Phillips Enters the Primary Art Market

The price for these items, to be revealed when the artwork is made available for sale at 10 a.m. EDT on Aug. 20, could be anywhere from US$5 to US$5 million, says Christine Miele, Phillips retail sales director for ecommerce. 

Phillips is taking this step apart from secondary-market auction sales to directly connect artists or other collaborators (think galleries, curators, artistic academies) with their collectors, says Amanda Lo Iacono, Phillips global managing director of 20th-century and contemporary art.  

Dropshop is “in response to how much collectors’ habits changed in the pandemic and how much more comfortable they became with seeing something on social media, engaging with it there, and then transacting off of that engagement,” Lo Iacono says. “It’s kind of a structural shift in the market that’s here to stay.”

Phillips will host the platform for selling the works, but it also will be collaborating with artists and others through the process, “from conception and curation through to fabrication and promotion,” according to a news release. Any items purchased and later resold at Phillips will entitle the artist to a resale royalty commission structured similarly to the Artist’s Resale Right in the U.K. 

“It felt like a natural extension of this kind of partnership to retain that relationship,” Lo Iacono says. 

Hendry, 35, who is self-represented, “is going to be a great first partner because she has a very rich way of storytelling through multimedia.”  Lo Iacono says.   

Hendry’s presentation on Dropshop will include text and images and video. “It’s going to be very reflective of Cj’s kind of artistic personality and ethos.” 

After the month is over, Hendry plans to recycle whatever materials aren’t used. “She’s already thought so far ahead that she’ll have an example of the item,” Miele says. 

Dropshop is launching primarily with a pipeline of limited editions of contemporary art, “but there is scope for us to offer jewels and watches, and yes, it could also be a space for digital art as well,” Lo Iacono says. “We can offer works on [Dropshop] that are complementary to all of our collecting categories.” 

When a collaborator takes over the platform for a month, they have free rein to talk about their practice or things that are important to them, Miele says. 

“We can really be responsive to what the artist’s vision is for the presentation and what they want to communicate,” Lo Iacono says. “Because we are part of the fabrication process with our partners, we have this kind of lead time, which allows us to craft something really interesting for the month.”

Phillips chose to focus on editions because they are a means for artists to “expand or interrogate their practice, and also solidify concepts that are kind of integral

to their working method,” she says. “What we’re seeing is that there are not always so many clear opportunities for them to take that moment and kind of crystallize that.”

There’s also a lot of demand from collectors to be able to purchase works at more affordable price points, Lo Iacono says. 

“Especially with a lot of the artists that Phillips is well known for selling at auction, these are artists who have huge followings through their gallery, have incredibly long wait lists, and this is a way for them to engage with that broader part of their collector base who may never have an opportunity to own something more significant,” she says.