Alexander Gilkes Quotes

Celebrity is not something I consciously pursue.

I was a rather tubby youngster, which was a complete surprise to my family.

I spent lots of time on drama, music and art.

I’m a bit of a dynamite fisherman when it comes to cooking as I don’t have the patience, but I am a huge foodie.

I’m the son of a doctor, and the key to working in the art world is to have boundaries of discretion.

In terms of wedding gifts, I like to buy people experiences.

I was given a life-size iron sculpture of a heron by a godparent. It was so poorly made, that it looked more like a pterodactyl and was so unbalanced that it would continue to topple over and create huge divots in my bedroom floor with its sharp beak.

In Europe, there is a lower instance of startups because there’s a permanent fear of failure. Everyone fears failure because it is this permanent black mark against your name, whereas in the U.S., failure seems to be par for the course.

I started my career at LVMH and then I joined Phillips de Pury under the tutelage of Simon de Pury as second auctioneer and head of marketing.

We want to ensure works are placed with people who collect responsibly.

Artists will always depend on the brick-and-mortar ecosystem to establish authority and context.

If you’re trying to learn how to collect art, the key is getting access to insider opinions, and we pride ourselves on working with the most relevant artists and the collectors with the most authoritative voices.

I’m a big believer in manners and respect: that one should never do to another what you wouldn’t wish for yourself.

Our gutsy view of the world is that with time, there will be three auction houses: two serving the upper end of the market and Paddle8, serving the middle market.

I feel a strong connection to water, so, no matter the time of year, I always go for a swim.

We want as best as possible to encourage emerging talent and galleries by their inclusion on Paddle8. Our exhibitions help bring interesting new works on the platform. We have to be agnostic in that respect and the galleries themselves have complete carte blanche as far as what they include on the site.

Our generation has become somewhat stripped of identity by the homogenizing effect of technology. So, more than ever, people want to project their own individuality.

I just love the idea of being able to have a place where friends and family can meet, where you can raise everything from chickens to llamas, and, you know, have an artist residency.

There is such opacity within the art market. There’s also an abundance of fraud and misrepresented goods, which leads to mistrust between buyers and sellers.

I remember being led to a shed by my father for the unveiling of a beautiful bicycle, equipped with stabilizers, on Christmas Day. I must have been four or five and realized that this was my first ride into independence.

My brother and I have always had a great interest in people and building relationships. I probably have my parents to thank for that.

I respect people’s privacy.

A great friend and mentor, Simon de Pury, invited me to be auctioneer at Phillips de Pury, which was a great honor.

I once termed my sense of dress as ‘urban farmer’ and that became a perennial source of bullying from my friends, particularly my brother.

I’m a bit of a vault of secrets. I’m a victim of English reserve, which is slightly in contrast to how I communicate when I auction.

If I’m in the English countryside and get on my bicycle, I see what sort of strange inbred rural locals I can snap.

Auctions typically are an opportunity for you to be able to acquire what you’re looking for at a lower price; typically, the auctioneer sets the opening price at much lower than the retail price and certain interest develops and as more people come in it drives the price up.

What you collect is the ultimate impartation of who you are. It’s the archive of your identity – it’s what you leave behind.

My father is someone I’ve always looked up to as the ultimate example of chivalry and humility, and someone who’s just deeply kind and empathetic and selfless.

My dream, dream acquisition would probably be a Twombly chalkboard. I’ve been fortunate to see one or two in a private context, and I think it’s just sort of quintessentially brilliant, timeless, modern.