Courtesy of Magnus Resch

Controversy was a common thread at a Monday evening’s art talk at the Yale School of Management, which took place during the most recent class of “Entrepreneurship in the art market,” an interdisciplinary course that combines the arts and business. 

“I would say that we have three of the most controversial figures in the art world [with us tonight],” Magnus told the class before introducing the first speaker. 

Magnus Resch, an author and economist, is the instructor for “Entrepreneurship in the art market.” 

Every class session throughout the course begins with an artist talk. There are also guest lectures with a Q&A section prepared by student groups. 

Due to the nature of the class, the final project can be either a paper about the future of the art market or a piece of artwork students create that reflects what the they have learned.

“I’ve always been interested in the intersection of art and business,” Resch told the News. “It’s important for artists to understand what industry they’re really getting into.” 

The lineup began with Jeff Koons, the most expensive living artist, who was followed by art columnist Kenny Schachter and art collector Stefan Simchowitz — all three of whom dialed in on Zoom. An expensive artist is someone whose work is sold at high prices. 

Big names like these are typical for guest speakers in Resch’s course. Students in past years have heard from speakers including artists KAWS, Alex Israel ’03 and Tavares Strachan ART ’06. Other past speakers have included prominent figures in the business world, such as the CEO of Sotheby’s, Charles Stewart ’92 and the Chairman of the Fine Arts Division at Sotheby’s Amy Cappellazzo.

Every year, the course brings in notable players in the art world to speak directly to students about their experiences making, selling and buying art. The students also receive hands-on opportunities in the form of class trips to art fairs, such as the Armory Show in New York.

“Magnus is not only an engaging speaker, but his deep involvement in the subject matter makes the class feel authentic and dynamic,” Rafael Villares ART ’24 wrote the News. “Furthermore, the class serves as a unique intersection between two worlds often kept separate in academia. Many art schools shy away from discussing the art market with students, so this class is enlightening in that regard.”

Koons is a sculpture artist known for his large-scale works like “Balloon Dog,” “Puppy” and “Rabbit.” He has also made headlines for plagiarism and copyright infringement allegations. 

His works, which he self-described as having “transcended” the art world, have sold for millions at top galleries including Gagosian, Pace and David Zwirner.

Each discussion with the three speakers was framed around questions compiled by students in the class. The topics included art and technology, criticism and career planning. 

“I think what I’ve come to appreciate about this class and about the interview of the guest is that we’ve been really encouraged to ask the hard questions,” Samanta Cubias DRA ’24, SOM ’24 told the News. 

The prestige surrounding Koons’s work prompted Cubias to ask about the power imbalance between artists and the galleries and curators that they work with. She asked if Koons’ status had provided him with an upper hand in negotiations with gallerists.

Koons responded by saying that he enjoys the social and relational aspects of his job — working with galleries and curators — but his purpose in art making is always to serve his work and others. 

“Hopefully when people come into contact with my work, they realize their own potential,” Koons said.

During his interview in class, Koons also shared anecdotes about his family and his early life as an artist, mentioning the time he met surrealist painter Salvador Dali at The St. Regis Hotel in New York.

When one student asked him if there was “a point where you had to release the need to have your hands in every piece,” Koons’ responded that since his works have gotten larger, he has required a team of people to help execute his vision. Processes like casting, which Koons said he has other people do, “take a lot of instruction.” 

Koons said that he had to relinquish control over his work “Puppy,” which is composed of live flowers. Despite planning out where each flower was to grow, he said the ultimate creative decisions were up to nature.

The second speaker, Kenny Schachter, made his first appearance in the art world as a writer and critic. He now has a column for Artnet, an art market website, and has his own exhibitions.

Schachter did not elaborate much on current issues in the art world during the talk — beyond referring to the art market as “the most conservative, backwards business … 90 percent of which is old white rich people.”

“Women and people of color are [still] underrepresented in galleries and museums. It’s an uphill battle for a lot of [these] artists to make a living and find success and recognition for the work that they dedicate their lives to,” Leigh Bushnell SOM ’24 told the News after class.

During his segment of the talk, Schachter showed the audience his two most recent exhibitions, called “Keep hope alive” and “Kenny’s list.” 

Students in the class then asked Schachter to explain the meaning behind some of his most prominent works. One of the chosen pieces was “Koons Call of Duty,” a photo of Jeff Koons holding his balloon sculptures with an edited Call of Duty backdrop. The text in the foreground reads: “There’s an artist in all of us.”

When explaining the purpose behind his art, Schacter said that humor is often integral to his creative process.

Stefan Simchowitz spoke last. Simchowitz was recently profiled in The Wall Street Journal about his success in curation and art collection. Similar to the previous two speakers, however, he also received criticism and backlash during his career, with one New York Times headline referring to him as “The Art World’s Patron Satan.” Those that criticize Simchowitz’s work claim that he buys the work of young artists and then “flips” them to increase the prices before selling them to buyers. 

Simchowitz spoke about his non-traditional approach to curation and art collection. He discovers budding artists on Instagram, rather than through networking at art events.

In a similar way to the speakers at the talk, Resch said he entered the art world early on by selling art as a way to finance his undergraduate education. However, he said that art is not a very good investment.

“Don’t buy art as an investment, but to support artists and the art community,” Resch told the News when asked what advice he would give to students interested in art and business. 

“Rabbit,” a sculpture by Jeff Koons, sold for $91.1 million at Christie’s.