A Moment with Philadelphia-based Curator Sam Duplessis
As an avid collector, emerging artist supporter and currently the Director of Development at a major US-based university, Sam Duplessis presents a platform that uniquely dives into the abstract art world in a fun and personable way.
Hi Sam— Tell us a little about yourself!
April, 2013: My first visit to the Art Institute of Chicago. A friend who is a serious collector of contemporary art took me through the contemporary wing and started helping me put the pieces together. Seeing the evolution of new styles and ideas over the years was exhilarating. I was hooked.
I’m lucky to travel significantly for work and that allows me to visit major museums, galleries, and artist studios around the US and internationally. This exposure allows me to have my finger on the pulse of the art being produced and collected across the country. It’s also been a pleasure to connect with over 70,000 artists, collectors and appreciators on Instagram.
My first curatorial project was almost three years ago when I hosted my first open call for art. Though the competition only received a few submissions, there was an incredible response to the artists and works I selected as winners. Since then, I curate biannual digital open calls that garner in excess of 500 unique submissions and generates sales and exposure for emerging artists all over the world.
Because collecting, curating, and advising is not my primary career, there is no pressure to pursue a financial return on my projects. Whether or not I can sell an artwork or make money from a show isn’t my main concern and allows me to be laser focused on generating exposure for early and mid-career artists who are trying to make careers in the creative economy. I am also passionate about supporting female and lgbtq artists, as well as artists of color.
What are some of the things you’ve been working on lately?
My current project is an exhibition at the Delaware Contemporary, a non-collecting contemporary art museum in Wilmington, Delaware. The show is called From Chaos To Order: Making Our Way in the New World of COVID-19. It’s a group show of both representational and abstract work that falls on the spectrum of chaos and order. The artists were chosen from over 250 submissions to the #TDCTogether campaign launched by the Delaware Contemporary at the start of the Covid-19 crisis.
When I first started contacting artists about participating in the show I had no idea the enthusiasm that there would be for the concept and the opportunity. For many, this was the only opportunity to show their work that had surfaced since the beginning of the crisis.
You are able to offer a different perspective for any creative inspired to make their way in the art industry: What do you honestly think it takes for one to stand out, gain connections, essentially starting from nothing?
Authenticity is key. Since my first visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, I’m always looking for new ideas, innovative approaches, or creative re-contextualization. It’s okay if your work is inspired by another artist, but it must have something to say for itself.
As an art collector, I always say that I’m looking for ⅓ mastery of the materials, ⅓ intellectual vigor, and ⅓ aesthetic qualities.
What are you looking forward to right now in the art world?
SFMOMA and the Baltimore Museum of Art are co-organizing a major Joan Mitchell Retrospective. It’s going to be epic.
I also can’t wait to safely attend art fairs again. I got to attend the March, 2020 Armory Show in NYC just before the art world closed down. Art Basel Miami Beach (and all the satellite fairs, specifically New Art Dealers Association [NADA]) is my favorite time of year. Art Basel is always over the top- glamorous people, glittering art, and blue chip masterpieces. The satellite fairs are great because I always run into art-world friends and discover new artists whose prices are still accessible.
What is something that you would want to get more involved with as a creative?
I’m planning to launch several partnerships to help emerging artists gain exposure via exhibition opportunities and co-branded editioned work.
There will also be an @abstractduke Open Call that leaps from the digital space onto physical gallery walls within the next year.
What genre of art do you find yourself most drawn to lately?
I’m really into exploring artists who were under-appreciated in their time due to gender, race, or other factors. Specifically, I’m always on the hunt for artists producing strong work in the 1970’s and 80’s. Mary Lovelace O’Neal is one of my current obsessions, though her recent show at Mnuchin Gallery has made it exceedingly difficult to locate available examples of her work.
We see you have some collections of favorite art-related products on Amazon- what are your top 3 choices and recommendations out of the whole collection?
It was such a blast to go through Amazon’s broad listings of art books and books about art.
Ben Lewis’ The Last Leonardo is a fascinating account of the provenance of the famed Salvator Mundi painting that sold at Christies for $450m in 2017. The book explores all the known information and allows the reader to put together the clues to form their own conclusion about the authenticity and authorship of the work. Fascinating stuff.
I also love The Essential Cy Twombly from d.a.p. Publications. It’s a volume that I find myself drawn to again and again.
Finally, Helen Frankenthaler Paintings 1963-1971 highlights some of the artist’s most important and beautiful works. With the tripling of her auction record at the recent Sotheby’s evening sale, I think the art world will be revisiting her work quite often in the coming years.
