PODCAST / “Art Collecting as a Pastime and an Investment”

Art collecting is a passion for many wealthy Americans. This was on display earlier this month, when the collection of Paul Allen, the late cofounder of Microsoft, was auctioned for $1.6 billion, setting a single-evening record. I doubt many of our listeners will have clients who amass a collection of that magnitude, but many will use their wealth to purchase art – either for esthetic reasons or in the hope that its value will appreciate. My guest today will discuss some of the principles and nuances one should know before purchasing art.

Ann Freedman has devoted her entire professional life to art— 50 years in the gallery business of selling art, and as importantly, as an advocate for the artist and the collector. Her career began at the Andre Emmerich Gallery in New York, and thereafter as director and president of the venerable Knoedler Gallery, established in New York in 1846. By 2009, Ann had directed Knoedler for almost 32 years, and at that time, a much-publicized controversy over forged paintings arose. After thorough investigation, it was positively resolved for Ann. In 2011, Ann moved forward in establishing her gallery, FreedmanArt, which actively continues on Manhattan’s upper east side.

KIT WHITE Public Installation, THE HIVE, Times Square, NY

KIT WHITE Public Installation, Via Quadronno, 25 East 73, NY

FreedmanArt presents an extended version of "Shadowboxing" exhibition

ArtDaily August 9, 2020

NEW YORK, NY.- “Shadowboxing" at FreedmanArt in New York City joins the works of photographer Nona Faustine and painter Kit White in a tete-a-tete that grapples with history, national memory, landscape, racism, and violence. Faustine and White engage with American history in their respective practices, as well as their use of the photographic image to share distinct perspectives on a contested American landscape, both past and present.” -Excerpted from Bomb Magazine review, December 18, 2019 by Stephanie Goodalle

Kit White now comments: "Who would have known that under Faustine's images lay the powder keg that was about to blow, bringing with it a message that was right before everyone’s eyes, but unseen. One of Faustine's powerful photographs depicts the now doomed statue of Theodore Roosevelt that stands before the Museum of Natural History. Looking at that image now, the violation seems so obvious, but it took this moment to make us see. Faustine, however, saw it all along."

Faustine's words are as powerful, as are her images that speak to the moment where we have arrived: “America's skeletons tumbling out of her closet. Black dead bodies screaming for justice.” - Nona Faustine

Exhibition Review "Shadowboxing" on HYPERALLERGIC

Once More Into the Culture Wars

To assert one’s inner life in a time of reactionary politics is a radical act.

Jason Stopa February 22, 2020

In 1995, Ai Weiwei purchased a 2000-year-old ceremonial urn.  The artist reportedly paid several hundred thousand dollars for it.  He titled the work “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn,” and as the title would suggest, Ai then dropped and shattered the vessel.  By appropriating a work of symbolic Chinese history, he effectively purchased a cultural artifact, only to destroy it.

This act of willful destruction naturally caused an uproar.  When pushed for answers, the artist quoted Mao Zedong, stating, “the only way of building a new world is by destroying the old one.” It is arguable that Ai’s gesture eradicates a piece of history in a rather minor way; the Han Dynasty remains with or without the vessel. 

What this illustrates, however, is our collective desire for a historical do-over, to perform historical tensions, making the past an ongoing present to be reckoned with. The United States is no stranger to this. The country has been thrust into the culture wars for a second time. Contested memorial sites, erected long after the Civil War ended, have become flashpoints with historical and artistic intersections. 

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Kit White and nona faustine discuss their exhibition:"Shadowboxing"

FreedmanArt was pleased to host The Princeton Women's Network for a talk with Nona Faustine and Kit White

This was a special event for the Princeton Women’s Network: “Shadowboxing” an exhibition that uniquely pairs the new works of photographer Nona Faustine and painter Kit White. Organized by Lisa A. Banner, ‘85. Artists will be in attendance for intimate discussion and walk-through on Tuesday, December 17​ at 6:30pm.

LISTEN TO TALK

Kit White (left) and Nona Faustine (right) after the opening of their collaborative exhibition called “SHADOWBOXING” on view at FreedmanArt through March 2020.

BOMB MAGAZINE "Upon This Land: Shadowboxing" Reviewed by Stephanie E. Goodalle

Two artists render the historical legacies of racism.

Shadowboxing at FreedmanArt in New York City joins the works of photographer Nona Faustine and painter Kit White in a tête-à-tête that grapples with history, national memory, landscape, racism, and violence. In 2018, both artists were invited by curator Lisa Banner to discuss their work at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, and White then invited Faustine to collaboratively organize this show. Shadowboxing demonstrates the ways in which Faustine and White engage with American history in their respective practices, as well as their use of the photographic image to share distinct perspectives on a contested American landscape, both past and present.

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GALLERY PEEPING: 5 SHOWS TO SEE IN NEW YORK THIS OCTOBER KIARA VENTURA

CULTURED MAGAZINE 10.17.2019

Nona Faustine and Kit White, “Shadowboxing” at Freedman Art

October 11 – December 31, 2019

In 2018, Nona Faustine and Kit White sat on panel together at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts; this conversation was the catalyst for the formation of their two-person exhibition, “Shadowboxing.” Though they come from different backgrounds—Faustine is an African-American woman who works with self-portrait photography and White is a White American man who works with abstract painting—both of their practices are deeply informed by history and rooted in revisiting long-held assumptions about the past in order to move contemporary life forward. In “Shadowboxing,” the artists collectively dissect United States history, particularly pertaining to the Civil War. Considering that we, as Americans, are in a moment of questioning our history, our monuments and how this country was built—this is definitely not an exhibition to miss.

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