HEIDI LEE

How did you discover your career path as an art advisor? Were you always passionate about art?
I was always passionate about contemporary art. When I first moved to NY, I was starting a career in marketing because it was a good fit for me, but I was always attracted to the Downtown arts scene. I found it very intellectually stimulating. I was never surrounded by such a creative environment. Prior to marketing, I was studying international relations and foreign diplomacy. It was a completely different field. I had a very good friend who gave me access to the art world and I was able to see the lifestyle as well as get a lot of exposure in the emerging arts scene. It was always very exciting for me to go Downtown to art openings and be a part of it. 9-11 was a turning point in my career, and I decided to take a risk and pursue my true life passion which is art. Now, I’ve been advising collectors on art for the past 10 years.

Do you have a favorite type of art which you enjoy advising collectors on? Why?
I specialize in contemporary art. There are three different levels in contemporary art which I think need distinction because they are vastly different from one another. They require different skills and a whole different understanding, level of knowledge, and experience. At the first level, there is the emerging market. This includes living artists who are just out of school and perhaps in their experimental phase. The second level involves artists in their mid-career that are living, but have enjoyed a level of accomplishment and achievement. They have numerous shows and may have even been published in magazines and journals. At the very high level, there are the contemporary masters — artists as entrepreneurs. Those are the household names today. They have record-breaking sales at auction, such as Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami and several others. Then, there are contemporary masters who have passed away. They are selling in the same market at the same auction. My heart and soul is in the emerging art. It’s very relevant and current to what is happening today. This is not to say that the living contemporary masters aren’t doing something brilliant. But, they’ve already received their spotlight. It’s nice to be an advocate for the emerging artists. They tend to take more risks. As you grow in your career, you can fall into a pattern — a specific niche where maybe you understand the formula that works, sells, and gets attention. It becomes a bit more polished. With the emerging artists, it’s kind of fun to see them make mistakes, discover themselves, and maybe have a bad period. They tend to need more support and it’s more gratifying. You can see how that support makes a difference versus an artist who already has a market.

Collecting art can be a very long process, depending on the works themselves and the amount of works one wants to collect — from necessary documentation to appraisal, inspection, and verification of the work’s authenticity and provenance. Is there a part of the process that is especially daunting or long?
The search process alone is very long. Bear in mind, the most important thing in collecting art is access. Access to the best art takes time. One needs to develop relationships with galleries, artists, and advisors — who are a big help, too! Even then, you may need to wait for months for a work of art from a highly sought after artist — at any part of his or her career.

So, a collector can come to you and ask for a work to be made by a particular artist?
Yes. Artists such as Julie Mehretu and Kara Walker have long waiting lists for works of art. They may be labor intensive. It can take months for the next piece to come through. There are other artists that are very industrious and have teams working with them. This should not affect the value or the pricing of the work of art. The artistic intent is important, not the process.

Is there a particular piece of advice which you like to give all clients when you are discussing their desire to collect?
Trust your gut. Look as much as possible because looking is half the battle. Plug yourself into the community or a group of people who are likeminded. This way, you are able to create a dialogue with friends, and it becomes a fun, social activity. Also, you want diversity. As a collector you want to have a breadth of different styles, mediums, and artists. Another strategy for a lot of collectors is to buy “in-depth” by one artist. Someone may buy many Warhols because it’s their passion. Then, they involve all of the artists that may have been influenced by Warhol and build around that. The best collections are the ones which are the most focused and have a historical reference point on which the collection is built. It’s very logical. You want a “method to the madness,” so to speak. You’re better off to have a strategy in place from the very beginning. This will help maintain value for the collection.

So, having a focus and logic to one’s collecting practice is essential to sustain the collection’s value.
Yes. Although, collecting doesn’t necessarily start off that way — collecting for the sole purpose of having a valuable collection. It’s about passion. It’s spontaneous, from the heart, and very emotion- based. Ten to twenty years later, some collectors realize they’ve amassed a collection of hodgepodge random objects which they’ve acquired in an ad hoc manner, and it’s really worth nothing. They also realize if they had some sort of a plan in focus or a guideline, their collection would have been worth a lot more. There are very few art collectors who I’ve met that don’t want to see their collection maintain its value.

Is there a particular country or countries which your collectors are drawn to collecting from? Why?
Collectors want to buy from their own artists. In Israel, collectors want to buy from Israeli artists. In the Middle East, I see the same type of request. People like to collect from their nation’s patrimony. They usually start buying about 80% locally and then that number slowly moves to 20% internationally. Then, that percentage flips. As they become savvier, and the market becomes more global, the barriers begin to fall — in terms of travel, access to information, and access to art. They see collecting on a more global scale. Their scope broadens. It’s interesting that many collectors start out collecting from their own country. This is very important to them and it makes a great deal of sense. Art collecting is a high maintenance job. You can’t forget about it. It’s a huge responsibility. In a way, one can say that you are preserving the culture and history of your country. Heritage issues are involved — those of your own and other people’s heritages as well.

What led you to embark on your other project and business, EditionedArt, founded in 2010?
 First of all, I have a passion for printmaking and print collecting. I believe it’s an undervalued medium. From an investment perspective, there are whole auctions based around limited edition prints. That alone should be testimony to the value and the potential. Another reason for starting EditionedArt involved all the calls I was receiving from my friends and colleagues wanting me to find a work of art for their homes on a limited budget. Finally, the greater mission was to democratize the art world — to make affordable art accessible and reliable.

Do you have your own collection? If so, what types of artwork does it encompass?
I collect emerging artists. Korean artists are a small focus. I have a lot of photographs and prints since those tend to be more affordable. The works are by great artists that I’m either friends with or I know the dealer and got to know them that way.

The website for Heidi Lee Art Advisory Ltd. states, “We do not represent artists or galleries and do not maintain art inventory for sale. We work in a fully transparent, discreet and exclusive manner.” How do these factors influence your work?
It’s very important for an art advisor not to have a vested interest in a work of art in order to objectively advise on art for the client. If there is a personal interest, then you can’t maintain a neutral position. From an ethical standpoint, this is a key part of my way of doing business. Everything has to be very transparent. We have to have an alliance to the clients and to their needs.

What changes do you see happening in the art world today?
The art world is changing dramatically. We’re undergoing a “sea change” at the moment. The “sea change” refers to the landscape in buying art — how people learn about and buy art. More tools are readily available to enable the potential and existing collectors access to information in their buying choices. There used to be very costly reports to acquire; only those who were “in the know” knew how to access them. Now, a simple Google search can give a report on Andy Warhol’s market. People can access art fairs, attend art auctions, gallery openings — all of which are open to the public.

How has the recession impacted the art market?
I’ve seen a correction in the market, but not a bust. People misconstrued the rapid increase in prices. However, what we ended up seeing was just a simple correction on the higher end of market buyers during the Great Recession. It virtually annihilated the emerging art market, and a lot of galleries had to close down. However, in a down market, art can actually thrive because people view art as a safer investment than the stock market. A lot of speculators were taking their money out of the financial market and putting it into the art market as an investment tool. That is extremely risky. But, some were able to take advantage while the price was depressed and gain access to some wonderful works of art.

What are your thoughts on Luxe Immo magazine?
It’s beautiful, very informative and the content is very intelligent. There’s a lot of potential here for the art. It seems as if art may be on the mind of their target audience, and it makes sense to keep it current and relevant to what’s happening. This is a very unique magazine, and it is taking a very bold step in fully incorporating art into its content.