Weekly Briefing: Legal Dreams Dissolve As Love of Art Grows

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Weekly Briefing: Legal Dreams Dissolve As Love of Art Grows





After immigrating to Europe in 1981 (and L.A. three years later) to escape the Iranian revolution, Hedi Khorsand envisioned becoming a lawyer. But when she graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1991, she dove into the world of art first at local galleries and later as a private dealer. To give her artists more exposure, Khorsand opened Hedi Khorsand Gallery, which was moved last December to Malibu from West Hollywood.

“I have five artists that sell exclusively through me. There are paintings, sculptures and photography. One artist, Jean Wolff, incorporates natural wood, mostly walnut, with bronze, in a way that you don’t know where one material ends and the other begins. They are abstract pieces. Some of them are in the form and shape of stairways, which she uses as a metaphor for spirituality.

“Actor Paul Sorvino is one of five exclusive artists that sells only through me. He does only bronze sculpture busts in a very traditional style. He used live models for some pieces and others just came out of his imagination.

“I have a list of 3,000 names of buyers, out of which 300 constantly buy and sell through me. We’ve had paintings by Alex Katz and David Hockney. We currently have an original Picasso drawing from the 1920s, which is selling for $124,000.

“My cut could go anywhere from $5,000 to $150,000 per piece, which is around 10 percent. We have an opening for an exhibition every month and a half. They are always one-person shows. We have 13 to 20 pieces on display at a given time. Sales are always better afterward because collectors have learned it’s not a compulsive thing for them. They want to educate themselves about the artist and the value of (the piece). When they like it, it basically takes a couple of weeks to finish the deal.

“One week we could have an $80,000 sale and then for two weeks we could sell nothing. That’s the nature of this business. I have one employee and I barely advertise.”

David Greenberg

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