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THE APERITIVO. When in Venice, one wanders the halls of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. [Then accepts a Campari from this Venetian barman, as I certainly did right after snapping this portrait of his proud presentation.] But to understand Margueri
THE APERITIVO. When in Venice, one wanders the halls of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. [Then accepts a Campari from this Venetian barman, as I certainly did right after snapping this portrait of his proud presentation.] But to understand Marguerite “Peggy” Guggenheim, we have to understand from where she came. Her father went down on the Titanic. This perhaps inculcated a sense of the impermanence deep within her—that constant edge of the fleetingness of life hot on your tail—that I believe spurned her need to invest in the comforting consistency of collecting art; something bigger than you that will survive as your legacy. I’m not alone in this theory, as others have hypothesized that collecting is undertaken to offset a sense of childhood loss. Peggy’s uncle, you may have guessed, founded the Guggenheim Foundation and Museum in New York. He began to display his collection salon style in New York in the early 1930s, which is also when Peggy began her own collecting in earnest. As an art advisor, I love to provide collectors with this and more insight into the art of collecting, which weaves your individual collecting efforts into a richer tapestry that you are now a part of. . . . . . . #peggyguggenheimcollection #artadvisoryservices #collectingcontemporaryart
BETWIXT and BETWEEN. Whimsical towers and caves of local twigs, held together by nothing more than tension, evoke artist Patrick Dougherty’s childhood adventures through the woods of North Carolina. We, as the visitor, physically step into his memory of adolescent play and find ourselves in a game of hide and seek with something or someone we can’t quite see. And that is the magic of contemporary art: we’re told what it is—we can see with our own eyes that it’s simply a tower of sticks—and yet, something else, something more, beckons us in. . . . . . . #contemporaryartcollectors #charlestonmuseum #artscene
THE CURIOUS CREATURES. Art lovers are wonderful creatures; my favorite, in fact. Our curiosity is insatiable because it stems from a broad-minded acceptance of this undeniable fact: The world is bigger than me alone. To explore art is to put your
THE CURIOUS CREATURES. Art lovers are wonderful creatures; my favorite, in fact. Our curiosity is insatiable because it stems from a broad-minded acceptance of this undeniable fact: The world is bigger than me alone. To explore art is to put yourself in the shoes of someone else—someone you likely will never even meet. It also opens doors to a community of the like-minded—those eager to excitedly trade ideas and stories of their art world adventures. I joined the Gibbes Museum before I even moved to Charleston, for over five years now participating as a Fellow, Society 1858 member, and Women’s Council member. The WC’s marquee luncheon, featuring UTA Fine Arts & Artist Space creative director Arthur Lewis, was a hotbed for the curious. Arthur spoke on UTA’s new talent management model extending to contemporary artists, which is similar to the service I offer artists as well. Visit BlaiseBarber.com [link in bio] to learn more. . . . . . . #gibbesmuseum #contemporaryartcollection #artadvisors
THE PERSISTENCE. Persistence is the word that, to me, embodies artist Fletcher Williams III. This work, “Eden,” was presented in situ at The Aiken Rhett House, where Williamson carefully embedded installations into the historic home,
THE PERSISTENCE. Persistence is the word that, to me, embodies artist Fletcher Williams III. This work, “Eden,” was presented in situ at The Aiken Rhett House, where Williamson carefully embedded installations into the historic home, carriage house, kitchen house, and grounds. It was haunting and thrilling, and walking among the works with contemporary art collectors and appreciators was somehow simultaneously thought provoking and illuminating. . . . . . . #fletcherwilliamsiii #contemporaryworksonpaper #collectingcontemporaryart
A RESTLESS EYE. Very little gets past me. For better, or worse, I am tuned in to every little detail. As a lawyer, I’m trained to leave no stone unturned. And as an art advisor, this means I know to ask questions that even a practiced collecto
A RESTLESS EYE. Very little gets past me. For better, or worse, I am tuned in to every little detail. As a lawyer, I’m trained to leave no stone unturned. And as an art advisor, this means I know to ask questions that even a practiced collector may not consider on her own. She’s got other things to do, of course, and collecting should feel nourishing, not depleting. So when we approach a gallery, auction house, or even the artist’s own studio together about a particular work, I will find out: •Whether similar works from that artist are in inventory •If any of those works have sold •What prices they sold for. Buying a work of contemporary art is enriching per se, but doing so with the confidence that you’ve made a well-informed decision that you look forward to waking up to—not one that will keep you up—is gravy, baby. . . . . . . . #artadvisors #charlestonart #collectingcontemporaryart
IT’S TIME. To get uncomfortable. To get curious. To engage. To seek. I’m Blaise, a Manhattan born-and-raised art advisor, dealer and curator based in Charleston, South Carolina. After earning my BA in Art History (cum laude) and MA in Art Business (with merit) from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, I cut my teeth at Sotheby’s auction house, supporting the Contemporary Art specialists with confidential long-term strategy to ensure that the top echelon of collectors didn’t wander across Central Park to Christie’s. After then representing emerging artists under my own shingle, I attended law school where I was an associate editor of the Law Review before practicing as a litigator at New York’s oldest Wall Street law firm. In 2018, when I uprooted myself from familiar Upper East Side limestone stomping grounds to the historic cobblestones of Charleston, I worked as a public servant on the U.S. District Court. Now, as a product of my environment, I harbor the restlessness of a New Yorker and embrace the linger of the South. A relentless eye for detail with a quiet study. Bold, but considered. A lot changed over the past several years, but one thing remained achingly constant; an itch I could not scratch: The need for challenging and cutting-edge contemporary fine art to collect, curate, and amplify. I didn’t find it. So I created it. Go to BlaiseBarber.com [link in my bio] to learn more. . . . . . . #contemporaryart #artadvisors #charlestonartscene #collectingart
THE APERITIVO. When in Venice, one wanders the halls of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. [Then accepts a Campari from this Venetian barman, as I certainly did right after snapping this portrait of his proud presentation.] But to understand Margueri
BETWIXT and BETWEEN. Whimsical towers and caves of local twigs, held together by nothing more than tension, evoke artist Patrick Dougherty’s childhood adventures through the woods of North Carolina. We, as the visitor, physically step into h
THE CURIOUS CREATURES. Art lovers are wonderful creatures; my favorite, in fact. Our curiosity is insatiable because it stems from a broad-minded acceptance of this undeniable fact: The world is bigger than me alone. To explore art is to put your THE PERSISTENCE. Persistence is the word that, to me, embodies artist Fletcher Williams III. This work, “Eden,” was presented in situ at The Aiken Rhett House, where Williamson carefully embedded installations into the historic home, A RESTLESS EYE. Very little gets past me. For better, or worse, I am tuned in to every little detail. As a lawyer, I’m trained to leave no stone unturned. And as an art advisor, this means I know to ask questions that even a practiced collecto
IT’S TIME. To get uncomfortable. To get curious. To engage. To seek. I’m Blaise, a Manhattan born-and-raised art advisor, dealer and curator based in Charleston, South Carolina. After earning my BA in Art History (cum laude) and MA in

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