Becoming a Young Collector 

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Free for Americas Society members; $10 for non-members. Free for Hunter College students (please bring your student ID).

This panel explores the dynamics of starting a personal art collection. It brings together the following speakers, who share their perspectives and advice to begin acquiring works of art.

Speakers:

• Mexican collector Gina Diez Barroso
• Collector and President of Fundación AMA Juan Yarur
• PHILLIPS’ Head of Sale and Associate Vice President for Latin American Art Kaeli Deane
• Online art platform Subject NYC’s Amanda Desmarais
• Galeria Nara Roesler’s Artistic Director, Alexandra García Waldman 

Event Information: Veronica Flom | vflom@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8367
Press Inquiries: Adriana La Rotta | alarotta@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8384

Kaeli Deane is the head of sale for Phillips Latin American Art department, responsible for working closely with clients, obtaining consignments, developing auction catalogues, and managing auction sales. Based in New York, Deane joined Phillips in 2014 as a Latin American art specialist, becoming head of sale in 2015. At Phillips, Deane has led the department to exponential growth, setting numerous world auction records, with a particular focus on promoting important living female artists, such as Carmen Herrera, Doris Salcedo, and Olga de Amaral. She came to Phillips after five years with Mary-Anne Martin Fine Art, a pioneer in the field of Latin American art, where she was director of sales and helped curate numerous exhibitions at the gallery, including Diego Rivera: The Italian Sketchbook, 1920-21. Originally from Connecticut, Deane studied Latin American art at Tufts University under Adriana Zavala. She graduated summa cum laude with degrees in art history and Spanish.

Amanda Desmarais is a partner and art director at Subject NYC—an online art gallery connecting an expertly curated selection of emerging artists with young collectors—and is responsible for discovering and helping emerging artists, managing sales, as well as curation and artistic direction of the online gallery. Desmarais joined at the early stage of Subject NYC, in early 2016, where she helped the team launch and grow the company, seeking out and building relationships with artists and collectors, and pioneering a new vision and strategy for the company. Subject’s mission is to build confident art collectors through a personalized and guided process of discovery and connection. Desmarais strongly believes art should be accessible and transparent, and is able to achieve this through Subject’s online platform. Now based in Montreal, Canada, Desmarais holds a masters in art history from Christie’s Education, where upon graduation, spent four years living in Shanghai and Hong Kong, working in curatorial and advisory work at Pearl Lam Galleries. In 2013, Desmarais moved back to North America as an independent art advisor, working with both experienced and unexperienced art collectors, as well as private and public collections. Desmarais has gained an unparalleled network of industry contacts, personal industry experience, and a keen eye for building a well-rounded and solid art collection, that she now brings with her to Subject NYC. 

Gina Diez Barroso de Franklin has been a pioneer in the fields of arts and education for over 20 years beginning in 1990, the year in which she created and launched Grupo Diarq. DIARQ is a holding company with eight subsidiaries currently employing over 1,000 people. One of the most prestigious real estate development and design firms in Latin America, DIARQ has completed over 850 residential and hospitality projects to date. In 2004, Diez Barroso founded CENTRO, the first university in Mexico City specialized in creative studies. CENTRO currently offers seven undergraduate degrees and six master’s programs, as well as a broad range of graduate studies and continuing education courses in related disciplines. In just 10 years since opening, the university has grown rapidly to its present student enrollment of 2,500 and is recognized as Mexico’s best university in its field. Diez Barroso has given lectures in business schools in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. In 1992, she founded Fundación Diarq, a non-profit organization that works towards eradicating domestic violence and preventing bullying in schools. In 2004, she founded Fundación Pro-Educación Centro, a non-profit organization granting merit-based scholarships to deserving students pursuing degrees in creative studies. Diez Barroso sits on several international boards, is one of the two Mexicans belonging to C200 (200 Women Business Leaders of the World), and represents Mexico in W20, the women initiative from G20.

Alexandra García Waldman is the artistic director of the Brazilian-based gallery Galeria Nara Roesler, and leads their gallery in New York. García Waldman has 20 years of experience in art publishing, art galleries, art auctions, and the non-profit arts sectors. She began her career at the Mexican Cultural Institute, and transitioned to the publishing house Turner, which is dedicated to the publishing of artist monographs and museum catalogues. After five years at Turner, in both Madrid and Mexico City, she began her own publishing house as well as specialized bookshops in Mexico City. A & R Press was devoted to publishing books on art, architecture, and design. As publisher of her company, García Waldman was involved in all aspects of the book publishing industry and produced an average of 10 titles per year. Following her time at A & R Press, García Waldman held positions at Associação para o Patronato Contemporâneo as co-founder and director, Sotheby’s in Sao Paulo as a consultant, and Tina Kim Gallery in New York as artistic director. García Waldman holds a Liberal Art’s Degree from The New School for Social Research in political science and social inquiry, is currently on the board of the Associação para o Patronato Contemporaneo, and advises for ANOTHER SPACE in New York.

Juan Yarur is one of the most prominent collectors of contemporary art in Chile. Yarur’s dedication to art led him to be named the youngest member of the Acquisitions Committee of Latin American Art at the Tate Modern in London at the age of 26. With curator Cecilia Brunson, he created the AMA Scholarship in 2008 in honor of his father, the textile businessman Amador Yarur. AMA awards residencies to foreign artists to present their work at the Museum of Visual Arts (MAVI) in Santiago. In 2001, Yarur’s collection of contemporary art was first exhibited outside of Chile, at Phillips de Pury and at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Yarur became the first Chilean collector to present his collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC) in Santiago in 2013. The exhibition, Juan Yarur: A Personal Story, received much critical attention as one of the museum’s most visited shows in 2013. In 2015, Yarur’s AMA Foundation presented the show, David LaChapelle: 1984-2015, at the MAC. With residences in Miami, New York, and Santiago, Yarur today serves as the president of the AMA Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes international connections throughout the contemporary art world through collecting, academic exchange with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and monograph publications. These publications include the reissue of the book La Manzana de Adán (Adam’s Apple), featuring the photographic work of Chilean artist Paz Errázuriz, which was presented in 2014 at the Ch.Aco fair.

In collaboration with Young Professionals of the Americas, Park Avenue Armory, and Young Folk.

Image courtesty of arteBA