Adam Lindemann
Gallerist and Founder of Venus Over Manhattan
Prominent art collector, gallerist, writer, and trailblazer Adam Lindemann is recognized internationally as one of the world's foremost collectors of 20th and 21st-century art and design. A native New Yorker, he founded Venus Over Manhattan, a gallery devoted to curating historical and contemporary art exhibitions. For over a decade, the gallery has received critical acclaim in the hands of him for its dynamic program and dedication to iconoclastic, pathbreaking artists spanning different generations, such as Peter Saul, Jim Nutt, Joan Brown, Maryan, Jack Goldstein, H.C. Westermann, Keiichi Tanaami, and Joseph Yoakum, among others.
A champion of new talent, Adam recognizes and celebrates contemporary artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, Peter Saul, Richard Mayhew, Joan Brown, Richard Prince, Damien Hirst, Urs Fischer, and many more.
Recent exhibitions at Adam Lindemann's Venus Over Manhattan gallery include works from Cheri Samba and Xenobia Bailey. Venus Over Manhattan also presents Celestial Songs, a group exhibition curated by artist Adrianne Rubenstein this summer. Organized in conversation with a simultaneous exhibition of work by Maija Peeples-Bright and Roy De Forest, Celestial Songs comprises historical and contemporary works by artists whose visual and thematic interests recall aspects of the Funk Art movement of the 1960s.
Setting Record-Breaking Sales at Art Auctions
Known for his prescience, admired as a cultural innovator, and guided by an uncanny sense of the zeitgeist, Adam continues to leave an indelible mark in the art world, reflected by his record-breaking sales at contemporary art auctions. His keen eye for valuable pieces in the art market first made headlines in 2007 when he sold Koons' "Hanging Heart (Magenta/Gold)" at Sotheby's for $23.5 million, setting a new record for the highest price for an artwork by a living artist sold at auction.
In 2016, he sold Basquiat's 1982 canvas titled "Untitled (Devil)" at Christie's for $57.3 million, setting a new world record for the artist at auction. The sale demonstrated his ability to understand the investment potential of artworks early on, as he originally paid $4.5 million for the painting in 2004.
He achieved another milestone in 2023 when he sold Jean Royère's "Ours Polaire" sofa at his eponymous single-owner sale, "ADAM: Works from the Collection of Adam Lindemann," held at Christie's. The sofa sold for $3,420,000, surpassing its estimated $1,000,000 - $1,500,000 and setting a new auction record for Royère. This sale underscored his ability to curate and market unique and valuable pieces to collectors.
The event featured major works from Adam's collection, acquired over 20 years ago, and pivotal moments in the careers of the artists who created them. Works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Richard Prince, Urs Fischer, Rudolf Stingel, and Alexander Calder were included. The auction garnered significant attention, with all lots sold totaling $31,467,240.
In a featured article in The New York Times about the event, Adam explained that "the total sum of all the pieces in the auction gives you an idea of how the collector thinks, how these things were chosen, and that each thing has a personal relationship to me that it means something."
A Supporter of the Arts
Adam donated a portion of the proceeds from the sale of his collection at Christie's to the renovation of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Michael C. Rockefeller wing for the museum's sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, and ancient Americas art collection. He is the head of the steering committee, which he has served on for over 20 years.
His philanthropic endeavors include donating a Grade Figure from the Banks Islands to the Met in 2019. He has contributed artworks to the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami and generously supported the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College with numerous donations. In 2021, Adam provided funding for the Art Institute of Chicago's publication of the catalog for Joseph Yoakum: "What I Saw."
In addition, Adam Lindemann is a crucial supporter of exhibitions at the New Museum, The Jewish Museum in New York, and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel.
The Earlier Years
He attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he studied Spanish Comparative Literature and graduated Magna Cum Laude. He attended Yale Law School and received his J.D.
In his 20s, Adam became immersed in New York's vibrant cultural milieu from Andy Warhol's Factory to artists' studios across generations and auction house salerooms. At 22, in the 1980s, he met everyonefrom Warhol to Basquiat, Haring, and others. He began to collect art from the people he knew and "the moments he was excited about."
He also wrote a popular art column in The New York Observer, providing informative, often irreverent, and ironic insights into the art market. He is the author of two of Taschen Books' bestselling art volumes, "Collecting Contemporary" and "Collecting Design." He will soon release a book chronicling his four years at The New York Observer.
Adam's love for music led him to form Caliente Music in 1995. In 1997, the Cuban group Los Van Van won a Grammy for best salsa album under his label. He also owned a movie production company, which launched the career of film director Doug Liman and sold "Swingers" to Miramax.
In 2007, Adam purchased a Spanish-language radio company, Mega Broadcasting, from Alfredo Alonso and renamed it Mega Communications. The company operated 21 stations and was sold the same year.
From Art to Sports and Music
Of course, he enjoys keeping his pulse on the evolving art world, digging deep into current trends, challenges, emerging artists, technology, and innovations shaping the industry. He is often a featured guest on podcasts, sharing his insights.
Adam's hobbies also reflect his athletic, solid nature. He was a two-time Gold Cup champion in polo. In college, he was a ski racer and continues to enjoy activities such as surfing and wind foiling.
Adam Lindemann enjoys playing guitar and recently took up the 5-string banjo. His passion for music began early when he mastered several instruments. He spends his Sunday mornings posting covers of timeless classics and bluegrass legends on his Instagram in a series called "The Sunday Scratch."
