Most people who write to me have never hired an art advisor. They want to know two things: what happens, and where they get to say no. Here is the whole process in the order it actually happens. Three of the seven steps end with a decision that is yours alone: the direction, the range, and the works themselves.

The seven steps

1. Discovery. We meet, ideally in the space, or on a call with photos and plans if the house is still being built. I ask how you live, what you already own, what you love and what you cannot stand. In one Caesarea home office, discovery came down to two loves, horses and music, and both are on the wall now. If an architect or interior designer is involved, they are in the room. I work alongside them, not around them.
2. Research. I go back to my desk with the plans and the conversation, and I look: the artists I work with directly, leading New York City galleries, galleries in Tel Aviv and further afield, works available now, and artists who could make something for the space. In a Manhattan apartment, the client's love of entertaining guided everything, and the research led to a large format digital collage that draws on the visual language of glamorous social gatherings, with a reference to Manet's “Un Bar aux Folies-Bergère”. It now anchors the apartment's custom bar.
3. Curatorial development. This is where the collection gets its logic. Which wall carries the anchor, how the works talk to each other and to the architecture, where a commission makes more sense than a purchase. Sometimes the logic is one work, not many: in an open, light saturated villa in Hod Hasharon, where concrete and nature meet, a single large scale figurative digital artwork defines the emotional center of the space. You receive a proposal you can see, with options, not a list of names. The direction is the first decision that is yours.
4. Budget planning. Before anything is sourced, we agree the range: for the art, and for framing, production, shipping and installation. The range is yours to set, and I build inside it. Everything that follows is managed within approved budgets and defined timelines.
5. Art procurement and selection. I bring you the works, in person where possible, on screen where not. I assess market value, negotiate on your behalf, and manage every step with care, discretion and precision. You choose. My job is to make sure you are choosing between right answers.
6. Logistics. Shipping, including across borders, crating, framing with expert framers, printing with expert printmakers where the work calls for it, and the coordination between the framer, the installer and your contractor. The photo at the top of this page is this step: a work sourced from France arriving at the front door of a private estate in Caesarea. Building collections for hotels and cruise ships, from a hotel lobby in Chengdu to staterooms on Holland America Line ships, taught me this step. A private home gets the same discipline, and you do not have to chase anyone.
7. Installation. Professional art installers hang the work, and I manage the hanging to the end. Height, lighting, the relationship to the furniture and the windows: this is the last chance to get it right, and it matters as much as the choice. In a sea view apartment in Herzliya Pituach, a large scale painting by Yigal Ozeri of an aged, textured window was positioned near the entrance so that it speaks to the sea facing windows. Where a work hangs is part of the work. It is not complete until it is installed and you are fully satisfied.

What it looks like in a real house

In Closter, New Jersey, I was commissioned to curate a collection for a newly built private residence, to strengthen the architectural character of the house and bring depth to the interior design. Working closely with leading New York City galleries, I brought together works by Jewish and Israeli artists alongside other contemporary voices. The result turns a well designed house into a space with soul, where art and architecture speak the same language.

In Ramat Gan, discovery was the whole story. The client had returned from a transformative trip to Korea. The research led to a large format photograph by a Korean artist, two figures in ceremonial dress, and it now sits at the heart of the living space. It gives it memory.

How long it takes, and what you need to bring

It depends on the scope. An existing work for one wall moves faster than a commission or a collection for a house under construction, and I set the timeline with you at the budget planning step rather than promise one here. What you need to bring is small: photos or plans of the space, an honest sense of your range, and the names of anyone else involved in the home.

If you want to know what the engagement costs, I have written about how art advisory fees work. If your home is not built yet, read about commissioning art for a new home.

If you are ready to start, write to me at Stav@stavtheodor.com. Discovery begins with your first message.