Marcelo Zimmler started Upsilon Gallery in New York in 2014, before later expanding into online auctions with Phi Auctions and a home décor collaboration with Wayfair. Here, Barnebys talks to the dealer about how he founded his gallery, why he decided to go into auctions and what's next for him.
What is your background?
My degrees are in math and computer science and I have a masters in business from the London School of Economics. However, art was always my passion, including visual art and music. I have been curating exhibits for years and launched Upsilon Gallery in 2014, which specializes in Modern, Postwar and Contemporary unique and editioned artworks with a focus on prints by established international artists.
What is the mission behind Upsilon Gallery?
Our gallery provides full- service art consulting and we want to provide the next level of integration, with all of our offerings in one sphere. We connect content, artists, news, and art all in one place, with market intelligence, academic analyses and scholarly articles.
The works we sell in the gallery are special and rare. We offer original prints from artists like Alex Katz, Yayoi Kusama and KAWS. Most of our business is in New York, but we are seeing expansion into the Asian market, specifically Hong Kong. They are very interested in Western art, such as work by George Condo and David Hockney.
Our website also offers online exhibitions in our Online Viewing Room, which curates a selection of our works alongside information about the artists. Currently we have an exclusive online exhibition highlighting some of the main exponents of the Abstract Expressionist art movement, featuring works by Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Willem de Kooning, Joan Mitchell and Robert Motherwell.
Why did you decide to go into online auctions to start Phi Auctions? We wanted to provide easier accessibility to more affordable works and test the waters of collecting, so we started in early 2019. A large percentage of our buyers are online, and our users can access the auctions through our app. We have themed auctions, around the holidays or time of year, or themed auctions around movements, like Abstract Expressionism, Urban Art, or Minimalism. We try to do two auctions a month. With these themed auctions, we can cater to specific tastes and markets.
How did you become the exclusive publisher of editioned prints and representative of color abstractionist artist Osvaldo Mariscotti?
We first met by chance. I was just back from London looking for work and Mariscotti just happened to be looking for someone to help him get his work in front of an audience. So, I built a website for him and then an e-commerce site, and everything else just followed from there. My background was in Computer Science and Math, and even though I'd always liked the arts personally, I was never introduced to them in a more formal manner. So I started taking courses, first at the Museum of Modern Art and then at the New School, on Art History, Gallery Management, etc. After not long, I was already traveling all over Europe, and especially Italy, to attend exhibitions in which Mariscotti's work was being presented. Finally, I realized it was time for the next level and decided to go for my Masters since I was already thinking about starting Upsilon, and well, the rest is now history.
Why did you decide to go into home decor?
Art has translated into many other disciplines, like the KAWS x Dior collaboration. We are doing tasteful home accessories like pillows, which we have sold to Wayfair. The idea behind this was to expand our audience and broaden scope, as well as make art accessible. With every piece we provide a booklet about the piece, the artist and the background of the gallery.
What is next for you?
We will continue attracting collectors at all levels and participating in art fairs like INK Miami Art on Paper and Seattle Art Show.
