What happens when you become a poster child for an art market crash? For Amani Lewis and Allison Zuckerman, the only option was to lean in.
In August, the two artists, both in their 30s, were featured in a front-page New York Times story about the bursting $712 million bubble for ultra-contemporary art at auction. Zuckerman, a New York-based painter and sculptor who creates riotous art historical mash-ups, and Lewis, a Miami-based painter of richly colored, sometimes glitter-dusted portraits, had both seen their auction results soar during the pandemic. But just two years later, some of their works were selling for 10 percent of their peak prices—and they were left to deal with the fallout. In the first half of 2024, auction sales of work by artists under 50 years old fell 39 percent over last year, according to the Artnet Price Database.
The same day the Times article was published, the two artists began talking to one another and resolved to help others learn from their experience. With that, the Artists First Collective was born. “Our mission and vision is to put us first and let the world know that without us, you guys don’t have jobs,” Lewis tells CULTURED.
The collective’s first major project is an exhibition, “Primary Voices in a Secondary World,” at NADA New York’s space on the Lower East Side (March 1–March 29). Like Zuckerman and Lewis, many—though not all—of the artists in the show have experienced market speculation and auction volatility. They include the Korean-born artist Stickymonger, the Haitian-born painter Milo Matthieu, and the American-born Devan Shimoyama.
Was it a hard sell to convince artists to participate in a show that publicly associates them with a bursting bubble? “Initially, we sent out a more formal invite, and we didn’t hear back from anyone,” Zuckerman says with a laugh. (The duo also wanted to do the show at an auction house—the proverbial scene of the crime—but did not get any takers.) By reaching out to artists more informally on Instagram and text message, Zuckerman and Lewis were able to find people receptive to their broader goal: to conceive a new model for how artists might engage with the market.
The Art Law Group at the firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler offered its services pro bono to develop bespoke consignment and resale agreements for the show. Collectors who buy from the exhibition must agree not to resell the work publicly for three years (though they can do so privately with the artist’s approval). “Artists are third wheels in terms of what happens around our work,” Zuckerman says. “The intention is to make the artist a partner in any sale during that critical time period.”
Transparency is key: Each artist will be given a copy of the purchase agreement and told to whom—and for exactly how much—their work was sold. They also set their own prices, which range from $2,000 to $75,000, and receive the conventional 50 percent commission. The remainder will be split among NADA (10 percent), Artists First (30 percent), and relief efforts for Los Angeles artists affected by the recent wildfires (10 percent after covering costs).
In an effort to reclaim agency after watching her market yo-yo at auction, Zuckerman created new works for the show that incorporate images of her own auction sales. The sampled works include Woman With Her Pet, which fetched $212,500 four years ago and $20,160 at auction last June. In a cheeky nod to auction lingo, one work is titled Fair Warning; the other, With Reserve.
Looking ahead, the collective’s founders hope to stage additional exhibitions, host a virtual studio visit series, speak to students and young artists about how to navigate the art business intelligently, and offer them access to resources like sample contracts. “We want to dismantle these systems that prevent us from being part of the conversation,” Lewis says.
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