DAN’S PAPERS
Page 52 September 14, 2012
danshamptons.com
BY THE BOOK
ART EVENTS
Kitty Pilgrim’s latest fiction
Openings, what and who is where....
Mark Borghi Going Strong in Bridgehampton
M
ark Borghi, owner of Mark Borghi Fine Art in Bridgehampton, Manhattan and Palm Beach, Fla., has found great success in the art game since opening his first gallery – but he’d already had lots of practice. “I started when I was 10 years old, basically,” Borghi said, explaining that art is his family business, and he began hanging shows for his father at a very young age. While his father dealt in 19th century paintings through galleries in his home state
of New Jersey, as well as New York and California, Borghi was drawn to a different style. “I was more interested in the Stieglitz group,” the 55-year-old gallerist, husband and father of three said, pointing out his appreciation for American photographer Alfred Stieglitz and his contemporaries, including wife Georgia O’Keeffe, Marsden Hartley, Joseph Stella and others. Borghi began to sell the work
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privately in the 1990s and opened his first gallery in 2001 at 52 East 76th Street in Manhattan, the same location where it continues to thrive today. A couple years later he launched the Bridgehampton operation. His family had vacationed in the Hamptons since the 1970s and eventually bought a house in Amagansett, but Borghi had never really envisioned dealing art on the East End. “Bridgehampton had a Gallerist Mark Borghi good deal on a storefront,” he said, noting that the bargain was too good to turn down. “It was profitable from the beginning,” Borghi recalled. “I’m proud of the reputation we have out here,” he said. “It turned out to be an interesting gallery.” Mark Borghi Fine Art
By oliver peterson
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bout eight years ago, the dealer shifted his focus from the early 20th century artists of the Stieglitz group to the Post War artists whose work now comprises the bulk of his precious secondarymarket stock. A visit to Borghi’s galleries or a quick look at his website demonstrates the breadth of work that has graced his walls. All the modern masters are represented, including Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Cy Twombly, Francis Bacon, Jean Michele Basquiat, Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning, Joseph Cornell, Robert Rauschenberg and just about every other great painter creating work between the 1940s and 80s. Borghi said he enjoys orchestrating a fair sale and making clients happy. He explained that it’s easy to sell to people who share his taste. “That’s our whole business model,” Borghi said. “People walk out and they feel happy.” Bridgehampton has been a remarkable adventure over the last decade, according to Borghi. He’s met some of his most interesting clients in the East End location and has sold several works to museums. Usually Borghi maintains a revolving show from his fantastic catalogue of work, but he does one annual July 4 exhibition each summer. The gallery showed drawings by de Kooning in 2011, and this year Borghi displayed pieces by Ed Moses, one of the only artists he represents in the traditional sense. “It’s a different type of market,” he said of working with artists directly and selling on the primary market. Despite this, Borghi imagines working with more contemporary artists in the future. “I may take on a few more painters,” he said.
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Mark Borghi Fine Art is located at 2426 Main Street in Bridgehampton. Call 631-537-7245 or visit borghi.org for info and a complete list of available artists.
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n the meantime, Borghi opened his third gallery in Palm Beach last year, and so far he has only good things to report. “I’m tired of the winters,” he said, explaining that he prefers Florida during the colder months. Regardless of what or where Borghi exhibits, he believes great art transcends genre or category. If the quality level is high enough – which has nothing to do with the monetary value – all kinds of work can hang together, no matter the style or era, he said. “I’m a firm believer that art should talk to each other,” Borghi added, further describing the premise of his gallery. “My greatest joy is to hang a show.”
631.704.0601 19524