Kamiar Maleki has been appointed director of both Volta and Pulse art fairs © Richard Höglund
Kamiar Maleki, the London-based collector and patron who directed the Contemporary Istanbul art fair between 2016 and 2018, has been appointed the director of both Volta and Pulse art fairs.
Last month Volta was acquired by Ramsay Fairs, the group that also owns Pulse, although there are no plans to merge the two businesses at this stage. Maleki does not rule out the possibility, however. “There are plans to make Volta and Pulse into a strong fair for emerging art and artists,” he says.
Volta has editions in Basel in June and New York in March, while Pulse is held in Miami every December. Both fairs have been running for 15 years.
Malekis appointment follows the decision by Voltas founding director Amanda Coulson “to take more of a back seat”, according to a statement. She remains on the fairs board in a non-executive capacity. Meanwhile, Maleki will replace Pulses interim director Cristina Salmastrelli, who continues in her role as managing director of Ramsay Fairs in the US.
Although he starts immediately, Maleki officially takes over in January; until then he will shadow Coulson and Salmastrelli. “The first real impact will be felt in New York or Basel,” Maleki says.
Voltas New York edition, which has taken place alongside The Armory on Chelseas Westside Piers for the past four years, ran into trouble in March when it was cancelled at the last minute. One of the Armorys piers was deemed structurally unsound, so the decision was taken to transfer some of the larger fairs exhibitors to Voltas venue, squeezing out the smaller event. Next year, Volta is relocating to Metropolitan West, near the piers.
Maleki announced he was stepping down from the embattled Contemporary Istanbul in December 2018. Ali Gureli, the founder and chairman of the Turkish art fair came under fire last month for a controversial letter he sent to dealers and collectors. In it, he Read More – Source
