Blackbird Rook
@blackbirdrook.bsky.social
📤 36
📥 12
📝 225
Independent gallerist and art advisor presenting established and emerging international artists.
This week’s essay is about what prices in the art world are actually measuring - not value, but position. Context. Leverage. Urgency. Who is standing behind the number.
youtu.be/3Ev3bfdk72I
#BlackbirdRook
#ContemporaryArt
#ArtMarket
#ArtCollecting
#artworld
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The Art Markets Peculiar Logic
YouTube video by Blackbird Rook
https://youtu.be/3Ev3bfdk72I
2 days ago
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There isn’t one art world. There are several. They run alongside each other – overlapping, rarely aligned – each with its own values, economics and gatekeepers.
youtu.be/p3H4wLLRMIw
#ArtWorld
#ContemporaryArt
#ArtCareers
#BlackbirdRook
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There Isn't One Art World. There Are Several.
YouTube video by Blackbird Rook
https://youtu.be/p3H4wLLRMIw
10 days ago
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For those interested in seeing more of the work I share privately with collectors, paid subscribers on Substack receive a short monthly post.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
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A Collector’s Note - February
The Diary of an Art Advisor
https://open.substack.com/pub/blackbirdrook/p/a-collectors-note-january-2ec?r=20xg0r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
12 days ago
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Five concrete policy proposals - with cost logic - focused on labour, space, education and public commissioning.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#culturalpolicy
#artsandculture
#publicvalue
#creativeeconomy
#dcms
#artseducation
#civiclife
@lisanandy
13 days ago
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What actually happens when the artist leaves the studio? Outside the Studio looks at the unwritten rules that shape artists’ careers – where talent isn’t the issue, but the system is.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#artcareer
#professionalpractice
#contemporaryart
#emergingartists
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Outside the Studio - A Field Guide to Being an Artist Today
The Diary of an Art Advisor
https://open.substack.com/pub/blackbirdrook/p/outside-the-studio-a-field-guide?r=20xg0r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
15 days ago
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Eric Banks - Mind Garden. Slow, built painting made through layering, scraping and revision. Forms press up from within the surface - part figure, part structure. Work that rewards time, not speed.
www.artsy.net/viewing-room...
#EricBanks
#ContemporaryPainting
#BlackbirdRook
#Artsy
#Painting
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https://www.artsy.net/viewing-room/blackbird-rook-eric-banks-mind-garden
16 days ago
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Jim Cheatle’s Tray paintings sit between belief and illusion. From Dürer’s rhinoceros to AI image models, this essay argues that art draws its force not from certainty, but from not knowing.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#contemporaryart
#jimcheatle
#dĂĽrer
#collectingart
#blackbirdrook
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The Image That Never Existed
The Diary of an Art Advisor
https://open.substack.com/pub/blackbirdrook/p/the-image-that-never-existed?r=20xg0r&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
20 days ago
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Why Are Gallery Press Releases Written in Code? This video looks at the peculiar language of gallery press releases. Who is this language actually for?
youtu.be/YR7_7yCZzg4
#pressrelease
#contemporaryart
#blackbirdrook
#artwriting
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Why Are Gallery Press Releases Written in Code
YouTube video by Blackbird Rook
https://youtu.be/YR7_7yCZzg4
20 days ago
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A practical guide to navigating the art world. Read Outside the Studio.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#professionalpractice
#artadvice
#artcareer
#contemporaryart
#artistlife
#emergingartists
#artschooltruths
#artworldlogic
#blackbirdrook
#studiopractice
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Outside the Studio - A Field Guide to Being an Artist Today
The Diary of an Art Advisor
https://open.substack.com/pub/blackbirdrook/p/outside-the-studio-a-field-guide?r=20xg0r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
21 days ago
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reposted by
Blackbird Rook
Every so often you come across a body of work that stops you: a serious, under-recognised painter whose depth has quietly outpaced their visibility. That’s been my experience encountering Eric Banks.
blackbirdrook.com
#ericbanks
#contemporarypainting
#painting
#PhilipGuston
#MaxBeckmann
29 days ago
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Eric Banks Comedian, 2009 Acrylic-paper fusion on board 101.5 Ă— 127 cm In Comedian, humour becomes a structure rather than a release.
#EricBanks
#ContemporaryPainting
#comedian
#contemporaryart
www.artsy.net/artwork/eric...
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Eric Banks | Comedian (2009) | Available for Sale | Artsy
Available for sale from Blackbird Rook, Eric Banks, Comedian (2009), Acrylic-paper fusion on board, 101.5 Ă— 127 cm
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/eric-banks-comedian
22 days ago
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Who sets the direction of contemporary art now - artists, or the systems around them? A short essay on power, absence and drift.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#contemporaryart
#artworld
#BlackbirdRook
27 days ago
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Should I Buy a Banksy? I’m asked this question every six months or so - usually by a new collector looking for something sensible, recognisable and safe. Originally written in 2019 and still uncomfortably relevant.
youtu.be/L69LjnHbKzk?...
#banksy
#contemporaryart
#artcollector
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Should I Buy a Banksy?
YouTube video by Blackbird Rook
https://youtu.be/L69LjnHbKzk?si=HWNMC-AP5QKzTgZJ
27 days ago
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Every so often you come across a body of work that stops you: a serious, under-recognised painter whose depth has quietly outpaced their visibility. That’s been my experience encountering Eric Banks.
blackbirdrook.com
#ericbanks
#contemporarypainting
#painting
#PhilipGuston
#MaxBeckmann
29 days ago
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How do you tell if a young artist’s work will last - not just trend? Most artists who have a moment soon find that it is just a moment. The spotlight moves on - the work doesn’t suddenly become bad.
plastermagazine.com/opinion/colu...
Â
#contemporaryart
#artcollecting
#youngartists
#artmarket
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Dear Greg, how do I know if a young artist's work is worth it?
Want to invest in a young artist? Our Agony Aunt Greg Rook explains how to distinguish flash-in-the-pan trends from work that endures.
https://plastermagazine.com/opinion/column/greg-rook-art-trends/
about 1 month ago
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Why are art galleries so weird about prices? Watch if you collect, are thinking about collecting, or have ever felt wrong-footed in a gallery.
#artworld
#artcollecting
#contemporaryart
#artmarket
#artgallery
#collectors
#artadvice
youtu.be/cewbnbsxQjY
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Why Are Art Galleries So Weird About Prices?
YouTube video by Blackbird Rook
https://youtu.be/cewbnbsxQjY
about 1 month ago
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Most galleries don’t fail because they can’t sell art. They fail because the model itself is structurally precarious - reliant on delayed payments, informal credit, and constant low-level anxiety.
#artworld
#artbusiness
#galleries
#contemporaryart
#artists
#collectors
substack.com/@blackbirdro...
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How Galleries Actually Make (and Lose) Money
A clear-eyed look at how galleries really survive - and why so many don’t.
https://substack.com/@blackbirdrook/note/p-184135761?r=20xg0r&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
about 1 month ago
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What actually happens after the studio? A practical guide to navigating the art world. Read Outside the Studio.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#professionalpractice
#artadvice
#artcareer
#contemporaryart
#artistlife
#emergingartists
#artschooltruths
#artworldlogic
#blackbirdrook
#studiopractice
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Outside the Studio - A Field Guide to Being an Artist Today
The Diary of an Art Advisor
https://open.substack.com/pub/blackbirdrook/p/outside-the-studio-a-field-guide?r=20xg0r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
about 1 month ago
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Hanging pictures at home isn't about turning your house into a gallery. It's about rhythm, proportion and not hanging too high. A practical January newsletter on height, spacing and framing.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#HangingArt
#LivingWithArt
#CollectingArt
#ArtAtHome
#ContemporaryArt
about 1 month ago
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Who Would be an Artist? A quiet reckoning with what it means to choose a life structured around making art – now, when everything feels brittle and uncertain.
#contemporaryart
#artistslife
#professionalpractice
#artandculture
#creativework
#blackbirdrook
youtu.be/k576wAA9l9s?...
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Who Would be an Artist?
YouTube video by Blackbird Rook
https://youtu.be/k576wAA9l9s?si=175ZM-yiTA0u1Crz
about 1 month ago
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Many artists don’t disappear because the work isn’t strong enough. They disappear because no one ever explained how this world actually operates.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
If it earns its keep for you, even briefly, it’s done enough.
#professionalpractice
#contempoaryart
#artist
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Outside the Studio - A Field Guide to Being an Artist Today
The Diary of an Art Advisor
https://open.substack.com/pub/blackbirdrook/p/outside-the-studio-a-field-guide?r=20xg0r&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
about 1 month ago
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Blackbird - Singing in the Dead of Night In 2022, Blackbird Rook invited artists who also make music to respond to crypto art - each artist a blackbird, singing into the digital dark.
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
#BlackbirdRook
#CryptoArt
#DigitalArt
#ArtistMusicians
#ContemporaryArt
#MusicAndArt
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Blackbird - Singing in the Dead of Night - YouTube
The experimentation engaged in by those traditional contemporary artists who explored the new media and new audience of crypto art bears parallels with the w...
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2vlELVnul2CbZ3B8gPvkE9vfqA7I8rkL&si=w6y627p2dHTrN_q1
about 1 month ago
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Why does contemporary art so often arrive in waves? Read the essay on Substack:
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
Or listen and watch on YouTube:
youtu.be/M3n5pnAN-78?...
#contemporaryart
#artworld
#artwriting
#artcriticism
#visualculture
#collectingart
#cultureandcapital
#blackbirdrook
about 2 months ago
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This video explores a question that sounds faintly ridiculous and immediately revealing. Is Being a Collector Embarrassing?
youtu.be/90meaJ_fTmw
The original essay appears in The Diary of an Art Advisor by Blackbird Rook on Substack.
#culture
#blackbirdrook
#contemporaryart
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Is Being a Collector Embarrassing
YouTube video by Blackbird Rook
https://youtu.be/90meaJ_fTmw
about 2 months ago
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reposted by
Blackbird Rook
Last call - a Christmas present for someone who cares about art. Give a gift subscription to The Diary of an Art Advisor.
blackbirdrook.substack.com/subscribe?gi...
#contemporaryart
#blackbirdrook
#contemporaryart
#artist
#collectingart
about 2 months ago
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Happy Christmas. Thank you to everyone I’ve worked with this year - artists, collectors, curators, writers and institutions. A complicated year, but a generous one. Details, works, guides and writing here:
blackbirdrook.com
With thanks Greg
#contemporaryart
#artcollection
#artist
about 2 months ago
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Why has embarrassment become the default emotion of modern cultural life - contemporary art in an age of permanent self-audit.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#AnnaWintour
#RoryStewart
#Vogue
#TheRestIsPolitics
#ContemporaryArt
#ArtCollecting
#CulturalCriticism
#ArtWorld
#Collectors
about 2 months ago
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open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
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Last call - a Christmas present for someone who really cares about contemporary art
The Diary of an Art Advisor
https://open.substack.com/pub/blackbirdrook/p/last-call-a-christmas-present-for?r=20xg0r&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
about 2 months ago
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Last call - a Christmas present for someone who cares about art. Give a gift subscription to The Diary of an Art Advisor.
blackbirdrook.substack.com/subscribe?gi...
#contemporaryart
#blackbirdrook
#contemporaryart
#artist
#collectingart
about 2 months ago
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Parcels thrown at gates. Jobs quietly disappearing. A country mistaking the performance of success for the substance of a good life.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#futureofwork
#aiandculture
#britishlife
#artandwork
#aspiration
#blackbirdrook
2 months ago
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I’m trying to make sense of what happens when the political centre caves in - and what that does to art.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#contemporaryart
#artandpolitics
#populism
#brexit
#culturewars
#artcriticism
#blackbirdrook
#artcollecting
#artworld
#ukpolitics
2 months ago
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reposted by
Blackbird Rook
Collecting Contemporary Art ebook – a record of early Blackbird Rook placements and the conversations between artist, collector and advisor that shaped them.
blackbirdrook.com/store?catego...
#collectingcontemporaryart
#contemporaryart
#artadvisor
#artadvisory
#artcollecting
#artcollector
2 months ago
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reposted by
Blackbird Rook
Outside the Studio teaches legibility, momentum, pricing without self-sabotage. It’s the unwritten curriculum every artist needs once the work leaves the room.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#artistguide
#professionalpractice
#contemporaryart
#studiolife
#emergingartist
#artcareer
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3 months ago
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Collecting Contemporary Art ebook – a record of early Blackbird Rook placements and the conversations between artist, collector and advisor that shaped them.
blackbirdrook.com/store?catego...
#collectingcontemporaryart
#contemporaryart
#artadvisor
#artadvisory
#artcollecting
#artcollector
2 months ago
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This week’s piece looks at the uncanny - not the gothic, but the quiet wrongness threaded through contemporary life.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#contemporaryart
#artwriting
#artcollector
#blackbirdrook
#uncanny
#davidlynch
#strangerthings
#parasite
#midsommar
#artworld
#collectingart
3 months ago
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Give a gift subscription
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
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Give a gift subscription
“Blackbird Rook is the art world with the lights turned up – sceptical, curious, and quietly obsessed with what makes a work last.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/blackbirdrook/p/give-a-gift-subscription?r=20xg0r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
3 months ago
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Bump in the Night - curated by Nicola Bealing for Blackbird Rook.
www.artsy.net/show/blackbi...
#contemparyart
#bumpinthenight
#contemporarypainting
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3 months ago
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Outside the Studio teaches legibility, momentum, pricing without self-sabotage. It’s the unwritten curriculum every artist needs once the work leaves the room.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#artistguide
#professionalpractice
#contemporaryart
#studiolife
#emergingartist
#artcareer
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3 months ago
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Outside the Studio asks what really happens when the work leaves the studio. I’ve put near thirty years of practice into a clear, practical guide. Read it here:
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#professionalpractice
#artcareer
#contemporaryart
#blackbirdrook
#studiopractice
3 months ago
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Private View tonight at 12 St George Street, Mayfair, London. 6 - 8pm
#blackbirdrook
#generalassembly
#marilynhallam
#elliemacgarry
#contemporarypainting
add a skeleton here at some point
3 months ago
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Private view - Tuesday 18th, 6–8pm at General Assembly, 12 St George Street, Mayfair. What Remains of the Day - Marilyn Hallam and Ellie McGarry In Dialogue Email
[email protected]
to confirm attendance.
#marilynhallam
#elliemcgarry
#generalassemblygallery
3 months ago
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I’ve been thinking about how much of the art world now resembles luxury retail. Have a look and tell me if I’ve pushed it too far, or not far enough.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#artadvisory
#blackbirdrook
#diaryofanartadvisor
#contemporaryart
#artmarket
#artcollecting
#artcollector
3 months ago
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What Remains of the Day is now open at General Assembly. I’m also showing artists at WCPF
www.blackbirdrook.com
#art
#contemporaryart
#painting
#printmaking
#artfair
#wcpf
#londonart
#mayfair
#generalassembly
#blackbirdrook
#artcollector
#marilynhallam
#newexhibition
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Blackbird Rook
Modern and contemporary art advisor and consultant, providing uniquely positoned advice to family offices, private clients and the workplace.
https://www.blackbirdrook.com
3 months ago
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reposted by
Blackbird Rook
The Collector’s Guide to Contemporary Art - Part Two If you’d like to read Part Two in full, subscribe to Blackbird Rook Substack.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#contemporaryart
#collectingart
#artcollection
3 months ago
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What Remains of the Day.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#BlackbirdRook
#MarilynHallam
#EllieMacGarry
#InDialogue
#GeneralAssembly
#WoolwichContemporaryPrintFair
#PatrickDaviesContemporaryArt
#LiamFallon
#JimCheatle
#PeterLamb
#JoelWerring
#EdmondBrooksBeckman
#JohnVirtue
#GillianGarnica
3 months ago
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I write longer pieces about what we see when we look at art — and what that says about us. Join me there: The Diary of an Art Advisor.
#contemporaryart
substack.com/@blackbirdro...
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Blackbird Rook | Substack
A UK-based contemporary art dealer presenting established and emerging international artists.
https://substack.com/@blackbirdrook?r=20xg0r&utm_medium=ios
3 months ago
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Interiors, Prints, and the Art of Buying Well. When collecting stops being a hobby. Read here:
blackbirdrook.com/blog-contemp...
#artcollecting
#contemporaryart
#contemporaryprintmaking
#prints
#artmarket
#buyingart
#BlackbirdRook
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Interiors, Prints, and the Art of Buying Well — Blackbird Rook
This month at Blackbird Rook – Hallam & MacGarry in dialogue, Woolwich Print Fair, and a new essay on collecting with intent.
https://blackbirdrook.com/blog-contemporary-art/2025/11/3/ys1t9ti5qfvoh4yexxwkyy0btoqefb
3 months ago
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The Collector’s Guide to Contemporary Art - Part Two If you’d like to read Part Two in full, subscribe to Blackbird Rook Substack.
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#contemporaryart
#collectingart
#artcollection
3 months ago
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The Long Life of a Painting - How to See a Century Ahead. What makes a painting last?
open.substack.com/pub/blackbir...
#BlackbirdRook
#DiaryOfAnArtAdvisor
#ArtAdvisory
#ArtCollecting
#ContemporaryArt
#Painting
#ArtMarket
#ArtInvesting
#ArtHistory
#Caravaggio
#Manet
#CollectorsGuide
4 months ago
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How the Art World Really Works A Professional Practice Course by Art Advisory Group.

artadvisorygroupltd.com/aag-course/?...
#ArtWorld
#ProfessionalPractice
#ArtistCareer
#ArtAdvisor
#ArtAdvisory
#ContemporaryArt
#ArtEducation
#ArtCourse
#ArtistDevelopment
#EmergingArtists
#ArtCollecting
#ArtMarket
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AAG Course
https://artadvisorygroupltd.com/aag-course/?utm_source=AAG+Specialists+First+Name&utm_campaign=cdbf1d9161-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_23_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cfff18e8f5-cdbf1d9161-606916338
4 months ago
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