as artist Kehinde Wiley discusses his growth and change starting with the Obama portrait that he claims will be painted on his gravestone for it's notoriety. This was the first time I got to hear Wiley speak after seeing his pieces in a few museums and one collectors home in Manhattan.

https://www.sothebys.com/en/videos/summer-talks-artist-kehinde-wiley-and-the-duke-of-devonshire

Stand at the gates of culture and say this is what we want. This is what culture and museums are here for.

Powerful interview all should watch that appreciate art and want to see deeply into the history to the present.

Arte Fuse Covers Richart Ruddie Donation to NYC School

Promoting equality and support during troubling times Arte Fuse has covered the donation for the Rashid Johnson piece who paints and creates pieces that are ever so relevant to fighting for equality today. Wanted to thank Arte Fuse for the piece that can be read here: https://artefuse.com/2020/06/09/art-collector-richart-ruddie-donation-spurs-others-to-help-during-covid-19/

Download a picture of Richart Ruddie with a Yayoi Kusama piece which I'm trying to pledge or loan to the Aspen Art Museum in 2021.
Download 721D06E2-E3DC-4E81-A858-E491584536DA

Richart Ruddie Art Donation for Rashid Johnson Piece

Featured press release about a donation that benefited the Seminary Arts School in New York City for $28,000 in exchange for a piece by Artist Rashid Johnson called Broken Men. The piece was picked up by the Oleans Times, Fox 34 News, Florida Now News, and many more outlets. The original piece about the donation from Richart Ruddie during COVID-19 in March of 2020 can be seen here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/friends-seminary-school-raises-28-000-from-art-auction-buyer-richart-ruddie-301063108.html

I encourage everybody who has the means to help others during this difficult time to do so.      

The piece by Rashid Johnson can be seen below.

Vincent Van Gogh's Sister in Law Jo Made him famous

While Vincent Van Gosh was rising in the art scene and was being touted as one of the top up and coming artists his top sale price in his lifetime was only $2,000. His brother was Theo who had died only 6 months apart from him and Theo's wife Jo Van Gogh was a big proponent of promoting her brother in laws work. So when they were both gone she was there to promote in the media and to museums to grow his name and helped to excel him to what he is today.

Watch this video explainer here:

Artsy Covers How To Spot an Art Forgery

The art world is ripe with fraud and forgeries as discussed by Elena Goukassian. With new techonologies to determine types of paint and materials used on fake pieces of art work the best way is actually to look at the Provenance (where the artwork has come from in French parlance) and to look at the certificate. Typically on the paperwork is where you will find errors or hints that can make you suspicious and help unlock the clues as to the history and veracity of the paperwork and owner.

The dealer is also a big hint. What does the internet say about them? I had a dealing with Guy Hepner who surprisingly is absent from Howsmydealing.com and it was an absolute nightmare dealing with Jennifer and their scammy art dealing operation. Why is it scammy in my opinion? Well to start there were two pieces of art work purchased by Yayoi Kusama that they advertised as having on their website. Once  we agreed on a price and made payment we received the run around on when the pieces would be ready and where they were located. Finally they stated one was in Miami and thus I offered to go pick it up..  I was denied with a back handed excuse. The other piece was allegedly at their framer in New York to which the other owner was denied the ability to go and pick it up with another excuse... Finally with great delays waiting on our pieces from Guy Hepner they agreed they would pay for the framing of the pieces to make up for their delays... So what happened next??? Guy Hepner says we have your Kusama piece but it will now be another $30,000 for this piece. Once legal got involved they grandstanded and acted innocent and said they wouldn't refund the charge for the 2nd piece. With my Kusama piece it was getting framed by my chosen gallery of choice and waiting for payment from Guy Hepner to which Jennifer Guy Hepners right hand scandal partner said we are not going to pay for your framing because the other piece had a lawyer threaten us for not delivering the piece and trying to bait and switch you out of $40,000...

Lets say in the end Jennifer apologized and unwittingly paid for the frame and hopefully others have been warned about the fraud and forgery of unscrupulous art dealers..

Now back to the Artsy piece. Artificial Intelligence and Radio Carbon Dating as well as molecluar analysis will help identify forgeries such as identifying materials that didn't exist prior to 1940 when a piece was created. von Hasburg says in the article “as more information becomes available online, more forgeries come out of the woodwork.” And remember to never let a dealer rush you into a sale. “There are many more fakes than you would expect,” said Keijsers Koning. “If you have any doubt, you shouldn’t buy it.”

Read the whole piece here:  https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-buying-forgery

If you enjoyed this check out Richart Ruddie Art Collection on Display at Art Daily and additional pieces coming soon for the publics enjoyment of these private pieces.

Richart Ruddie Art Collection on Display

If you attend a Sothebys or Christies art auction you won't see a lot of Millenials but the smart Millenials buy art I've been told. After doing enough research on art as an investment I've come to the conclusion that even the best art investments over 100 years is not going to outperform the stock markets return. I do believe however having the joy of looking at beautiful pieces of art on your wall and throughout your home gives it character and the ability to appreciate it as opposed to waiting for dividends or earnings calls.

Either way I was honored in this piece on Art Daily: Richart Ruddie Art Collection: https://artdaily.com/news/122509/Richart-Ruddie-on-his-art-collection 

Here are some pieces that we're featured in the piece and some that didn't make it into this one: 

Download Virgil Kate Moss Download Kusama Infinity Nets

Lady in Gold What the Art Says

Interesting Reads for the week:

 

http://nautil.us/issue/69/patterns/gustav-klimt-in-the-brain-lab

https://thewalrus.ca/is-the-world-getting-better-or-worse/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2019/02/19/the-greatest-investor-youve-never-heard-of-an-optometrist-who-beat-the-odds-to-become-a-billionaire/#76fc311022e8