London is one of the most renown Art Scene in the world, with so much diversity and specialisation amongst the galleries. This month we spoke with Maggie Bollaert who runs Plus One Gallery on Pimlico Road as her gem gallery is specialised in Photo Realism. Maggie is a very busy person, but also a very kind person and provided us with some of her precious time between 2 exhibitions..... Below Maggie Bollaert at Plus One Gallery Olivier Bourseau: Hello Maggie, I am very pleased to see you again and have this opportunity to interview you. You are a Director of Plus One Gallery. What is Plus One Gallery about in terms of Art and how is it different to the other galleries in London? Maggie Bollaert: We specialise in photo-realism or realism and that makes us unique on the Art scene in London. Olivier Bourseau: How do you pick your artists and what are the most used topics by current artists in their art production? Maggie Bollaert: The way I choose my artist is simple: first of all I have to like them, and they have to obviously fit into photo realism. Then the quality is very important as well. The more you go into photo realism, then the more precise the painting has to be and the more precise the artist has to be. So basically we choose them because we like them and on the merits of the quality of their work. Below Plus One Gallery Olivier Bourseau: Have you always been interested in art, what is your art background and how/why did you decide to set Plus One Gallery? Maggie Bollaert: My mother used to be a big collector of Art in Argentina and so I was introduced to Art from a very young age. And my passion for Art started by this time. Then I worked as a restorer and as a guilder and I think that it was just a natural progression. Then my partner offered to open a gallery together and so we did and we decided that the gallery needed to have an identity and we chose photo realism. Olivier Bourseau: What do you think about the global art industry in 2007 and how is London doing compared to other big Art Places in the world? Maggie Bollaert: I think that the only 2 Art scenes in the world which are important for contemporary Art are London and New York and I think that they are in a very healthy state. Olivier Bourseau: What sort of clients do you have and are you seeing the new strong economies such as Middle East, India, Russia and China playing a buying role into the London Market? Maggie Bollaert: I think that Russia is definitely there. I don’t know if the Asian market is buying in London because of the different culture. But it is definitely a very flamboyant market at the moment! Olivier Bourseau: How are prices set in your industry and is modern art a good investment or a pure gamble? Maggie Bollaert: It is a very broad question! I think that there are different ways of buying art. I think that if you are mega-rich you look at the art with different eyes. You might buy something which you do not necessarily like as it will be put in your safe anyway. I think that for normal mortals who have money and enjoy art, the way to buy art is to look at it from the interest side of things: does this give me pleasure? Will I like it back home? Can I afford it? Can I justify that kind of money for this? And if you tick all these boxes, then you are buying something that gives you pleasure. And if that artist does well over time, then bingo you are double lucky! I think that at the moment Art is a very good investment but I believe you should buy art because you like it and not because you are thinking it will help with your pension. Olivier Bourseau: Has the recent credit crunch/banking crisis impacted the art market in London and what are your prospects for 2008? Maggie Bollaert: I don’t think we have seen any damage done from the banking problems and Subprime crisis coming from the US yet. I don’t know what is going to happen in 2008 though! But we haven’t seen much happening yet in terms of impact at all. Olivier Bourseau: Thank you very much Maggie!!