LIVING WITH CHAMBERLAIN: A CONVERSATION WITH ALEXANDRA FAIRWEATHER

As Director of the John Chamberlain Estate since 2017, Alexandra Fairweather is dedicated to preserving the life, work, and legacy of the late artist. She skillfully navigates the intersection of reverence and strategic business management, having expanded the estate's archival, management, and marketing teams to amplify awareness and appreciation of Chamberlain's work. Alexandra has assembled a team of professionals responsible for the operational aspects of the estate, from overseeing the maintenance of physical properties, including Chamberlain’s former home and studio, to managing financial affairs and legal considerations, allowing the estate to thrive as a dynamic and sustainable entity within the art world. By strategically expanding the archival team and implementing new conservation protocols, Fairweather ensures meticulous preservation, digitization, and cataloging of Chamberlain's work and archives, providing a rich resource for researchers, scholars, and collectors.

As the stepdaughter of John Chamberlain, Fairweather brings a deeply intimate and nuanced understanding of the artist to her work and the estate. In keeping with Chamberlain’s spirit, she is committed to honoring his relentlessly inventive and fearless practice through the estate’s projects. Fariweather has fostered notable partnerships with major art institutions organizing exhibitions and events that showcase Chamberlain's work in new contexts to a global audience. Recognizing the power of contemporary marketing techniques, she has adeptly combined traditional methods with digital and social media strategies to propel Chamberlain’s work into new realms of public consciousness and appreciation. Fairweather is interested in exploring new mediums to share his work and continue his rich legacy of inspiration among notable creatives. Most recently, she helped organize Chamberlain’s first museum show in over a decade, THE TIGHTER THEY’RE WOUND, THE HARDER THEY UNRAVEL, curated by Urs Fischer in collaboration with Dia Art Foundation for the Aspen Art Museum that celebrates Chamberlain’s love of discovery and fitting together of disparate parts.

Through her efforts in exhibitions, activations, events, and digital content creation, Fairweather actively steers the John Chamberlain Estate in a direction that honors the artist’s legacy and ensures its perpetual significance in the evolving landscape of contemporary art.

Alexandra Fairweather completed her undergraduate education at Columbia University. She is currently based between Shelter Island and New York City, and sits on the board of various Hamptons educational and arts organizations.

GABRIELA PALMIERI is the Founder and Principal of Palmieri Fine Art, Inc. Prior to establishing PFA, Inc., Ms. Palmieri led a distinguished 17-year career at Sotheby’s, where she rose to Chairman of Contemporary Art, Americas, and was recognized as one of the most respected in the auction industry as a leading specialist in Post-War Art.

Ms. Palmieri founded PFA, Inc. in order to unequivocally provide her clients with unbiased, objective and transparent counsel in the increasingly complex and nuanced art market. In her independent role she is committed to providing impartial advice and counsel for established and new collectors aimed at making informed acquisitions, which requires careful analysis and due diligence. As a seasoned researcher and scholar, Gabriela brings to bear all the relevant factors about the artist, the market trajectory for the artist’s work, the particular work taken in the context of the artist’s career, provenance, condition, literature and comparative uniqueness.

In the evolving art market, Ms. Palmieri recognizes that client advocacy is as important as advisory, a role that she spearheaded during her tenure at Sotheby’s where she was the client advocate on every transaction. Among the many highlights during her tenure at Sotheby’s included heading Sotheby’s May 2008 Day Sale to realize $107,800,000, a record total for a Day Sale at any auction house at the time, which followed a $102,800,000 performance from November 2007. As the Head of the Evening Sale, she curated the bespoke Allan Stone Collection, which fetched $55,000,000 in 2011. This role culminated in her stewardship of the prestigious Ahead of the Curve: The Sender Collection sale in May 2014 at Sotheby’s, which sold in excess of $86,000,000.

This unparalleled auction house experience uniquely positions Ms. Palmieri to assess the market and deliver the most comprehensive secondary market expertise both on the buying and selling side of the transaction. Still very much part of the auction world, in her present capacity, she advised every aspect of the prestigious Visionaries: Works from the Collection of Emily and Jerry Spiegel, which sold at Christie’s in May 2017 for $128,000,000. In November 2017, she counseled Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and Ambassador Carl Spielvogel’s Collection, Magnificent Gestures, which sold at Sotheby’s in November 2017 for $54,700,000, with all proceeds benefiting a Not-For-Profit Charitable Foundation that will supports science and medicine, educational reform and cultural projects.

Yvonne Force Villareal began her public career in the arts in 1995 as the President of Yvonne Force Inc. (YFI), an art advisory firm specializing in building and managing private collections and foundations. As President of YFI, Ms. Force was backed in-part by the late Mr. Laurance S. Rockefeller to form a collection in support of contemporary artists. In 2000, Ms. Force co-founded Art Production Fund (APF), a non-profit organization dedicated to commissioning and producing significant public art projects, reaching new audiences and expanding awareness through contemporary art. Together with co-founder Doreen Remen, the leaders grew APF into an ambitious national program of outdoor installations that include: Ugo Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains in Las Vegas, NV; Elmgreen & Dragset’s Prada Marfa in Marfa, Texas.

Expanding on their role as cultural entrepreneurs, in 2014 the duo established Culture Corps, a creative consultancy firm offering art advisory, artist brand collaboration, and cultural programming services with a focus in the hospitality, retail, entertainment, corporate and real estate industries. In working with private sector clientele and acclaimed artists to curate custom programs, their consistent goal is (and always has been) to create opportunities for artistic expression and viewer participation.

Ms. Force graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1988 with a degree in Fine Arts and serves on the Boards of Art Production Fund, White Columns and RISD’s President’s Alumni Advisory Council. Ms. Force has spoken on panels at many institutions and media outlets including Frieze Art Fair, Design Miami, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Yale University, School of Visual Arts (SVA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), The Today Show, and Bravo’s Work of Art, among others.

Publication features include: Vogue, New York Magazine, W, Cultured, Avenue and Manhattan Magazine.