In this episode of The Art Bystander, our host Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar is joined by Marc Spiegler, one of the key figures shaping the global art market over the past decade. Having led Art Basel from 2007 to 2022, he helped transform the fair from a marketplace into a global cultural platform—redefining how art is experienced, communicated, and sold. Today, Spiegler operates across a portfolio of cultural, strategic, and advisory initiatives at the intersection of art, business, and technology. He is co-founder of <a href="https://theacademy.eventmaker.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Art Market Minds</a>, including the course AI &amp; The Art Market, which explores how AI is beginning to reshape structures, behaviours, and opportunities across the industry. Alongside this, Spiegler is a Visiting Professor at Bocconi University, where he teaches cultural management and the impact of artificial intelligence on the art world, and serves as President of the Board of Directors of Superblue, as well as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the future UBS Digital Art Museum. Spiegler collaborates with the Luma Foundation, sits on the boards of the ArtTech Foundation and Art Explora Foundation, and advises companies including Prada Group, KEF, and Sanlorenzo on cultural strategy. In this conversation, we trace that full arc—from journalism to Art Basel to AMM—and what it reveals about the structural shifts shaping the art world today.Also mentioned in the episode <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/octo/article/doi/10.1162/OCTO.a.539/135707/New-York-Real-Estate-and-the-Ruin-of-American-Art and " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New York Real Estate and the Ruin of American Art</a> and <a href="https://vimeo.com/1157604921?fl=pl&amp;fe=sh" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Will AI Slop and Deep Fakes Kill Culture</a>. Sign up to join AI &amp; THE ART MARKETArtificial intelligence is rapidly redefining many industries. While there are parts of the Art Market to which it may never apply, it would be foolish to think that our industry won't be strongly impacted. This sprint course - designed and moderated by Marc Spiegler, and featuring experts from inside and outside the artworld - will examine where things stand now, where they're likely to go and how you can deploy artificial intelligence to the benefit of your art world activities. Discount code: TABAI15, and booking&nbsp;<a href="https://theacademy.eventmaker.io/registration?REGISTER%20NOW" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">HERE</a>.&nbsp;

#40 Marc Spiegler 

In this episode, Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar meets with Frej Forsblom a Finnish gallerist and the founder of <a href="https://makasiinicontemporary.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Makasiini Contemporary</a>, which he established in Turku in 2016. With a clear international outlook from the outset, Makasiini has developed into one of the more dynamic contemporary art platforms in Finland, working with a new generation of artists while actively positioning them within a broader European and global context. Before founding Makasiini, Frej was closely connected to the Finnish gallery landscape through Galerie Forsblom, gaining early insight into the mechanics of building and sustaining an international gallery program. With Makasiini, however, he has shaped a distinct identity — one that is less tied to legacy structures and more attuned to the shifts in how artists, galleries, and collectors operate today.The gallery’s program spans painting, sculpture, and conceptual practices, with a particular sensitivity to materiality, narrative, and emerging artistic voices. At the same time, it reflects a strategic understanding of how to operate from a smaller market like Finland while remaining globally relevant. In this conversation, Frej Forsblom speaks about building a gallery from the ground up, the realities of working within the Nordic ecosystem, and the evolving role of the gallerist in a market that is increasingly international, network-driven, and relationship-based. We also touch on artist development, collector behaviour, and what it takes to create momentum beyond the traditional centres of the art world.

#39 Frej Forsblom

In this episode of The Art Bystander, host Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar sits down with <a href="https://www.danielarsham.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daniel Arsham</a>, one of the most influential contemporary artists working today — an artist whose work treats the present as if it were already history. Arsham is internationally known for what he calls “fictional archaeology”: sculptures, objects, and environments that imagine contemporary culture as relics of the future — eroded, crystallized, and excavated from time yet to come. Born in Cleveland, raised in Miami, and educated at The Cooper Union in New York, Arsham has built a practice that moves fluidly between fine art, architecture, design, fashion, and popular culture. His work is held in major museum collections around the world and has reached audiences far beyond the traditional art world, shaping how an entire generation encounters contemporary art. With his recent book <a href="https://www.futurerelicbook.com/#about" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Future Relic</a>, Arsham turns the lens inward. The book offers a rare and unvarnished account of what it actually takes to build a life in art — the failures, detours, discipline, and belief that exist behind the finished works we usually encounter only at the end of the journey. From photographing the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew as a teenager in Miami, to formative years at Cooper Union, to collaborations with Merce Cunningham, Pharrell Williams, Christian Dior, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Arsham shares the experiences that shaped both his work and his worldview. Future Relic is not a romanticized memoir. It’s closer to a masterclass — a brutally honest guide to the realities of building a creative life. Arsham speaks candidly about the grind behind the work: how to find a gallery, why having the right lawyer matters, how to think like a creative entrepreneur, and why surrounding yourself with ambitious people is essential. In this conversation, we talk about time, ambition, rejection, visibility, and the long game of making art — not just objects, but a practice capable of enduring.

#38 Daniel Arsham

In this episode of The Art Bystander, Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar meets with Barbara Corti, Partner at <a href="www.hauserwirth.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hauser &amp; Wirth</a> and Senior Director overseeing the gallery’s spaces in Zurich Limmatstrasse and St. Moritz. Having spent more than two decades with the gallery across Europe and the United States, Corti brings a rare perspective on the evolving geography of the contemporary art world. After fourteen years in New York — including leading Hauser &amp; Wirth’s Manhattan location in the former Roxy disco and roller-skating rink — she returned to Switzerland in 2020, where she now helps shape the gallery’s programming and presence across Zurich and St. Moritz. The conversation moves between continents and contexts: from the velocity of the New York art world to the quieter but deeply rooted collector culture of Switzerland. We discuss the particular rhythms of Zurich and St. Moritz, the role of seasonality in shaping art audiences, and the long-term relationships between galleries and artists that continue to define Hauser &amp; Wirth’s approach. Alongside her institutional role, Corti works closely with artists including Rita Ackermann, Anna Maria Maiolino, Mary Heilmann and Nicolas Party. As always on The Art Bystander, the discussion unfolds in a conversational format — offering insight into how galleries, artists, places and collectors shape one another over time. Mentioned in the episode: Upcoming exhibitions at Hauser &amp; Wirth Zurich, Limmatstrasse opening during Zurich Art Weekend 2026: War_overlays — Avery Singer and Sometimes a straight line has to be crooked — James Jarvaise &amp; Henry Taylor Some of the hotels and restaurants discussed in the episode belong to Artfarm, the hospitality company founded by Iwan Wirth and Manuela Wirth. Artfarm operates independently from Hauser &amp; Wirth.

#37 Barbara Corti

3 Year Anniversary Special

This episode is for you — my loyal friends and followers who share my deep love for the purest form of human expression there is: art. Many of you have asked me to open up more, to share what sits behind the platform, the voice, and the choices — so here we are. As The Art Bystander marks its three-year anniversary this February, I sit down for an intimate conversation with my life and business partner, Ellen. Together we reflect on why I started The Art Bystander, what has driven it from the beginning, and what continues to guide everything we do. From the bottom of my heart — thank you for being part of this journey, for your curiosity, your trust, and your presence. I’m deeply grateful you’re here with us. #theartbystander

#36 Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar

Today on The Art Bystander, I speak with Marlies Wirth, Curator for Digital Culture and Head of the Design Collection at the MAK in Vienna, about one of the most quietly radical figures of late-20th- and early-21st-century culture: Helmut Lang. Our conversation turns not to his later sculptural practice, but to the architecture of a legacy that reshaped how we understand design, communication, identity, and the very idea of what a fashion house could be. The MAK’s new exhibition, <a href="https://www.mak.at/en/exhibitions/exhibition?ausstellung_id=1736149800818" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Excerpts from the MAK Helmut Lang Archive</a> — running 10.12.2025 → 03.05.2026 — reflects on the years 1986–2005, a period in which Lang’s vision dissolved the boundaries between disciplines. His work unfolded across clothing, graphics, architecture, staging, branding, and digital experimentation — not as separate gestures, but as parts of a single cultural language. Long before he stepped away from fashion, Lang had already begun to operate like an artist moving across mediums, using every surface as a site of meaning. This retrospective reveals how deeply his ideas anticipated the world we now take for granted. It recalls the moment he livestreamed a runway before the internet had become a stage; the years when he turned New York itself into an extension of his voice; the way his presentations and stores became environments rather than commercial spaces. Lang’s legacy is not simply a story of minimalism or aesthetic restraint — it is a study in how form can become communication, and how identity can be constructed with both precision and quiet intensity. In speaking with Marlies, the past becomes newly vivid: not nostalgic, but architectural. We explore how Lang’s decisions — from the shape of a jacket to the rhythm of a campaign, to the destruction of his own archive — can be understood as part of a larger narrative about authorship, memory, and the courage to redefine oneself. This episode looks back at the cultural landscape Helmut Lang helped build, and the echoes of his vision that continue to structure how we see and experience the world today.

#35 Marlies Wirth

Welcome back to The Art Bystander, the podcast that explores the stories, ideas, and people shaping the world of contemporary art. Our host Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar is taking you behind the scenes of one of the most influential art fairs in the world — <a href="https://www.parisphoto.com/en-gb.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Paris Photo</a>. Founded in 1997, it has become the leading international fair dedicated entirely to photography, a place where artists, collectors, curators, and institutions converge to celebrate and challenge the medium. Joining me are Florence Bourgeois, Director of Paris Photo, and Anna Planas, Artistic Director. Together, they’ve been redefining what a photography fair can be — expanding its cultural scope, international reach, and curatorial ambition. In this conversation, we’ll discuss the evolving role of photography in the art ecosystem, how Paris Photo bridges artistic and commercial worlds, and what it takes to curate a fair that remains both relevant and visionary. So whether you’re a collector, a photographer, or simply curious about how images shape our times — this episode is for you.

#34 Paris Photo

Today on The Art Bystander, our host Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar is joined by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/francescagrima/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Francesca Grima</a> — Creative Director of <a href="https://grimajewellery.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GRIMA Jewellery</a>, and the guardian of one of the most influential design legacies in modern jewellery. Her father, Andrew Grima, changed everything. Often called the father of modern jewellery, he treated gold like sculpture, embraced raw stones in their natural form, and pushed the art of adornment into the realm of architecture and abstraction. His pieces were worn by royalty, collected by icons, and displayed in major museums — yet his spirit always remained independent and quietly rebellious. Francesca has carried that legacy forward in her own way. Since taking over the house in 2007, she’s reimagined GRIMA as a contemporary atelier — producing small, handcrafted collections and bespoke pieces alongside her mother, Jojo. Each work still bears that unmistakable GRIMA DNA — sculptural, textured, and fearless — but now infused with Francesca’s own sensitivity to form, emotion, and modern life. In our conversation, we’ll talk about what it means to inherit and evolve a creative legacy, the emotional side of making wearable art, and how Francesca balances intuition, heritage, and innovation in a world that moves faster than ever.

#33 Francesca Grima

The art world is undergoing a profound transformation. Traditional models of collecting and dealing are giving way to new players, platforms, and hybrid business models that blur the lines between galleries, auction houses, advisors, and digital marketplaces. At The Art Bystander, we are closely following these shifts—where technology, luxury, and creativity intersect to redefine how art is experienced, bought, and sold. In this context, our host Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar is joined by Elliot Safra, a figure at the forefront of these changes. Safra is the co-founder of <a href="https://theartmarketplace.glide.page/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Art Marketplace</a>, an online platform facilitating global private sales, and the founder of AndArt Agency, a creative consultancy dedicated to building collaborations between luxury brands and the art world. With a background that includes leadership in the Chairman’s Office at Christie’s and as Senior Director of Global Strategy at Lévy Gorvy (now Lévy Gorvy Dayan), as well as early experience in Management Consulting and Private Equity, he brings a unique vantage point on how the evolving art economy is reshaping opportunities for collectors, brands, and cultural institutions alike.

#32 Elliot Safra

Meet the individuals who drive the art industry today and tomorrow; from artists to gallerists, curators, financial backers, advisors, collectors, and more.&nbsp;Hosted by Roland-Philippe Kretzchmar. More on <a href="www.theartbystander.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.theartbystander.com</a> and <a href="www.instagram.com/theartbystander" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.instagram.com/theartbystander</a>

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