A New Experiment in the Art World
Joe La Placa (who first stormed into the art world in New York in the early 1980s), and Mike Platt (multi-millionaire CEO of Europe’s third largest hedge fund management company, BlueCrest) formed a new venture last year called All Visual Arts (AVA).
The two first met at Frieze Art Fair a few years ago combining their talents of business intelligence and art knowledge to form an exciting new enterprise which brings about a partnership between themselves and artists. This idea was born in order for both men to create and acquire a major collection of contemporary art, rather than battling it out for the latest big names in overheated auction rooms or wandering from gallery to gallery cherry picking pieces from dealers.
AVA chooses the artists with whom they wish collaborate and whose work they really admire, to produce and commission the art it collects. They then mount ambitious shows to introduce the work to a wider public, hiring venues for exhibitions and when the need arises, collaborates with other galleries. They work in this way in order to dramatically cut down their overheads so that they can spend their money on production.
As Joe La Placa insists, ‘No one else is doing this, according to this particular formula. It’s a hybrid.’
Following last years’ success during Frieze Art Fair where over 4,000 visitors came to see the duo’s exhibition by sculptor Paul Fryer, AVA announces its forthcoming show ‘The Age of the Marvellous’.
Over a year in planning and production, ‘The Age of the Marvellous’ is the arts organisation’s third major show and features over 60 works of art, most of them especially produced for the exhibition, which will take place at One Marylebone from the 14th – 22 October, 2009.
The artists exhibiting are as follows:
Keith Tyson | Hugo Wilson | Ben Tyers | Alyson Shotz | Martin Sexton | Kate MccGwire | Jonathan Wateridge | Alastair Mackie | Wolfe von Lenkiewicz | Reece Jones | Paul Fryer | Adam Fuss | Maria Novella Del Signore | Nicola Bolla | Hilary Berseth | Polly Morgan (shortly to be profiled in our Artist of the Week section)
‘The Age of the Marvellous’ is at One Marylebone, Osnaburgh Terrace, London NW1 4GD
For more information please visit: www.allvisualarts.org
