RB: If you compare today’s market with the one from twenty years ago, the change is dramatic. Back then, everything felt more organic — art was still primarily about emotional impact, not financial return. Over time, auction houses reshaped the landscape. Their influence pushed the market closer to the logic of a stock exchange, where many collectors focus not on artistic value but on potential profit.

I always give clients the space to think, feel, and connect with the work — whether it takes them five minutes or several weeks. But the growing financialization of art has created real challenges for galleries. Collectors themselves haven’t changed much, but the way they make decisions has.

RB: Personally, I’m drawn to photography and the NFT ecosystem. Many people like to say the NFT world is dead — I disagree. It’s evolving, and I believe it still holds huge potential.

We’ve launched our own platform, budja.io, where collectors can acquire NFT-linked art at fair prices. The idea behind our token is to create a transparent, secure system that supports both collectors and artists. Blockchain ensures traceability, provenance, and safe transfer — it’s transforming how we understand ownership in the digital era.

RB: Art fairs are useful, but they’re no longer the place to find surprising discoveries. I visit fairs, museums, auctions — everything — to feel the pulse of what artists are doing globally. The world influences them in similar ways, so I often notice repeating patterns.

That’s why I rely more on my own intuition. A dealer must be able to distinguish authenticity from imitation. Many artists unconsciously create similar things because certain styles sell well. I’m searching for honesty — for artists who aren’t chasing trends.

RB: Visual parallels across countries often help me identify interesting directions, but intuition is the real filter. Of course, knowledge matters, but at the end of the day I choose with my heart, not with a spreadsheet.
I’m not driven by what sells at auction. I’m not buying art to make someone rich — I’m buying it because art should exist for its own purpose.

RB: Not at all. The European market is stronger and much more educated in terms of art history. In Salzburg I can introduce more conceptual, intellectual projects.

For example, we currently have an exhibition by Hermann, an artist who is also a farmer. He creates monumental sculptures of vegetables — dissected, magnified, and reimagined. The craftsmanship is exceptional, and the audience in Salzburg responds very well to this kind of work.

Miami, on the other hand, requires a different strategy. Right now, we’re showing Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki — a legendary figure, very edgy for Miami, yet our clients appreciate the boldness. The show sold out within a week.

RB: Salzburg is open to everyone. Miami is different. We curate the experience more tightly because we’ve had incidents with unguided visitors damaging valuable artworks — once even scratching a Warhol.

To protect the works, we operate by appointment only, ensuring every visit is intentional and supervised. We’re always open to meeting new collectors — people can email us, and we respond immediately to schedule a viewing — but the environment must remain safe for the art.

RB: We’re developing several projects with Crystal Paris, a very young and very promising artist. We showcased her at Context Miami last December. LVMH selected her for a pop-up event; her work explores cultural identity and the visibility of Black artists in today’s market.

She’s already exhibited at The Standard Hotel in Miami Beach, and she has an upcoming show in New York this September. Her mixed-media practice, wearable art, and collaborations with figures like Tina Knowles Lawson and Kanye West are attracting major attention. Supporting artists like her — helping them grow — is one of my main priorities right now.