What is the origin of the art fair? How did it start?

Born in Barcelona, I have always been fascinated by Antoni Gaudi's architecture, especially the Casa Batlló and La Sagrada Familia. In 2010, I had the vision of holding the first-ever art fair in a UNESCO Heritage Site: the architectural jewel of Antoni Gaudi, the Casa Batlló. The idea was to showcase contemporary art placed in a masterpiece; to join contemporary art with a creative atmosphere. The experience of viewing and enjoying the best international talents within a masterpiece by Antoni Gaudi makes the experience extraordinary, memorable, unique and engaging.

How would you describe ARTUNER and how the idea to create it came to your mind?

At ARTUNER we focus on identifying talented artists and nurturing their careers. In order to achieve this goal, we have developed an innovative ‘hybrid’ art platform that stages curated selling exhibitions, both online and through an ambitious programme of pop-up international shows.

How would you describe the program and vision of your gallery?

The celebration of original and culturally relevant artistry. All galleries are essentially agents for artists, we like to think we acknowledge this rather than sneer at it: we promote our artists by using the most up-to-date technology and digital marketing methods. Our 'vision’ is to connect more people with contemporary art and recalibrate a relationship that has been showing cracks since the turn of the century; we would like to open galleries abroad and show that you don’t have to be a ‘mega gallery’ to have multiple sites and reach multiple audiences.

Emerging art is a tricky thing. How are you able to identify potential?

Emerging art is a tricky thing and it can be quite difficult to identify potential, so as it is important to follow your passion and what is aesthetically pleasing to you. I think it’s great to have professional help when you’re looking to acquire art. From someone, who can lead you and do the research (which is time consuming) but really essential. Research really is everything. You need to stay up to date on the very latest in the art world but not only, the scope of your research should be much wider than that, as art is often used as a communication tool to what is happening in society it is equally important to stay updated on the global, socio-political situation, (and not to mention the financial.)

What do you think of today's art market? How has it changed in last 5 years?

Today's art market is extremely interesting, especially with all of the massive changes over the past few years. When we first started out, not many galleries were really receptive to working with us, as people generally did not value Instagram and its massive influence in art. Really, the only gallery who took a chance on us in the beginning was Guy Hepner, as he was working with a slew of Instagram curators for exciting shows when the platform was still relatively new. Since then, I think galleries have caught on that whether they like it or not, Instagram and the internet are an important tool.

Social media has seemingly played an increasingly large role for the art market. Is it just a matter of hype?

Social media has an enormous amount of influence on the art market, specifically, the contemporary art market. Here we have a platform for the exchanging of ideas and images between artists, curators and collectors; we have access to photos of private collections, the whereabouts of famous collectors, the gallery openings...the action is endless.

What is your opinion on the art fair boom that has taken hold in recent years?

That is one of the disasters of our times, the boom is only creating 9 to 5 jobs for a group of people, LOL. I Don’t even think it’s a good business model for fair owners… it’s almost to a point becoming a laughing matter. I am being very clear about this; as long as there is a zero-countability in a part of an industry, the ramifications become disastrous. At this stage this is the approach of the majority of art fairs.

How and when did you first become involved in the art world?

While still at university I started to work for a bluechip dealer in Munich who provided me the first insight into the art world - with no doubt he had a very special approach on what he did. If you really want to dig back, my grandfather was publishing guides about local churches and religious art, so I remember canvases of various saints hanging everywhere.