For Christie’s Staff Art Show participants, art is a ‘collective passion’ and a way to make an impact

Christie’s staffers are well known for being art experts, but many are also practicing artists themselves. The auction house’s annual staff art exhibitions in New York, London and Paris highlight the diverse works of these talented individuals. Inside Job: Christie's New York Staff Art Show — an online auction from 7 to 21 August that includes painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, handbags and more — will be on view at Christie’s Rockefeller Center galleries from 15 to 19 August. The buyer’s premium from the sale will be donated to Endangered Rainforest Rescue in support of the nonprofit’s mission to restore and protect the Darién Gap of Panama.

Read on to learn about seven of the works on offer, in the artists’ own words:

‘Before coming to Christie’s, I studied fine art, including photography and ceramics, and worked as a restorer and conservator of stonework in Italy and of ships at the Seaport Museum here in New York City. The Staff Art Show is a great way for us at Christie’s to come together and show another side of our creativity to the public.

‘The works I’m showing this year come from photographs I took years ago in my native Greece and recently rediscovered on my computer. When I saw them on the screen, I thought, What if I made them into lightboxes? Evia is a big island close to the mainland, and these images of it are very nostalgic for me. They evoke memories of my family. I printed them on acrylic and lit them from behind.’

‘It’s an honour to see my work displayed on the same walls that have hosted so many incredible artists. As the show highlights, many of Christie’s staff are artists at heart, and this is reflected in the care and passion displayed across every department.

‘The Window is part of a 2022 series where I explore perspective, movement, emotion and time using fragmentation. I aim to give just enough information to sense what is happening in the scene while leaving it open to interpretation. It’s loosely inspired by the awakening in Plato’s allegory of the cave. The bright, cold window becomes a portal to the unknown, calling the viewer to step beyond the familiar. Or maybe it’s just a window. Who’s to say...’

‘What initially drew me to Christie’s Staff Art Show was the opportunity to support an impactful nonprofit like Endangered Rainforest Rescue. Taking inspiration from their mission to repopulate endangered tree species in Panama, I painted a flourishing jungle scene, representing the biodiversity and plant life that ERR seeks to protect.

‘I painted it in coffee on a linen canvas that I constructed using recycled materials. Coffee is a staple crop in Panama, and I wanted to demonstrate how unconventional media can be used to create art. My style is inspired by Mexican Amate paintings, which are traditionally done on tree bark and depict nature using bold, colourful lines.’

‘I was inspired to create this piece after seeing an ancient Roman mosaic in the Vatican Museums last year. Titled The Unswept Floor, it depicts, in minute detail, the remnants of a fantastic Roman feast: torn lettuce leaves, lobster shells, nut casings, the works. The grid-like weave of a canvas Garden Party tote was the perfect scaffolding on which to lay my tesserae-like dots of paint and slowly generate my own fête-fatale.

‘My practice is built around transforming handbags — intimate vessels carried in hand or against our bodies, containing our necessities — into unique artworks, drawing inspiration from the beautiful things that have enhanced my life, so they may enhance others’.

‘I love seeing my artwork alongside that of my colleagues, in galleries that have displayed some of the greatest artworks ever created!’

‘Murmuration #3 is a hanging mobile inspired by the aerial displays of large flocks of birds. The work is made from scraps of donated acrylic panel left over from a mixed media collage (from Rot to Ravish #1). Reusing materials that would otherwise be thrown out is key to the sustainability efforts in my practice, which often reframes parts of nature that are overlooked or unwanted.

‘It’s wonderful to be able to exhibit my work in the Staff Art Show, not only to reach a broader audience but also to experience the work of my coworkers.’

‘My piece is inspired by the cinematic drama and voyeuristic thrill of classic pop culture, drawing heavily from the movie poster design for JAWS 3-D (1983) and Roy Lichtenstein’s Drowning Girl (1963).

‘I’ve long been fascinated by the interplay of artifice and mass-produced imagery, and this work explores that tension. The women in the scene are rendered almost like glossy blow-up dolls, conceived for our entertainment and pleading for salvation, in a subversion of Drowning Girl that also honours the 50th anniversary of Jaws (1975) — the film that forever changed visual media. Quint’s haunting line about a shark’s “lifeless eyes… like a doll’s eyes” lingered in my mind — and was said many times in that thick accent — as I painted.

‘I’m incredibly grateful for the Staff Art Show as a platform for creative voices at Christie’s, especially those working behind the scenes. This is my fourth year participating, and I look forward to it every year.’

‘I use peanut figures throughout my work. The peanut’s sealed, untouched dual seed speaks to the duality in all things. My figures work and play out the games of their lives, and mine, in a sort of travelogue or diary of our mutual dreams. Sometimes I’m not sure quite what a body of work is about. I find out after it is finished. My characters reach back to me from the page and remind me of places I’ve been and things that have happened in my life.

‘As a printmaker, I’m deeply engaged in the process and technique of etching as a tool to realise my art. From preparing and drawing on the plate, to mixing inks and making the final prints, transferring thoughts and ideas to the paper for me is a continuum of the creative idea. Showing work in Christie’s Staff Art Show each year is a great opportunity to share in our collective passion for art.’