CARLTON FINE ARTS CHARLES SAFFATI

CHARLES SAFFATI REFLECTS ON 50+ YEARS OF CARLTON FINE ARTS

Multigenerational Family Art Gallery

Carlton Fine Arts on Madison Avenue is a family business. “My father was in the business, and I quickly took over when I became of age,” says Charles Saffati, the current proprietor. Saffati considered himself “of age” at 14, when he began showing up to work at the gallery after school. Now his son Morris is in the business with him. “He's 40 years old now and he also came to me after school,” Saffati adds.

PICASSO, WARHOL, CHAGALL, HARRING, MIRÓ & MATISSE

Started in 1969, Carlton Fine Arts specializes in modern masters and pop art. “From the beginning we started with masters: Picasso, Chagall, Miró, Giacometti, Matisse,” says Saffati. As time progressed, he brought in newer artists, like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring in the 1980s. “At the time, those were the new upcoming type of artists. I mean, I used to buy Keith Haring works for $1,000.”

Good Instincts

In addition to dealing with timeless bluechip artists, Saffati continues to add new talent as the art world evolves. Now CFA handles contemporary artists like Kaws, who is already a household name, Ron Agam, and Mr. Brainwash, a graffiti artist with a Bansky-type style. The artists were featured in the 2010 documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, directed by Banksy.

MR. BRAINWASH

Saffati’s instincts have paid off. “We carried Keith Haring when nobody even knew who he was. Even Andy Warhol, we carried him when there was very little recognition of his work.” The gallery tries out new artists that they feel are setting new trends going forward. “I feel like that right now with Mr. Brainwash,” says Saffati. “We started on the ground level with him, but I really see how it's been exploding in the last two years.” What makes Mr. Brainwash special, he feels, is his use of iconic images like Einstein, Char- lie Chaplin, Mickey Mouse, and Keith Haring. “It's graffiti. He uses spray cans and stencils to spray the way graffiti artists used to do on the wall, but he does it on a canvas or on paper, and then he splashes the paint in the back, all over the piece.”

9/11 20TH ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL

An unexpectedly moving opportunity arrived this year when the 9/11 Museum asked Carlton Fine Arts to host an unveiling of a piece by artist Charles Fazzino that was later installed at the museum. Yankee legend Bernie Williams and the fire and police commissioners attended the gallery event.

Art Basel Miami Beach

Carlton Fine Arts showed at the Hamptons Fine Art Fair in the summer and will be showing at Art Basel Miami in December. They will be featuring one of their newer talents, Chinese multimedia artist Linjie Deng. Deng has made a splash recently with some anti-racial art related to the uptick in attacks on the