Interview Entrepreneurial art-world veteran Nazy Vassegh
THE WICK: Talk us through a typical Monday.
Nazy Vassegh: Mondays are idea days and, no matter what the weather, I always try and start the day with a hike across the sand dunes where we live. This rejuvenates and motivates me and it’s the perfect start to the week. It’s the day we regroup as a team and talk strategy, share our week and plan things. We don’t set an agenda, nothing is off limits and it gives us focus for the week.
TW: You are the founder of the Eye of the Collector art fair. If you could see through anyone else’s eyes for a day, whose would you choose?
NV: If I could choose one pair of eyes to look through, it would be Peggy Guggenheim whose life was shaped by some of the world’s biggest events of the 20th century, namely the sinking of the Titanic where she lost her father, two world wars and the reconstruction of Europe. She had an incredible eye, a huge dedication to artists and was the model for a modern liberated woman.
TW: What are the biggest triumphs in your career to date?
NV:
I think the art world has changed so much over the last 20 years and I would say the ability to adapt and innovate has probably been my greatest achievement.
I greatly enjoyed my time refocusing and reenergising Masterpiece London Art Fair and through doing so met many of the art world’s galleries.
While at Sotheby’s my highlights included setting up the original strategy and delivering the launch of Sotheby’s Preferred, a benefit programme for top-tier international collectors and with links to the world’s finest cultural institutions. I was also the Managing Director for the Impressionist and Modern Art Division in Europe.
More recently, I am proud to have taken the leap of faith in establishing Eye of the Collector as a new contender in the international art fair circuit.
Combining a family and their needs with work has always been important to me and I would also list this as a triumph.
TW: What’s your favourite culturally curious spot?
NV: Ever since the first time I went to Venice, it’s been a voyage of cultural discovery. The city itself is a work of art and during the biennale the historic monuments come to life with an ever-changing programme of cultural diversity and discoveries.
“I think the art world has changed so much over the last 20 years and I would say the ability to adapt and innovate has probably been my greatest achievement.”
