Jessica Paindiris, who runs the Clarion List, an online art-services directory.
Photo: Katelyn Perry, Courtesy of WeWork
Three Women Changing the Art World Through Technology
A trio of apps are transforming the way people access, acquire, and manage art
Jessica Paindiris and Gaia Banovich, who met while working at Christie’s auction house, teamed up to create an online directory of art professionals in major markets. With some 40 categories, from shippers and conservators to appraisers and consultants, the Clarion List now covers 70 locations worldwide. “We want to make it easier for collectors, artists, and dealers to find reputable art-service providers anywhere,” says Paindiris, adding that more than 100,000 people have accessed the free site or mobile app. “Even veterans need help when doing business in cities other than their own. This is something Google just can’t do.”
Jessica Paindiris, who runs the Clarion List, an online art-services directory. Photo: Katelyn Perry, Courtesy of WeWork
The entrepreneurial impulse struck Alexandra Chemla while working at the Manhattan gallery Gavin Brown’s Enterprise. Recognizing that art dealers needed a better system for cataloguing inventory and sharing artworks with clients, she founded ArtBinder. Thanks to its smart features, it has been adopted by more than 400 galleries in 65 countries, including Pace, David Zwirner, and Hauser & Wirth. Now Chemla hopes collectors will embrace ArtBinder: “They can keep everything in one place—images, invoices, and contacts, as well as legal, insurance, or historical documents.” ArtBinder starts at $99 per month.
Alexandra Chemla, the brains behind ArtBinder, a digital inventory system for artworks. Photo: Joshua McHugh
Natasha Schlesinger’s ArtMuse consultancy keeps her busy. “I can take collectors around for only so many hours each week, and there are more than 1,000 galleries here in New York City,” she says. So she and a partner, website designer Kwame Decuir, developed a mobile app called ArtMuse Discover Galleries. It asks users to fill in preferences and then makes recommendations, Schlesinger explains, “to help people find galleries and artworks that suit individual interests” as well as price ranges. Users can prioritize photography or landscape painting, for example, or works from a certain era. “The more you use the app, the smarter it becomes about what you’ll like.” For now the free app covers only New York, but Schlesinger plans to expand it to other cities.
Natasha Schlesinger, who developed the mobile app ArtMuse Discover Galleries. Photo: Ronald Cadiz, 2017 Richard Serra/artists rights society (ARS), New York
Cover: Jessica Paindiris, who runs the Clarion List, an online art-services directory.
Photo: Katelyn Perry, Courtesy of WeWork
