Shining Bright

“What if the artist all of a sudden decides they don’t want to be an artist anymore? And that has also happened. And meanwhile you’ve been backing and supporting an artist and they’re like ‘Eh, I don’t want to do this anymore.’ That’s happened more than a few times,” she says. “That’s like playing roulette.”

But a collection of work by bona fide artists will appreciate over time. More important, it will be appreciated over time.

“A really important aspect of art collecting is the fun and the enjoyment and the pride,” Light says. “And then the other thing that is important is that you are leaving a legacy behind. So let’s say, you know, God forbid, Joe Smith has been collecting for 10 years. He’s got over 2,400 pieces of artwork. He has children. And something horrible happens and he’s gone. Well, there are all these pieces of artwork that aren’t. Every single piece speaks a little bit to who was purchasing it. There’s something about it that can be an autobiographical element. You can put together a story about your parents or your sibling or a family member or a lover or whoever through that art collection.”

Hence, an art advisor’s role can be about much more than amassing a valuable assembly of objects. He or she can serve as the editor of a collector’s worldview. That comes with serious responsibility.

But responsibility goes both ways.

Being in the know, art advisors can often gain access to works not on the market, sort of like a good realtor who knows which homeowner might sell before any listing is made public.

“But the problem with that secondary stuff is I just had a situation where someone wanted something very specific and I went and got it out of a very reputable collection. They gave it to me to sell and the person didn’t buy it. So I have to trust my client.”

Some advisors have contracts that outline the buying responsibility.

Light explains, “Being an art advisor, you’re not always going to be telling [clients] what they want to hear. There will be some interchange that might be a little bit uncomfortable because you’re like, ‘Look, this is a lot of money. I don’t recommend that you buy this.’ Or I know an art advisor who has her clients sign an agreement that you’re allowed three purchases without my approval. After that, you’re fired. Because she knows in the end it reflects on her.”

To be sure, in the end, the clients always win. But if they end up with a subpar collection, who’s to blame?

“I’ve stood next to an art advisor and we’ve been looking at maybe four or five pieces by regional artists. It’s so clear to me which is the best one. So clear. Yet the other art advisor couldn’t tell. They didn’t care. They just wanted to sell the piece to their client,” says Light. “They sold the B minus piece to their client and they made more money than I did. OK. But I can’t do it because I don’t ever want any of my work to be ‘Oh, everything the boss liked was B level, B minus level. Kim’s advice for that was B minus.’ And I’ve heard that said about some of the biggest collections. Then it weighs on their advisor or whoever was advising them then. I would never want anybody to say that about me. I want somebody to say, ‘Wow, that was really smart.’”

While indeed smart and super serious in her approach to buying art (Light has a degree in art history from UC Santa Barbara, as well as a master’s degree in contemporary art history and theory from the Sotheby’s Institute; she has owned two galleries and sits on museum boards), she says one thing that shouldn’t be lost in the art business is fun. Light splits her time between Los Angeles and New York.

We circle back to the event at the Lopez estate. “That was fun wasn’t it?” she asks. I admitted that it was. Free drinks. Beautiful people. World class art. The picture perfect Los Angeles night. Like something out of a Tom Ford movie.

“You know, I tell my kids, while we’re here in life we tend to take ourselves so seriously all the time,” she says. “There always has to be a fun factor, too. Because you have to enjoy what you’re doing. If it becomes a problem and it feels bad, don’t do it.” She likens collecting to cliff jumping: “It took you forever to actually jump. Should I stand over here, or should I stand over there? You know, like is that one deeper? And you’re just so scared. But then after you do it, you’re like, ‘I gotta do it again.’ And you keep running up there, and you keep running up there, and you keep running up there.”

Of course, before you go cliff diving someone has to teach you how to swim.

It should be apparent that an art advisor such as Light should be brought on at the outset of building a serious collection. Otherwise, it’s safe to say that dangers await.

Listen before you leap.