Brett Gorvy, on Navigating New Realities as Gallerist

Starting as an art journalist, how did you get involved with the art market, and how do you carry forward that experience to your role now as dealer and gallery founder? Brett Gorvy. I went to interview Hugues Joffre, who at that stage was head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s, about the drop in the contemporary art market in the early 90s and he offered me a job. I had earlier on actually applied for an auction house job and I’d been turned down. It was ironic that a couple of years later I was being offered a job to be head of the department. I had no experience, other than my parents are collectors, so it was part of what I was accustomed to but I had no pricing or trading experience. I turned it down initially more because I loved being a writer that was my passion. A year later he joined Christie’s and he offered me a job again as head of the department. The timing was right, I jumped into it and 23 years later I was still there. It was very much about following one’s passion, you have that as your carrot, it takes you to many adventures. Journalism gives you perspective, the notion of being a writer structures your brain. Being very broad in your perspective, not just in journalism but also working for an auction house gives you a bird’s eye view…