Independent art advisor and curator working with collectors, artists and estates across contemporary and modern art.
Joined August 2011
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- Following 1,369
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765 Photos and videos
Jun 15
Most collectors won’t complain when trust is mishandled. They’ll just spend their money somewhere else.
“They’re Not Getting My Money” is now on Substack.
open.substack.com/pub/blackb…
#contemporaryart #artcollecting #artcollector #artmarket #artadvisor #blackbirdrook #artworld
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Jun 10
Zoe Spowage’s Sweet ball and socket joints - a large, strange, beautifully unstable painting that seems to move like a body.
Full piece on Substack - link in bio.
open.substack.com/pub/blackb…
#zoespowage #contemporaryart
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The new Blackbird Rook piece is about the collector who keeps looking but never quite begins. Until you buy, your taste is still theoretical.
open.substack.com/pub/blackb…
#ContemporaryArt #ArtCollecting #Collectors #ArtAdvisor #BlackbirdRook #EmergingArtists #ArtMarket #Collecting
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15
Starting an art collection can feel oddly intimidating. Galleries, prices, editions, etiquette and paperwork can make a simple pleasure feel complicated.
#ContemporaryArt #ArtCollecting #ArtAdvisor #BlackbirdRook
youtube.com/playlist?list=PL…
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Jim Cheatle - Plastic 4, 2023
Digital print on Hahnemuhle Museum Etching
29 1/10 × 23 1/5 in | 74 × 59 cm
Edition of 10 2AP
#jimcheatle #print #contemporaryart
blackbirdrook.com/store/jim-…
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Markus Vater - ghosts, 2021
Ink and Pencil on paper, 21cm x 29cm
#MarkusVater #InkDrawings #contemporaryart
blackbirdrook.com/store/mark…
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May 31
The art world has an extraordinary gift for making simple things feel difficult. In this video, Blackbird Rook offers a practical guide to starting an art collection without feeling like an idiot.
youtu.be/E-l_O3P3FXU
#ArtCollecting #ContemporaryArt #ArtAdvisor #BuyingArt
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May 31
When anything can be art, judgement doesn’t disappear. It gets harder.
open.substack.com/pub/blackb…
#ContemporaryArt #ArtWriting #ArtCollecting #ArtAdvisor #BlackbirdRook #DiaryOfAnArtAdvisor #ChrisOfili #ElizabethPeyton #JasperJohns #LeoSteinberg #ArtCriticism #Materiality
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May 27
This week’s One Piece Worth Seeing looks at a work on paper by Justin Mortimer.
#JustinMortimer #ContemporaryArt #BritishPainting #WorksOnPaper #Painting #ArtCollecting #BlackbirdRook #DiaryOfAnArtAdvisor
open.substack.com/pub/blackb…
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May 24
The old high/low distinction has more or less collapsed. Good. But something awkward has followed.
open.substack.com/pub/blackb…
#ContemporaryArt #ArtWriting #ArtMarket #BlackbirdRook #ArtCollecting #highandlow
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May 22
A Blackbird Rook viewing room bringing together recent works on paper by Justin Mortimer - fractured bodies, broken screens, afterimages, stains, joins and unstable spaces.
blackbirdrook.com/justin-mor…
#JustinMortimer #ContemporaryArt #WorksOnPaper #Painting #Drawing #BritishArt
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May 20
This week’s One Piece Worth Seeing: Clyde Hopkins’ Cap D’Ennis, Barcelona (X), 1989-91.
open.substack.com/pub/blackb…
#ClydeHopkins #WorksOnPaper #BritishPainting #ContemporaryPainting #BlackbirdRook #OnePieceWorthSeeing #ArtCollecting #ArtAdvisory #PaintingOnPaper
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May 17
“Each to their own” sounds generous.
#DiaryOfAnArtAdvisor #BlackbirdRook #ContemporaryArt #ArtCollecting #ArtAdvisor #GoodArt #ArtWriting #ArtMarket #Collectors #ClydeHopkins #JohnBerger #Painting #ContemporaryPainting #ArtCriticism #Taste #Judgement
open.substack.com/pub/blackb…
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May 12
Private Jets - Harry Woodrow
A closer look at the jacuzzi as body, machine, design object and fantasy vehicle: artsy.net/viewing-room/black…
#HarryWoodrow #PrivateJets #ContemporaryArt #Painting #BritishArt #Artsy #ArtCollector #ArtAdvisory #EmergingArtists #contemporarypainting
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May 11
Very pleased to see Zoe Spowage included in such strong company at Dance Out - RWA.
Image: Zoe Spowage, Tanked, 2022, 204 x 127cm
#PaulDash #AmyDury #TraceyEmin #DenzilForrester #JohnLyons #MelanieManchot #PaulaRego #DavidRemfry #ZoeSpowage #GillianWearing #DorcasCasey #DanceOut
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May 10
Harry Woodrow,
HCTWJ14, 2026
Acrylic on MDF and wood panel with radiused front and back edges
70 × 70 × 4 cm
Showing in Private Jets
May 7 – June 4, 2026
View at blackbirdrook.com
#harrywoodrow #jacuzzi #painting #contemporaryart @isitisitisit
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May 10
Most people do not avoid buying contemporary art because they dislike it. They avoid it because the next step feels strangely unclear.
open.substack.com/pub/blackb…
#BlackbirdRook #DiaryOfAnArtAdvisor #ContemporaryArt #ArtCollecting #ArtCollector
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Private Jets
Harry Woodrow
May 7 - June 4 2026
Blackbird Rook is pleased to present Private Jets, an exhibition of recent paintings by Harry Woodrow.
Visit at blackbirdrook.com or DM for a pdf.
#harrywoodrow #contemporaryart #conteporarypainting #jacuzzi #leisure
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Epstein, art and the camouflage of culture.
open.substack.com/pub/blackb…
#ArtWorld #ArtMarket #ContemporaryArt #Museums #Patronage #Philanthropy #Collectors #Culture #Power #EpsteinFiles #JeffreyEpstein #ArtCollectors #CulturalInstitutions #ArtWriting #Substack
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Is art a good investment? Sometimes - but it is almost always the wrong first question.
youtu.be/gsaL9s2rfyA
#artcollecting #contemporaryart #artmarket #artinvestment #artadvisor #collectingart #emergingartists #bluechipart #artworld
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