UPDATE Haitian-American artist Guy Stanley Philoche's fundraising efforts

Finding himself feeling just as hopeless as most of have been watching the grim details unfold of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Haitian-American artist Guy Stanley Philoche is taking action.

With family members still missing to date, Guy is working on teaming up with local charities such as Forgotten Children of Haiti in addressing the country's short and long-term needs generated from this disaster.

Guy has rented a UHaul located at 102nd and Lexington in New York City and is collecting donations of water and baby formula to be shipped in a container en route to Haiti from Miami. He also intends to partner with restaurants to sell off his entire collection of artwork at a heavily discounted price in order to raise funds for this endeavor. UPDATE- St. John's University has donated a truckload of goods and the organization will be switching to another Manhattan-based location shortly. For more information on this developing story please click here.

Guy Stanley Philoche's Haitian background causes Basquiat to come to mind, yet his art is more reflective of Rothko and Barnett Newman. Born in Haiti, and having moved to Connecticut with his parents at the age of three, Philoche has been driven by his interest in art, deciding at an early age that he wanted to be a painter. After graduation from art school, Philoche was scouted by an independent art dealer and his work was purchased by white-gloved society members and celebrities such as George Clooney and Uma Thurman. He is now an independent artist with collections displayed at Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and auctioned at Christie's.

We still urge people to continue to support organizations such as The American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders with cash donations to send medical supplies.

http://www.philochestudios.com/

http://helpfch.org
http://ebonyjet.com/culture/index2.aspx?id=12346

For more information please contact info(at)agraniconsulting.com

Slow Down, Speed Up

The slowdown has caused many companies, including Agrani, to re-evaluate and re-structure. But as news of a global rebound in the economy continues to surface, we see that some companies are keeping their slim staffs and approach in order to remain profitable.

Major selloffs in the contemporary art world could spell trouble, but there are great treasures being found in local and mid-career artists. Fashion companies are turning to technology such as iPhone apps to brand and encourage e-commerce. Luxury brands are also seing an increase in sales within the digital arena.

We are seeing that brands who have wrestled with the downturn with clenched fists while strategizing, are the most vulnerable to this shift. Those who have taken the opportunity to solidify their branding and online efforts are able to flow with the change much easier.

New Artists

We are pleased to announce our return from summer relaxation with two new artists added to our roster, Hunt Slonem and Jennifer Delilah.

We'll keep you posted on all of our activities for the Fall!

Summertime Embrace

Summer is here. Time for less work and more play. Those in this industry know that we have a small window of time (July) to unwind and truly relax before we start all over again. Be it in the Montauk, Europe, LA or in the wilderness, I'm going to try to have a really, really good time.

Enjoy yourselves and check back in with me mid-August!

Spring Launches

Allison Parris May 14th @ The Gates, NYC
Alex Turco May 16th @ Establishment, NYC

The Aba Agency on Black Enterprise

Our client, The Aba Agency, has just been quoted in a piece Black Enterprise has been working on about business success. Well said, Aba!

Build it, they will come...

Walking into the Chelsea Art Museum's Modern Modern opening reception last night, one may have had trouble deciding if they were walking into a gallery in Berlin, Paris or indeed, Chelsea New York. Curated by Pati Hertling, this exhibition put forth “contemporary works of another time”. The artwork displayed “Modernist aesthetics without the idealogy that supported modernist works of art”.

In curating this exhibition, Pati was questioning what comes after the contemporary art movement and looked at the unconscious relationship these artists had with each other. Works by Elizabeth Peyton, Amelie von Wulffen, Cecily Brown, Jonas Lipps among others (most of which living and working in Berlin) show an “emotional approach to the language of modernism” while at the same time having “no universal way to describe them.”

I carefully quote the statements posted on the exhibition walls because I personally know how difficult it was for Pati to translate these ideas into words. Agrani Consulting had been called in by CAM to help promote the exhibition in its early stages.

But in the end, the type of opening reception Pati had in mind was precisely this one: a solid group of artists and art enthusiasts, a closely knit group of people is all that mattered. No need for wild postings, banner ads or multiple emails reminding people to come. Those who were in the know knew. So there was no need for my marketing services, nonetheless, I was curious to see how it all panned out. You see, there are brands in the marketplace that are similar to Modern Modern and Pati Hertling. Brands that are confident enough in their position to know that those in the know will know, so all that is needed to focus on is getting what they do right. It can be nerve-wracking for traditionalists, but I am finding that more brands in the art, luxury and fashion category are placing all their bets on their niche and it’s working for them.

Modern Modern, Chelsea Art Museum April 17-June 13, 2009