Chris Deutscher

Director of Deutscher and Hackett

The world of art is no doubt an interesting one where a piece can be considered hot one day, and well, not the next.

Much like fashion, the artist will either make it or break it. While some may wonder why certain pieces are so exorbitantly priced, it all comes down to supply and demand.

Unfortunately, for true artists, art lovers and aficionados, the value and talent behind the work of art is not recognised. Deutscher and Hackett Auction House co-owner, Chris Deutscher, sadly admits that the main reason people buy the most expensive and popular piece at that moment is because it is highly sought after.

“It’s not because the artwork is beautiful or that they connect with it, they are bought because it adds to the status symbol. I feel that sometimes it feeds a sense of greed to buy art for this reason because it is superficial. If you truly love the art, you’ll want it not because of its popularity or not, but because it speaks to you,” says Deutscher.

With several years experience under his belt, he has made this keen observation.

“I love dealing with people who are passionate about art, not those who have a bit more money and want to show it off. I think the best thing you can do is to visit the art galleries and take time to absorb the works you really like and you’ll soon build a deep sense of appreciation,” he says.

Deutscher was born in 1948 and is married to Karen, his wife and fellow art lover. He currently runs the auction house with his partner, Damien Hackett where they operate a rather unique business model.

They offer comprehensive art appraisals for works of art for clients who are considering to sell through auction and private sale. Their valuation services cover a range of needs including insurance, market, family division, probate and superannuation fund valuations. Currently, they have art specialists who provide a tailored approach to handling individual works and entire collections.

“We only have auctions every quarter so we always hope and pray that those selected days go well. As it’s only four days in one year, we hope the weather is good and there are no crashes in the stock market!”

“But the infrequent auction days garner a generous portion of their sales as one auction brings in 30% of the business revenue for the whole year. That’s a lot of money made within the short 15 minutes of auctioning. “

“We always thought about increasing the number of days of our auctions, but it’s been working well for us since we started in 2007. We always make a profit at each auction,” he says.

“We hold the auction previews and special exhibitions in our purpose-built, centrally located exhibition galleries in Melbourne and Sydney. We present a wide range of paintings, works on paper and sculpture both in terms of chronology and value and our client database has grown to reflect this broad approach.”

It took a long time for Deutscher to learn how to make selling art a profitable and viable business as he admitted to making a few minor error in judgements in his younger days.

“In the early 70s, I went to London for one year where I played in a jazz band. While doing that, I developed a hobby in buying and collecting artwork without any intention of doing anything with them.”

“When I came back to Melbourne in 1974, I decided to set up an art gallery in Armadale, but had no idea about doing business.”

“It took me a long time to learn and develop some business acumen because I always sold the art pieces at a low price. This did not only under value them but my profit margin was very low,” he says. Over the years he’d built good relationships with museums, artists and key stakeholders.

Today, Deutscher and Hackett auctions Australian and International Art including Colonial, Modern and Contemporary works and sales of Indigenous Australian and Oceanic Art. These auctions attract important individual works of art and significant corporate and private art collectors.

艺术世界跃动变幻而深具趣味，即使某一天某个作品突然炙手可热，引起关注，但无持续性。这状况就像时尚，艺术家不是成功就是破碎。而人们总想知道某些艺术品构成天价的原因，其实一切都归结为供求关系。

可悲的是，真正的艺术家、艺术爱好者，还有艺术作品背后的价值和才华却没被认可。Deutscher and Hackett Auction House创始人之一Chris Deutscher遗憾的承认，主要还是因为人们热捧一些流行元素的艺术品。

“他们买下艺术品的原因并非美丽或者触动心灵，而是增加身份的象征。我觉得有时候会助长肤浅的贪婪风气。如果你真心喜欢的艺术品，你会需要它，无关潮流，而是它会说话。”

随着累计多年经验，他拥有敏锐的观察力，他喜欢与热爱艺术者打交道，而不是有钱炫富的人。他认为先参观艺术画廊和利用时间观察，如果真的对作品有感觉，也会产生浓厚的珍惜情愫。

Deutscher出生于1948年，妻子Karen是他老乡兼艺术爱好者。目前，他与合作伙伴Damien Hackett经营的拍卖行是采用相当独特的商业模式，他们为那些需要拍卖和私人出售艺术品的客户提供艺术品综合性评价。他们的估值服务涵盖了一系列需求，包括保险、市场、家庭枝节，遗嘱认证及养老基金的估值。

他们拥有艺术专家以量身打造方式处理个人作品和全部收藏品。由于仅是季度性举行拍卖，所以也会祈求选定的日子顺利。“在一年内只有4天拍卖会，我们希望风调雨顺，最重要的是股票市场没有崩溃！”

有限的拍卖日程也带来可观的销售数据，一个拍卖会占全年营收率的30%，短短15分钟的拍卖会就可赚钱。他们想过增加拍卖会天数，但现况是自2007年来运行良好，每个拍卖会皆有盈利。

他使用了长时间学会艺术销售，并且创造利润和推动业务。他承认，年轻时有判断错误的时刻，70年代初，Deutscher前往伦敦一年，在一个爵士乐队演奏，开始了购买和收集艺术品的爱好，但尚未有任何经营的想法。

“我们拍卖会预览与特别展览皆为专门设计，位于墨尔本和悉尼的中央展厅。我们从年代和价值角度提供多样的绘画、纸上艺术和雕塑考核，而客户数据库的增长印证这广泛方式。”

1974年返回墨尔本后，他决定成立一个艺术画廊，但还是没有具体经营手法，花费了长时间学习和开发自己的商业智慧，在此之前一直以低廉的价格出售艺术品。这不仅是造成作品的价值下滑，本身获取的利润更是少得可怜。

多年来，他成功搭建博物馆、艺术家与关键利益者的良好关系。如今，Deutscher and Hackett Auction House也汇集了澳大利亚和国际艺术包括殖民地，当代作品及销售澳大利亚土著与大洋洲艺术品，吸引了独特的艺术家与作品，还有显赫的企业与私人收藏者。