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Reworking the art world feat. Keanu Wong
Prestige is not bestowed. Itβs built.
Keanu Wong (@pantagucci) is founder of Von Klaus Gallery and Doce Veneno Jazz Salon, making his own dent in NYC.
Iβm fascinated by those who are innovating the context and commercials of art, as well as the work itself. As a smart man once saidβ¦ sometimes the most important part of the picture is the frame.
Like a lot of disruptors, his background is weird for the category: Bitcoin, technology, old masters in Macau, galleries in unlikely places, jazz lounge. The outsider status gives him fresh views in a fine art world that can be slow to move.
Hereβs a distilled view of my favourite ideas from our conversations about the future of how art can be experienced, and creating new prestige.
If youβre not building worlds, youβre building nothing.
Creating context is really about creating scenes, creating worlds.
When we see art online itβs usually stripped of context, and in that setting even fine art reverts to cultural defaults: old master, yung upstart, victim of protest, or just another piece of content in the feed.
Wong treats art events as activations, like a brand would; fashion execs rub shoulders with editors from Hypebeast and High Snobiety, Abloh meets jazz bar. The vibe is more red carpet than red wine.
The collision of worlds is deliberate βbringing unexpected subcultures together expands the world of collectors beyond its traditional base.
Besides, high-social-proof events that are innately ephemeral βΒ there and gone βΒ makes the scene more enticing.
If you weren't there, you were never there.
If you were there, then you were there forever.
Commit heresy aka curators as creative directors
Curators are the editors of what we see, and how. Any time we experience an artist, chances are they played a vital role in setting the frame.
But curators often have to navigate a world where the parameters are not set in their favour. They have to court trends and find new ways to balance creativity with commerce, often within institutions figuring out how best to balance politics, or balance artistic purity with money.
Wongβs approach takes inspiration from commercial creative direction, where experiences are proudly audience-led and magpie-like in their sensibility. He draws simultaneous inspiration from fine arts, modern culture and old luxury. What would it look like if a gallery felt more like the home of Louis Vuitton?
This isnβt for traditional collectors: the Picassos he shows are hung casually. Emergent artists sit alongside old masters. Itβs like a playlist on shuffle βΒ elevating the new and making the old feel lived-in, like it belongs to us.
The story makes it real
Social media is a necessary evil or a superweapon, maybe both.
Traditionally, the fine art world has tried to balance democracy with mystery. Find ways to bring in audiences, but without losing the elitist edge.
Without traditional institutional power, Wong and his team weaponise upstart energy. Experimentation and social proof are the key tenets of social media as the amplifier for everything they do.
When I first came across his work, it was through the memes Wong was sharing, not the work in the gallery. And as much as I love following the work in progress of my favourite makers, it is after all, the new age of Dada β and who can resist memes?
Wong is currently working with Rich Woods, a photographer and cinematographer whoβs worked with the likes of Saint Laurent, using tricks learned from the world of commercial creativity to promote experiences that blur the distinction between reality and inspiration. The next activation is at the jazz lounge, designed to make a splash, but stories most of all.
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Keanu Wong is currently working with his team on a Saint Laurent Jazz Lounge.