Ralph Lauren's nephew cashes in on art
PUSSSYKATT
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WILL dashing Greg Lauren - Ralph's 31-year-old nephew - be the art world's next
big thing, or simply the best-connected one?
You won't see his work at MoMA anytime soon, and many art-world poobahs have
never heard of him.
But the part-time actor with a famous family and an actress girlfriend -
"Showgirls" star Elizabeth Berkley - is moving shadowy oil paintings as if they
were next season's Hermes bag.
"Everyone who comes into my living room comments on how gorgeous Greg's
painting is," said actor Mark Feuerstein, from the set of NBC's "The West
Wing."
"If it's true that painting is seeing, then Greg's work shows that he sees the
deeper contours and the emotional landscapes of his subject matters."
Jeffrey Stricoff, owner of Chelsea's Stricoff Fine Arts Gallery - which hosted
Lauren's first solo show - deems him "the most successful newcomer of the
season."
"Some of the most important collectors in this country are buying the work. Two
people are on the boards of some major museums," said Stricoff, who first saw
Lauren's work in L.A., where the painter lives and works as an actor.
Most buyers, it seems, are friends, including socialite Samantha Kluge and real
estate mogul Jerry Speyer, a major collector who happens to be the father of
Greg's childhood friend, Rob.
Uncle Ralph is still debating which work to buy, but Diana Ross' daughter
Tracee (yet another friend of Greg's and a frequent subject) owns five.
"Good work is good work and I don't think anyone's going to put something in
their home just because of who made it, if it's not attractive," Tracee said.
"You have to have the goods behind it. You can only go so far on someone else's
accomplishment, even if they are your parents."
It's too early to tell if Lauren will be the next young "It" artist, posing
shirtless in say, Vanity Fair (Damian Loeb) or paint-splattered in the New York
Times Magazine (Cecily Brown). So far, he's yet to make an impression on many
art-world heavies.
Lauren "socially" knows celeb art dealers Mary Boone and Larry Gagosian, but
neither showed up to Lauren's opening party earlier this month or would comment
on his work.
Gallery owner Andrea Rosen - famous for keeping a well-manicured finger on
Chelsea's art pulse - is "unfamiliar" with his work, according to her
assistant.
"I've never heard of Greg Lauren," said Jerry Saltz, the Village Voice art
critic and a longtime art world fixture. "And I go to scores of galleries."
And serious, sustained success is something his connections most likely can't
buy.
While the Lauren label helped launch Ralph Lauren's daughter Dylan's Upper East
Side candy shop - it failed to sustain son David's now-defunct magazine, Swing.
For his part, Lauren wants the name to serve as a footnote rather than an
introduction to his art career.
"The last name is a mixed-bag of blessings," he said.
"Hopefully, when people see the work, they'll forget who the artist is and
focus on the work itself. I feel like that's what happened."
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