Katharina Rich Perlow
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8 comments:
One of the nastiest savages I have ever encountered. If you have any self-respect you should avoid her at all costs.
I worked for her for a summer and the comment above is on point with respect to self-respect. She is hell to work for. she's very condescending to almost everyone for one reason or another (buyers, critics, visitors, employees) and doesn't appear to care much about the art she carries. It's a gallery of second-string ab-ex artists unceremoniously mixed with second and third-string realist painters and lobby artists (which I say because she told me that was the market for katz's city-scape paintings). I guess I don't know much about her relationships with the artists she represents but I know she's very disorganized and I received the email from one of her artists announcing that he was leaving. amazingly, I know others who have worked with her and I can't believe they've last as long as they have.
She was awful to work for. She wants to be angry at everyone. She was unhappy with the way I packaged a painting. I got her to tell me how she wanted it done. When I did it her way the next time she was so upset that should have done it the previous way. This sort of thing was bearable until she started saying that I was just there for a paycheck. (I had actually busted my ass and made more sales than she had in the first half of the year. ) I found out a month into the job that she had a hard time keeping employees. One day after an argument I just picked up my coat and walked out the door.
She’s an incredibly vile woman. I like to believe it’s because she had a hard past but also no excuse. She’s a terrible person.
After more than fifteen years I can finally revisit this part of my life in New York. Recently I met some artists in Sofia ( Bulgaria) that needed help with an installation and while offering a helping hand I shared with them some of my experiences in the big city. One of them being Katharina Rich Perlow. I had totally forgotten about it as I've done so much since. It's been a while so I googled her and found out she's currently a private dealer and she's no longer operating from the Fuller Building. It was interesting to find out she's written two books about her wartime life in Vienna and another about her long career as an art dealer in New York... I even found her on Instagram. Her AOL email is still active. LOL. And of course I have also found this blog entry. I always thought that the challenges of working with Mrs. Perlow were due to cultural differences or lack of experience. After all she's still Austrian-American and I was a Colombian Fine Arts student. She was very demanding and mistakes ( of any kind) were not tolerated. Man, she was strict. And to a certain extent, I do identify with some of the other comments made under this post.
But - yes, but - I have to say working for her was also a character building experience. This was well before I tried my luck in high-end hospitality in New York at The River Cafe and Nobu 57, where I found similar attitudes and behaviour from the rich and famous. I had been working as a free-lance art handler for a while for the now permanently closed Thomas & Associates Art Staffing, when I was hired by Mrs. Perlow. I had just finished my Fine Arts internship at MoMA PS1Contemporary Art Center and I had already worked for Phillips Auction House, the Armory Show and ICP - International Center of Photography, among others. I was part of the Family programs at MoMA, where I supported gallery talks and lectures for families. In English and Spanish. I think it was a decent experience for a recent Fine Arts graduate. So, she gave me the job I had found through Craigslist. That said, I lasted six months. I had similar experiences as those described here by others, to various degrees, until one day out of an outburst of frustration she told me that was it. I thought she was extremely demanding. I had just gotten married and I think she wanted to help me out. She kept me busy with all sorts of tasks. No matter whether I worked part-time or not. I remember doubling as a messenger, delivery man, currier, assistant, packaging, maintenance, watchman. You name it. And I did it the best I could. I smiled and I put a positive spin to it.
What I remember the most is the way she stores all the artwork -- thousands of dollars of it -- something like a closet. Simply stacked one opposite next to the other. That's it. Simply brilliant or very old school. I don't know. But it stuck with me because I had never-ever seen artwork being handled like that. It went against everything I had learned from very serious professionals. When some potential buyer would come to the gallery she would ask me to take out a painting and recline it against the wall--without any sort of protection--letting gravity to the work. And it sometimes led to the paintings simply falling on the floor. Something that was both hilarious and alarming. When that happened, because it happened more than once, she would turn and look at me like I had the answer to stop Newton's first, second and third law. It was no different when there were issues with the delivery of an art work. Somehow the delivery company was never to blame for any mishap. The way the artwork was packaged was always to blame. What else? Of course. Yes, I remember those. The blaming and scolding was unpleasant and stressful, to say the least. I thought it was the Austrian in her. A staunch perfectionist. But maybe I was wrong. I never met her outside the gallery or knew her in other circles so I cannot confirm or deny any of the claims made here. All I can say is that she was both dedicated and demanding. Open and closed. Strict and humane. She worked hard and she hustled. I always thought she was the kind of person that needed a special assistant, more like a butler, like Batman's Alfred, so she could do what she did best: run her art business. I don't recall how much she paid, but I do remember it was a part-time job I had along with other two gigs in art handler, and working as a barista with bow-tie,white jacket and all. I remember rushing to the Fuller building, watching over the gallery when she was at Sotheby's, or installing a full exhibition at the Armory on my own. Only with a pencil, measuring tape and a hammer. Like Mrs. Perlow, old school. I wonder if I made it into her book. For sure she'd be talking about Boca Raton.
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