A Luncheon with a Purpose

Wednesday, November 19 at 12PM

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A Luncheon with a Purpose | Wednesday, November 19

Time: 12:00 PM (Luncheon from 12 – 12:45 PM  |  Conversation: 12:45 to 1:30PM)

Place: Greenwich Arts Council’s Recital Hall | 299 Greenwich Ave.- second floor

Price: $ 125 per person

First Edition: State of the Arts in Today's Market

Presented by

Kelly Troester, Worldwide Co-Head Editions at Phillips Auction House

Jim Kempner, Owner of Jim Kempner Fine Arts In New York City

Chris Santa Maria, Executive Director of Gemini G.E.L. at Joni Moisant Weyl

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Please join us for a thought-provoking conversation exploring the current state of the art world. As the market fluctuates and social media platforms become increasingly powerful tools for artists to sell their work, important questions arise: How do we validate the authenticity of a work of art? And how can we ensure that collectors are purchasing based on the merit and integrity of the artwork itself, rather than the hype driving today’s market?

The First Edition invites dialogue on the forces shaping modern and contemporary art and its value. This conversation aims to reflect on how artists, institutions, and collectors can preserve integrity and intentionality in a rapidly changing cultural economy.

Proceeds from this event will support the Greenwich Arts Council’s Outreach Programs, helping us continue to make the arts accessible to all members of our community.

About our Guest Speakers

  • Kelly Troester

    Kelly Troester

    Kelly Troester is the Deputy Chairwoman & Worldwide Co-Head of Editions at Phillips Auctioneers, where she oversees the auction house's prints and multiples department.

    Her background also includes experience as a generalist print appraiser and has appeared on the television show Antiques Roadshow in the U.S. Kelly has a long career in the auction world, specializing in prints and multiples starting in Los Angeles in the 1990’s before moving to New York. At Phillips she is involved in organizing sales, which handles a wide range of works from Modern to Contemporary artists developing pricing strategies, and working with sellers and buyers. She has helped the department achieve record-breaking results and educates on the importance of fine art printmaking in collecting.

  • Jim Kempner & Jim Kempner Fine Art

    Jim Kempner is the owner of Jim Kempner Fine Art in the Chelsea Neighborhood of New York City specializing in contemporary and master prints. A dealer since 1987, he is known for his expertise in prints and his approach to making art accessible to a wide range of collectors. The gallery's program features both its represented artists and works from the mid- to late-20th century, and its modernist building and sculpture garden have also received attention.

  • Chris Santa Maria

    Chris has served as the Director of Gemini G.E.L. at Joni Weyl gallery in New York City since 2008. Established in 1984, the Chelsea-based gallery was founded to exhibit and represent publications of the Los Angeles-based artists' workshop, Gemini G.E.L. Today, the gallery serves as a cultural destination in New York City that pays homage to print's evolution by showcasing new Gemini editions as they are published, as well as mounting many historical survey exhibitions, including A Tribute to Robert Rauschenberg: Prints and Objects; The Gemini Editions; Ellsworth Kelly: Diagonals and Panels 1970-1990; Claes Oldenburg: Editions in Two and Three Dimensions 1969-1995; Frank Stella: Prints from the 1960's & 70's; and "Richard Serra at Gemini G.E.L.: Five Decades of Printmaking".