On a panel with Fredrik Eklund on art and real estate
In The Press
December 2025
When Miami Art Week draws first-time buyers flush with new money, who do they call? Katya Kazakina tapped Karen for her read on the wave of newcomers rushing to fill their walls at Art Basel — and what it means for the market.
December 2025
NFTs went from a billion-dollar phenomenon to a punchline in roughly three years. Karen spoke with Chris Harvey about what actually happened — and what the rise and fall of crypto art revealed about the collectors who chased it.
September 2025
Everyone is asking whether AI can help you buy art. Karen gave Annabel Keenan an honest assessment of how the technology is actually being used by serious collectors — and where it falls short.
May 2025
Frieze New York defied a soft market: Jeff Koons's cartoon heroes sold for $3 million, and confidence was quietly returning to the booths. Karen shared her on-the-ground read of the fair's opening day for this market report.
February 2025
Frieze Los Angeles opened weeks after the devastating wildfires, with galleries rallying and collectors buying with purpose. Karen spoke with Eileen Kinsella about the fair's charged atmosphere and what it said about the resilience of the L.A. art world.
December 2024
Art advising is a world of trust, discretion, and — occasionally — spectacular betrayal. Chris Harvey went deep on the industry's complexities and scandals, and Karen didn't pull punches about what it really takes to navigate it.
August 2024
The Salvator Mundi was hiding on a Saudi mega-yacht. Turns out, that's not as unusual as it sounds. Karen weighed in on the growing niche of ultra-high-net-worth collectors who want their eight-figure paintings at sea.
July 2024
Art as an investment is a question Karen fields constantly from analytically-minded clients. She laid out the framework for CNN readers: what to know, what to avoid, and how to think about the market without getting burned.
May 2024
Your children don't want your Basquiat. It's a conversation more collectors are having — and avoiding. Karen spoke with Andrew Cohen about the estate planning realities facing serious collectors whose heirs have different tastes.
March 2024
Inigo Philbrick didn't just defraud his clients — he fooled some of the sharpest minds in the art world. Karen contributed to Mark Seal's definitive account of how the most audacious art fraud in recent memory unraveled.
January 2024
Five leading advisors. One question: where is the art market headed? Karen joined Artnet's panel of top advisors to share her outlook on what collectors should expect in 2024.
Karen's clients spoke for themselves. The Association of Professional Art Advisors published this interview with collectors who have worked with Karen — in their own words- on what an art advisor actually does for you.
November 2023
Art Basel Miami Beach is not for the unprepared. Karen walked Crain Currency readers through exactly how to approach the fair — what to see, who to talk to, and how to make decisions under pressure.
August 2023
The post-pandemic art market euphoria was over. Katya Kazakina surveyed the new landscape, and Karen mapped the shifting preferences of collectors recalibrating after years of runaway prices.
January 2022
Twelve artists. Twelve predictions. Karen was one of the dealers, advisors, and curators asked to name the talent most likely to break out in 2022.
July 2021
Covid didn't just disrupt the art world socially — it made shipping a logistical nightmare. Karen spoke to the realities of getting works across borders when supply chains collapsed and costs spiked.
Spring 2021
Not all advisors are created equal. Karen's tips for vetting and hiring an art advisor ran in Luxury Guide's Home & Design issue — practical counsel for collectors who want to get it right from the start.
January 2021
Can a digital platform match collectors with museums for tax-efficient donations? Karen weighed in on Museum Exchange's model and the complicated calculus of giving art away strategically.
September 2020
Art Basel Miami Beach's cancellation didn't just disappoint collectors — it wiped out up to half of some galleries' annual revenue. Karen spoke to the market consequences of the fair going dark.
March 2020
Before Inigo Philbrick vanished, Karen was already being asked to make sense of it. She contributed to Artnet's early investigation into how one Miami-based dealer allegedly ran circles around the art world's most sophisticated players.
February 2020
The Marciano Art Foundation opened to enormous fanfare. Then it closed. Karen spoke to the questions swirling around one of the more surprising institutional collapses in recent museum history.
December 2019
Inigo Philbrick had disappeared. Bloomberg tracked the scandal, and Karen offered context on the dealer whose vanishing act sent shockwaves through the Miami art world.
November 2019
The first public reporting on Inigo Philbrick's alleged fraud — including accusations of defrauding a Basquiat investor. Karen was among the first to speak on record about the case.
May 2019
Venice during the Biennale is chaos — unless you know exactly where to eat. Karen was one of 26 art-world insiders asked to share their hidden restaurant gems in the city.
May 2019
TEFAF New York opened with eight-figure prices and packed booths. Karen shared her read of the fair's spring edition for this market report.
July 2018
Art is no longer an afterthought in wealth portfolios — it's a line item. Karen discussed the growing integration of art advisory into sophisticated wealth management strategies.
December 2017
A Manhattan art dealer accused of defrauding collectors and investors. Karen was quoted in Bloomberg's early coverage of a case that would set the template for the Philbrick saga to come.
December 2017
Delaware's art storage laws have made it a quiet tax haven for multi-million-dollar masterpieces. Karen explained the mechanics — and the implications — for serious collectors.
July/June 2016
Elements in Play's collaboration with HLS Interior Design was featured in Luxe's summer issue — a look at how art advisory and interior design intersect when the collection is the room.
June 2016
Ken Griffin was making headlines with his purchases. Karen offered perspective on what his moves — and the broader market — actually signaled for collectors watching the top of the market.
Delaware as a tax shelter for art collectors sounds almost too good. Karen spoke with Steve Mendelssohn about the strategy, the skepticism, and why most collectors are shrugging anyway.
November 2015
Freeports — those duty-free storage facilities beloved by the ultra-wealthy — were under pressure. Karen weighed in on whether the model was cracking and what it meant for collectors who rely on them.
October 2015
Tax havens for art are attractive in theory. Karen offered a clear-eyed take on the risks collectors take when they chase storage strategies over collecting instincts.
Brainard Carey asked Karen to explain what it actually means to be an art advisor today. The conversation covers the work, the market, and the judgment calls that define the practice.
September 2015
A billionaire, a collection of Picassos, and a $30 million gift designed to shame a middleman. Karen was quoted in one of the Times' more dramatic art-world investigations.
August 2015
The 2015 art boom was attracting a new kind of advisor — and raising questions about who these people actually were. Karen was featured as one of the practitioners redefining what the role could look like.
December 2014
A $4 million Coca-Cola bottle at Art Basel. Karen offered her take on a moment that said everything about where the market's head was at.
November 2014
Are art advisors worth the fee? Barron's Penta profiled Karen as part of its investigation into a question every collector eventually asks.
August 2014
Sotheby's private sales are a different game than the auction room. Karen spoke to what the house wasn't advertising — and why it mattered.
August 2014
Artnet coined a new art world term: the Ad-llec-tor — the advisor who collects. Karen was named as a defining example of the type.
August 2014
Karen sat down with Artspace to discuss her practice, her Wall Street clients, and the philosophy behind converting financial success into a meaningful art collection.
July 2013
China's leading luxury lifestyle magazine profiled Karen in its July issue — a look at her practice and what it means to build a serious collection at the intersection of finance and art.
January 2013
Art Basel Miami draws the ultra-wealthy every December. Karen spoke to what separates serious collectors from the crowd — and what the fair reveals about money in motion.
Spring/Summer 2012
Art loans are a high-stakes game. Karen contributed to this piece on the risk calculus of lending against value in an extraordinary market.
Lucian Freud's work commands extraordinary prices — and passionate collectors. Karen spoke to Worth about what makes Freud's paintings an object of desire for the most discerning buyers.
January 2007
Connect, then collect. Karen was included in this early piece on how the smartest collectors build relationships before they build collections.