#WhoIFollow: @simondepury’s Life Follows Art
In the #WhoIFollow series, we ask Instagrammers to share their favorite people to follow. For more photos and videos from Simon and his discoveries, follow @simondepury, @richardprince4, @damienhirst, @alexisrael, @alexdacorte, @luciensmithstudio, @vikmuniz and @osgemeos.
Art plays a significant role in the life of the auctioneer, art dealer, artist and DJ Simon de Pury (@simondepury). “While we do not need art to live, I couldn’t imagine a life without it,” he says.
Art plays a starring role in Simon’s Instagram feed as well. “Whenever I see something on my travels that visually intrigues me, I like to photograph it with my iPhone,” he says. “I’m interested in high and low, in beauty and ugliness, in substance and superficiality. Choosing which artworks to post is similar to the work of a collector or an editor or a DJ.”
On Instagram, Simon stays informed about the work of artists who interest him. “I love to follow artists, musicians, fashion designers, photographers and art dealers,” he says. “From an art market perspective, Instagram has significantly contributed to the current boom of emerging art.”
Here are Simon’s recommendations for following the art world on Instagram:
Richard Prince (@richardprince4) – “Richard Prince uses Instagram to show some of his latest works, which he then takes down again a few hours later. Following him allows you to participate in his creative process. Lately, he started a body of works using Instagram posts on which he adds his own comments.”
Damien Hirst (@damienhirst) – “Damien Hirst is a newcomer to Instagram. When he recently generously donated his amazing new mammoth sculpture that I had the privilege to auction off for $15m to benefit amfAR, the foundation for AIDS research, he opened an Instagram feed to disseminate images of the work a few hours ahead of the event. Within the first hour he already had 14k followers.”
Alex Israel (@alexisrael), Alex Da Corte (@alexdacorte) and Lucien Smith (@luciensmithstudio) – “They are some of my favorite younger artists. Their Instagram feeds are always fun and entertaining.”
Vik Muniz (@vikmuniz) – “Vik Muniz, one of Latin America’s leading artists, infuses his Instagram feed with an infectious joy of life and an irresistible Brazilian flavor.”
Os Gemeos (@osgemeos) – “Brazilian twins whose worldwide fame is based on street art that they originally started to do in the streets of São Paulo. They painted the airplane that will carry the Brazilian football team during the FIFA World Cup.”
