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ABN - Q&A With Maryann Cohen

Q&A With Maryann Cohen

Q. "Describe your start in the art business?
My journey began in the academic world as art department chairperson at a public high school. In 1986, I accepted a position as gallery director in the Los Angeles area. Within a few years I was able to successfully open my own gallery through which I became involved with fine art publishing, consequently representing some of the biggest names in the business including; Hessam, Richard Franklin, Sabzi, Dale Terbush, Martiros, Marko and many others. In 1997 I left California for Miami Florida where I established Fine Art Editions, which today is known as MAC Fine Art.

Q. "Why were you drawn to the fine-art world?
I was drawn to the art world through my passion for art and my ability to communicate with artists. Since I was originally trained as an artist - attending the School of Visual Arts in NYC for several years as an illustration major, I have the necessary exposure to the actual process of creating art. Additionally a BFA from Cal State LA and a secondary teaching credential in art education allowed me to teach a wide variety of art courses on the high school level including: graphic design, art history, ceramics and printmaking; this further advanced my skills in art direction and critique.

Q. "What challenges did you overcome as a woman in the art world?
The art world that I came into in the early 1990's was dominated by artists, dealers and publishers who were all men. Women either owned or directed galleries but very few were actually publishers, however, I don't feel that being female necessarily held me back as I seemed to move rather quickly. After my teaching career, I went from working for a chain of galleries to a full fledged successful female publisher in less than 10 years. Today there are many more opportunities for women in the art businesses and in fact women today play a key role in the contemporary Fine Art publishing world.

Q. "How has the art world shaped your outlook on life?
The art world has shaped my outlook on life because I don't see anything in life to be unattainable. Everything can be created from nothing through talent, intellect, hard work and passion. So many people I know have set limits on what they think is achievable in their lifetime, art and artists have taught me to think much bigger and much more creatively.

Q. "Describe the founding of your current business, MAC Fine Art.
I founded MAC Fine Art in 1997 in Miami. It was a very difficult transition that required more hard work and moxy than I counted on but it made me become a much better art dealer and strategist. In the past 10 years I've had the pleasure of working with some of biggest artists in the industry including; Tomasz Rut, Alfred Gockel, Scott Jacobs, Marko Mavrovich, Andrew Bone, Hua Chen, Charles Lee and Holland Berkley.

Q. "What was the company's primary mission, and how has it changed over the years?
Originally, the mission of the company was to represent mid career artists, offering their original and graphic works to galleries and distributors world wide while at the same time, developing each artist's persona through powerful marketing and publicity strategies. Along with representing known artists, we dedicated our energies into finding and directing new emerging artists; working with them to develop unique contemporary original artwork. At the same time, we had hoped to expand our publishing opportunities through the South Florida auction businesses which had just begun to prosper and by the late 90's the art auction CEO's recognized the value of representing top contemporary living artists and asked us to design specific graphic editions that were published exclusively for their business. Today the company's mission remains relatively unchanged except for that fact that our established history and impeccable track record with artists has allowed us access to great galleries and successful dealers.

Q. "What trends have you seen in the fine-art market in the past year? What styles and mediums are emerging as best-sellers?
The trends that remain viable in the fine art market include impressionism, expressionism, photo realism and currently there seems to be a growing audience for surrealism as younger collectors are intrigued with the symbolism and narrative mystique of that genre. Additionally, the trends towards abstract art are growing in tandem with the sophistication level of the today's contemporary art collector.

Q. "How many artists do you represent? Which have been most successful in the last five years?
I represent and co-publish more than 15 different artists the most successful group would include Tomasz Rut, Alfred Gockel, Holland Berkley and Hua Chen.

Q. "Describe your partnerships with galleries, designers and architects.
Our partnership with galleries, dealers and designers starts with a fundamental understanding on our part of the unique nature of each business we sell to. We strive to offer an array of services designed to meet the specific needs of an ever changing and fast paced clientele. For instance, we are one of the few fine art publishers that have a fully staffed media department with a full time webmaster and print media designer. This allows us to have our entire inventory available for our registered wholesale clients to view in a password protected area of our website. Additionally, our design department assists galleries regularly in creating ads, brochures and invitations or in supplying high resolution photography for all of our artworks that can be used for any of our clientele's promotional needs.

Q. "As a publisher of limited-edition giclees and other mediums, how do you differentiate your art reproductions from others in the market?
As a publisher of limited edition giclees and other media, I have a commitment to my artists that the limited edition graphics we create of their work be of the highest possible quality in terms of the quality of printing and the materials used in the process. We work very closely with each artist to make sure that the printed works are absolutely breathtaking and are indicative of the finished quality of the artist's original artworks. Most of our limited editions are hand finished with a variety of artist's materials and techniques several of which are so groundbreaking that they supercede anything available in the marketplace today.

Q. "You also do some work through auctions on cruise ship lines. Tell us about your involvement in this market and why it's important to your business".
In the past 10 years the internet has created a climate of competition amongst galleries resulting in a shrinking amount of viable commercial gallery space available to top international artists with major print programs. Galleries have turned towards boutique artists and all original collections in an effort to provide their clients with artwork that is not available elsewhere. Therefore, many of the most well known artists have looked towards the growing cruise line art auction businesses as an international platform from which they could reach a mass audience of new collectors. By offering mainly proprietary limited edition graphics the cruise line auctions created more public name recognition and a greater demand for their artwork in general. I have been representing many of these top artists to several of the major cruise line art auction businesses since 1994 working with Fine Art Sales, Princess Fine Art, Park West Gallery and West End Gallery to merchandise exclusive lines of artwork for their auctions. I have always maintained that the independent galleries could coexist with the cruise line auctions and each contribute to the career of a major artist; especially if every effort is made to offer unique collections of an artist's work in each venue. The truth is that the cruise lines have exposed literally millions of people to the benefits of collecting fine art; many of these same folks go home to their various cities with a new interest in art and artists that did not exist before their cruise. Many gallery owners and art dealers from across the country have benefited from the cruise line auctions by selling artwork to collectors who had previously either seen art or purchased art from a ship.

Q. "What advice can you give burgeoning artists in today's market?
The best advice I can give burgeoning artists in today's market is to become better business people approaching every aspect of their careers in the same serious manner as they approach their art work. Today more than ever before the artist has to become his/her own brand through a careful strategy of alliances with galleries, dealers, charities, collectors, corporations, licensing entities and museums. Utilizing all forms of media including; internet, print, DVD, TV, radio, direct mail, e-mail etc. an artist has to develop and publicize every aspect of their careers including their personal demeanor, public image and strategic alliances.
Today the art world is extremely competitive and only the most consummate artists are able to survive, unfortunately talent alone may not be enough to secure anyone a career in art much less a place in art history.

Q. "What is the key to surviving a tough economy as seen in today's market?
The key to surviving in a tough economy is through versatility and creativity. Artists are finding that they must diversify and offer a variety of unique original collections including studies, sketches and repaints. Artists who produce fewer originals will need to satisfy market demand for their art with a more accomplished array of limited edition graphics utilizing many forms of printmaking including etching, lithography, serigraphy, mixed media, monotype, mixed media and giclee; some of these graphic works will be further enhanced through hand finishing and embellishing. Opportunities for artists exist everywhere and the most successful artists will be those that actively create a market for their own artwork and do not wait for dealers, galleries or publishers to give them a business plan. Of course, it goes without saying that any serious art career can only be crafted when the artist has developed a unique signature style that can be recognized in everything that they create.

Q. "What recent development in the fine-art market most excites you?
The most recent development in the art market is the effect of art on mass media and pop culture. Today more than ever before artists are directly influencing the aesthetic taste and buying trends of today's young people. In fact, the line between commercial art and fine art is blurring as many of the worlds top companies like Nike and Target are recognizing that art and artists are the path to unique global branding. Savvy CEO's like Phil Knight are constantly seeking out fine artists to develop the kind of unique creative imagery that gets them noticed in today's high tech world, i.e. recently Knight commissioned foremost graffiti artist Jose Parla for design projects at Nike.

Q. "What is the future of the fine-art market?
The future of the fine art market remains very strong if we as an industry agree to disagree! The art industry is so limitless and diverse that there is room for every serious artist, dealer and gallery to enjoy successful careers as long as together we realize the importance of art to our culture and conduct ourselves accordingly. Ultimately, the spectrum that is the art business spans from the lowest form of poster up through priceless works of art housed in museums and private collections around the world.

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