The Baer Faxt Podcast

In this episode, our host Josh Baer speaks with returning guest, the ex-Blum and Poe Founder Jeff Poe. In part one of the conversation, Jeff discusses on the present and future states of the market, how galleries and artists can adapt to survive, and if the grass really is greener on the other side, one year after his retirement from the art world.

Then, tune in as Poe shares his thoughts on the challenges facing galleries of all sizes, the pressures influencing today’s art prices, and the importance of separating the art from the ego.

In part three of the conversation the two discuss how major galleries have–or haven’t—created succession plans, opportunities for the slow-moving art world to pivot in increasingly fast-moving times, and other “elephants in the room”. 

Last but not least, stay tuned for the conclusion, in which Jeff shares his optimism for a radically reformed art world, what’s keeping people from splurging on art in the modern era, and what exactly he’s been up to in retirement.

In this episode, our host Josh Baer speaks with artist Takashi Murakami. In part one of the conversation, Murakami explains how he's built his global, multifaceted career, and reflects on his open letter in response to our episode with Jeff Poe.

Then, listen as Murakami discusses his relationship to pop culture & luxury, the difficulties for an Asian artist to prosper in the West, and how the lasting impacts of World War II have influenced Japan’s contemporary culture.

In part three of the conversation the two discuss Murakami's ideas on the future of art, how the political intersects with the whimsical in his work, and what’s next on the artist’s fast-paced global schedule. 

Finally, stay tuned for an epic conclusion, where the tables are turned and Josh is placed in the hot seat—answering burning questions from Murakami on the state of the New York City art scene, what constitutes “great art” and how to see it, and recent takes from The Baer Faxt Newsletter.

In this episode, we take a look back at some of our team's favorite moments from the past year and a half of The Baer Faxt Podcast.

Join us as our host, Josh Baer, founder of The Baer Faxt, talks through highlights and epic stories from our exclusive, in-depth art world conversations with art world movers, shakers, and groundbreakers—from gallerist Jeff Poe and critic Jerry Saltz all the way to our very first episode with artist Beeple.

Whether you’re a longtime listener or just tuning in for the first time, we’ve hand-picked key notes and insights for you. So, kick back and tune in!

In this episode, our President and Executive Producer Luyang Jiang visits artist Alicja Kwade in her Berlin studio. In the first part of the conversation, Alicja shares how she relates to the art market as an established artist, and her advice for young artists on putting themselves out into the world.

Then, listen as she reveals her childhood story of how she ended up moving from Poland to Germany, her path to becoming an artist, and the ways influences from science and philosophy in her work reveal our shared humanity.

Finally, Alicja discusses how her studio practice has grown and evolved to accommodate major public art projects and her ever-busier schedule. 

In this episode, Josh sits down with Alexander S. C. Rower, President of the Calder Foundation (and the artist’s grandson), at the Foundation’s offices in Chelsea, New York. 

Listen as Rower shares his personal journey fostering his grandfather’s legacy, and the secrets behind the greatest exhibitions he’s worked on with the foundation. 

He and Josh also discuss the Foundation’s approaches to scholarship and requests for examination of Calder’s works, and the ways that artists’ foundations can help people of all backgrounds develop personal connections to great art.

This episode marks the one-year anniversary of The Baer Faxt Podcast, and the second episode of Baer with Me, our mini-series of The Baer Faxt Podcast hosted by our President, Luyang Jiang, with market insights from Josh Baer.

On the last day of our busy Hong Kong Art Week, Josh and Luyang sat down with The Baer Faxt's team members based in Asia, Boliang Shen, our Content Strategist in Shanghai, and Claire Huang, our Business Development Consultant in Hong Kong, to compare their observations from Art Basel Hong Kong and the flurry of other market events.

Listen as Josh and the team share their on-the-ground scoop on the art market in Hong Kong and Asia, from gallery sales reports, to changes in the ways collectors transact and where they come from.

Jussi Pylkkänen joins Josh for his first sit-down interview since leaving his role as Global President of Christie's after nearly 40 years to start his own independent advisory, Art Pylkkänen.

Jussi reveals the secret art of the auctioneer, sharing his favorite stories from his time negotiating deals and taking bids at the auctioneer's rostrum for many of the biggest record-breaking sales in recent years. Listen as he describes how he coaxed out the final bids for the $400 million sale of Leonardo Da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, and how he handled the "Banksy-like moment" when an arm fell off a Buddha statue onstage just as he opened bidding for the sculpture.

Jussi also opens up about his plans for his new business, and his predictions for the future of the auction market.

Josh sits down with Melissa Chiu, Director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on the occasion of the museum's 50th anniversary, and the 10th anniversary of her tenure as Director.

Listen as Melissa reflects on the unique role of the national museum, their TV show, The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist, and the ways artists have influenced the museum, from Hiroshi Sugimoto's vision for the revitalized sculpture garden, to the impact of Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirror Rooms. She also shares her personal observations on the evolution of the art world in Asia over the last several decades.

Baer with Me is our new mini-series of The Baer Faxt Podcast, building on our past episodes featuring Josh Baer's insights on the current state of the art market. Hosted by Luyang Jiang, our President and Executive Producer of our Podcast, Baer with Me will feature regular updates on the latest trends in the global art market.

For our debut episode, Josh shares his predictions for the art business in 2024—how to buy the dip, a comeback for NFTs, and the bull market to come as interest rates continue to soften. He and Luyang also talk about The Baer Faxt's exciting plans for the months ahead as we travel to art market events across the U.S., Asia, Europe, and beyond.

Josh sits down with Loïc Gouzer on the occasion of the relaunch of his single-lot auction platform, Fair Warning, this week.

Listen as Loïc reveals his motivations for building the unique auction app as a response to the current state of the auction world, why people buy art in times of chaos, and what we can do, as art professionals, to make the word a better place.

But first, Loïc shares a special behind-the-scenes story from his time orchestrating the auction of Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi at Christie's.

Another gallery seems to be shutting down every few weeks, and everyone’s talking about an art market correction, but the art fairs must go on.

For this episode, Josh Baer and Luyang Jiang were on the road in London for Frieze art fair and the London auctions. Listen as Josh shares his perspective as a veteran art advisor, revealing the impacts of the so-called art market correction at Frieze, what the Long Museum selling at auction recently in Hong Kong means for the future of collecting in China, and how top gallerists are planning for a potentially rocky road ahead.

In this episode, Blum & Poe co-founder Jeff Poe discusses his decision to step back from the gallery, after 30 years helping put LA on the map as an art city.

Listen as Jeff gets candid about his experiences building a gallery amidst the art world's evolution from an insider's club to an international corporate industry.

We go behind the scenes of Blum & Poe, as Jeff describes how he split up duties in his partnership with Tim Blum, and his work with the Robert Colescott estate.

Jeff also offers his advice on choosing a role in the art world, dealing with misbehaving artists, and keeping up with the competition in the art world’s new corporate era.

Curious about what's been going on with the art market? Auction results in the first half of 2023 paint a picture of a market undergoing a correction of some kind, but all may not be as it seems in the secretive world of auctions.

In this midyear review episode, our President Luyang Jiang asks veteran art advisor (and TBF founder) Josh Baer: Is the art market going through a slowdown, a major correction, or not?

Josh explains how one collector can make or break a market, and compares our current market environment with past hiccups. Listen as he shares his experiences living through the art market's only real crash in the early 90s, when he closed his gallery.

Josh also reveals market insights behind recent art business news like Frieze art fair's acquisition of competitor fairs EXPO Chicago and New York's Armory Show, plus his recent travels throughout Asia, and even the Barbie movie.

Jerry Saltz debates Josh Baer about the value of art, why auction houses are "a pox," and how the art world got to be "the f***ing mess that it is," in this candid conversation between a Pulitzer-prize winning art critic and a veteran art advisor.

Jerry also tells about the winding career path that led to his longtime post as art critic for New York Magazine, from struggling to face his inner demons as an artist, to self-exile as a truck driver, to teaching himself to write and landing his first art critic gig at the Village Voice.

Listen as the two old friends challenge each other's viewpoints and share stories from their days coming up in New York's art world in the 1980s, including star-studded artist salons, and their meeting that led to the founding of The Baer Faxt almost 30 years ago.

"Have a listen to this podcast where I lay down the law, laugh a lot, probably make all sorts of bizarre statements, and try to tell it like it is. Forgive me for being a slow talker. (I listen to all podcasts at 2x speed). 

Be kind."

-Jerry Saltz

Art Basel and Frieze may get all the press, but they’re far from the only players in the business of art fairs. In part 2 of our special two-part double episode on art fairs, we’re diving into corners of the art fair world you don’t often hear about. 

Our president Luyang Jiang joins as host to explore the diversity of regional models in Europe and Asia, with Daniel Hug, the director of Art Cologne, and David Chau, a collector and the co-founder of Shanghai’s ART021. 

We’ll hear from Daniel about the origins and founding of the world’s first contemporary art fair in 1967, and Art Cologne’s uniquely German culture of art collecting for everyday people. 

Afterwards, David Chau explains how he used ART021 as a platform to foster a homegrown art ecosystem in China, and reveals his plans for the future amidst a rapidly expanding art market. 

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Art Fairs: Part 1, where Bettina Korek, the founding director of Frieze LA, and Lauren Taschen, a former show management consultant for Art Basel Miami Beach, discuss the founding of their respective fairs and their dos and don’ts for fair attendees.

In this special two-part double episode of The Baer Faxt Podcast, we sit down with the people behind four different leading art fairs from around the globe: Lauren Taschen, who consulted on show management for Art Basel Miami Beach, Bettina Korek, the founding director of Frieze LA, Daniel Hug, the director of Art Cologne, and David Chau, the co-founder of art021. 

In part 1, Josh Baer sits down with Lauren and Bettina, who each tell the story of the founding of their respective fairs, arguably the two most important fairs in the U.S. Lauren explains how Swiss and Latin cultures came together to create Art Basel Miami Beach, while Bettina explains how Frieze LA has made a transformative impact in the few years since its founding in 2019.

Now serving as CEO of the Serpentine galleries, Bettina also casts light on the surprisingly close-knit relationship between museums and art fairs.

Afterwards, Lauren and Josh offer their dos and don'ts for fair attendees, debate the balance between transparency and confidentiality in the selection committee for fair exhibitors, and look towards how art fairs will maintain their relevance in an ever-more digital future. 

In part 2, we'll turn away from large international fairs to more local, regional models, going back to the very beginning with the director of the world’s oldest art fair, Art Cologne, and looking towards the future of Asia with the founder of Shanghai’s art021.

What’s it like to spend millions of dollars at a contemporary art auction? Is there a danger zone where young artists’ prices blow up too quickly? Is it still possible to buy low and sell high? And just what is an auction guarantee anyway?

Step behind closed doors into the hidden world of auctions with veteran art advisor Josh Baer and our friends, Dallas-based collector Howard Rachofsky and Gagosian Gallery Associate Director Sophia Cohen, as we discuss the auction topics you won’t hear about anywhere else. 

Join us as Howard tells the stories behind his biggest sales and his biggest acquisitions: the guarantee deal on his $25 million Jeff Koons Balloon Flower; and the bidding war over a Lucio Fontana masterpiece that’s now one of the central works in his collection. 

Afterwards, we sit down with Sophia Cohen, who shares her unique perspective as an artist liaison and young collector on the love-hate relationship between auction records and the market for works coming straight from the artist’s studio. 

And as the May auction season approaches in New York, remember: Don’t transact without The Baer Faxt, the only report on who bought what in the auction saleroom.

What is the future of digital art? Josh Baer sat down with Beeple for the first episode of The Baer Faxt Podcast during the opening of his immersive new B.20 museum in Charleston, South Carolina earlier this month to ask him how his vision for the future of digital art and NFTs has changed since we first spoke in November 2021.

Before catching up with Beeple at his B.20 opening, we revisit our prior conversation, when we sat down at The Bass museum during Miami Art Week to talk about his rise to prominence in the art world and the beginnings of the NFT community.

At that time, he had just sold the hybrid digital sculpture Human One (2021) at Christie’s for nearly $30 million. This week, the dynamic, first-of-its-kind artwork is on view in Hong Kong at the M+ museum, while its sister work S.2122 (2023) is making its debut at Art Basel Hong Kong.

Subscribe to The Baer Faxt Podcast for much more to come on our first season as we unpack the inner workings of the global art industry through candid interviews with key players in the business as they offer their perspectives on art and the market in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and beyond.

On our new podcast, The Baer Faxt team unpacks the inner workings of the global art industry through exclusive, candid interviews with artists, collectors, dealers,  and other key players in the business as they offer their perspectives on art and the market in the US, Asia, Europe, and beyond.

The Baer Faxt has been the leading news source for art world insiders since Josh Baer started sending out his newsletter via fax machine in 1994, and has since expanded to include an art advisory service and a unique auction database with bidder data gathered firsthand on the salesroom floor. 

Join us as we sit down with major players in the art world from around the globe, including Beeple at the opening of his new museum, exhibitors at Art Basel Hong Kong, cutting-edge art fair directors in the US and Europe, and much more in the forthcoming first season of The Baer Faxt podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.