The (Male) Art Entrepreneur Exhibiting Female Artists

In London, over two-thirds of artists represented in major galleries are men, even when gallery directors are women. But one young male gallery director is working to upend this inequality on multiple fronts.

At the age of 29, Amar Singh made Forbes’ 2019 30 Under 30 Europe list for his bold work championing female artists. While some galleries espouse diversity by holding the occasional female group or solo show, Amar Gallery is walking the walk. Focused on post-war and contemporary art by female artists, his gallery counts such art world heavyweights as Elaine de Kooning and Renee Cox among those they represent.

He has even convinced the feminist art collective, the Guerrilla Girls, to show at his gallery, with a solo show entitled “RAW” coming up in October 2019.

But Singh isn’t satisfied with just having a gallery, or even with working within the structures of the art world.

“You’ve got to stand for something in life, otherwise it’s empty, and your business is empty,” he says.

Campaigner Turned Gallerist

Prior to his foray into art, Singh was a prominent LGBT activist and ally in India. A member of the Kapurthala Royal Family, Singh worked alongside India’s first openly gay prince, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, and countless others to overturn the country’s ban on gay sex.

Influenced by strong female family members who advocated for women’s rights in India, including his mother and grandmother, Amar’s awareness of India’s sexism, which he calls a “whole ecosystem of madness”, clearly influences his current work. He considers himself a human rights activist first and foremost. 

“I’m not aware of other gallery programs who have exhibited and championed female artists in the UK like Amar,” explains collector Claire Pons. She says of the gallery’s exhibit “Hiding in Plain Sight”, which showcased the work of abstract expressionists like Mary Abbott, Helen Frankenthaler and Grace Hartigan, “It was also a museum level show in an independent gallery, that’s rather different.”

While an optimist about progressing LGBT and women’s rights around the world, Singh is more cynical about the current state of the art world.

“I actually think the art world is dying. I think art is very important, but I think the art world, if I may say so, is complete and utter bullocks,” Singh says.

Dismayed by the lack of interest from galleries to support and show emerging artists, Singh decided to venture into the less expensive end of the art market. 

Curated Sensibilities

In 2018, Amar Gallery launched the online platform Curated, which aims to support emerging artists and new collectors by selling pieces online at more affordable prices. It even has financing options for buyers.

Collector Charles Morris says that Singh encouraged him to collect more work by female artists.

“I think Curated is a great initiative as so much art is overpriced and so many art spaces make people feel unwelcome,” Morris says. “Curated is welcoming and invites a huge group of people to experience and enjoy art.”

Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf is one London-based artist selling her work on the platform. She has seen the hurdles female artists face in the male-dominated art world.

“For me personally, the main difficulty has been not being taken seriously,” she said. “As a young woman, especially one focusing on female identity in her work, I was often belittled by older men in the art world, who made me feel the subject matter and style of my work was in some way frivolous compared to that of male artists.”

While she says she is past this point in her career and that the art world is changing, more still needs to be done.

“The main thing that needs to change is for museum and gallery curators to be aware of the gender bias and make conscious efforts to include 50% of women in their exhibitions and collections,” she explains. “Having one-off shows celebrating female artists is great, but unless a more comprehensive change is made, it can feel a little like a token gesture in relation to the media attention this subject is gaining at the minute.”

Singh agrees, calling such shows “all smoke and mirrors”, not genuinely representing female artists. He has his eyes set on pushing the art world far beyond such opportunistic tokenism, and he is willing to break outside the traditional gallery mold in order to do that.

From Art Business To Hotel Business

Set to open in October 2019, Curated Golden Square will be a 30,000 square foot apartment hotel showcasing artwork by female artists.

“Every single artist on view at Curated Golden Square will be paid,” explains Singh of his new endeavor. “One of the biggest problems with the art world and exhibitions is that artists, especially emerging artists do not get paid. This expansion of my business will further ensure that artists always come first.”

Guests’ rooms will be decorated with regularly rotating art that can be purchased. By putting this art in a furnished room, patrons will be able to see pieces made by local artists in a more inviting light than the traditional bare, white gallery.

This $100 million venture is the first of what Singh hopes to be many such hotels, showcasing the work of local artists in their cities around the globe.

In the process, he wants to build a brand that transcends the art world, bringing local art to people who would not necessarily consider themselves collectors, but who may be interested in beautiful pieces by local artists.

Singh is also partnering with female-founded companies throughout the hotel, including The Wonder List, Vitaclean, This Way and his 30 Under 30 peers Raissa and Joyce de Haas of Double Dutch drinks. 

This passionate young entrepreneur is impatient with the art world and shows no signs of letting up on his lifetime of activism. Using his privilege to champion women in the art world and beyond, Singh’s business endeavors have the possibility to change the industry for all involved.

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This post has been updated since it was originally posted. It previously stated that Amar Gallery represents Helen Frankenthaler, which it does not. It has exhibited her work.