Lexi Harounian
Partner
lexi@hirschbergharounian.com
Lexi began her career at Gagosian Gallery in New York and Beverly Hills, where she helped coordinate exhibitions and events for artists such as Jeff Koons, Richard Avedon, Douglas Gordon, Albert Oehlen, Renzo Piano, and Thomas Ruff. With experience at Christie’s Auction House, Artnet, and Tappan Collective, Lexi immersed herself in the many pillars of the art world and market. Following these varied experiences, Lexi joined the Contemporary Art Department at Sotheby’s Auction House in New York, where she assisted with catalog creation and conducted object research for the thousands of artworks featured seasonally in Sotheby’s Contemporary Day and Contemporary Curated Sales. Prior to co-founding Hirschberg Harounian Art Advisory, Lexi transitioned from auction to David Zwirner in New York, gaining primary market experience at one of the most internationally-renowned galleries. As a founding member of the Client Development team at Zwirner, Lexi created targeted business strategies for Mr. Zwirner and the gallery’s Sales Directors. In this role, Lexi was also responsible for strategically supporting the sale of artworks from gallery exhibitions, art fairs, and online viewing rooms to institutions and collectors. Lexi has consulted on over fifty exhibitions across the gallery’s locations in New York, London, Paris, and Hong Kong, for artists including Yayoi Kusama, Harold Ancart, Josh Smith, Josef Albers, Noah Davis, Dan Flavin, Ruth Asawa, Kerry James Marshall, Lucas Arruda, Alice Neel, Wolfgang Tillmans, Raymond Pettibon, Oscar Murillo, and Donald Judd. Lexi has developed an expertise in the primary art market which is grounded in her diverse and global background.
Strengthening her international connections, Lexi is multilingual in Farsi, Russian, French, and Hebrew. Lexi’s fascination with human creativity fostered an academic pursuit at the University of Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art, with minors in Museum Studies and Entrepreneurship. While working as a docent and curatorial fellow at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, Lexi was able to study traditional art history while simultaneously engaging with the intricacies and operations of dynamic cultural institutions. Lexi is currently an ambassador of the Rubell Museum and a participant in several arts organizations including RxArt, The 92Y, Performa, Tel Aviv Museum's American Friends, The Cultivist, and The New York Philharmonic.
Julia Hirschberg
Partner
julia@hirschbergharounian.com
Prior to co-founding Hirschberg Harounian Art Advisory, Julia played an integral role in the 20th Century & Contemporary Art Department at Phillips Auctioneers by coordinating the pre-sale, auction, and post-sale operations in New York. Managing hundreds of artworks biannually during the marquee auction seasons, Julia was responsible for conducting market research, generating consignment agreements with structured financial deals, writing catalog essays and content, and assisting with the production, layout, and distribution of auction publications. At Phillips, Julia was part of record-breaking sales that saw new auction records for a wide range of artists, including Christina Quarles, Rashid Johnson, Elizabeth Murray, Larry Poons, Titus Kaphar, Sascha Braunig, Noah Davis, Julie Curtiss, Walter Price, Sarah Crowner, Derek Fourdjour, Stanley Whitney, Mel Bochner, Tomoo Gokita, and Maria Lassnig. While developing her expertise in the modern and contemporary art market, Julia also gained invaluable experience in client service and general business operations by overseeing shipping, restoration, and framing arrangements, coordinating the installation of property, and liaising with clients on post-sale settlement matters to ensure a smooth transaction process for both buyers and consignors. Julia was active in client outreach, bid registration, and phone bidding to support all New York auctions. Julia’s breadth of knowledge in auction sales provides her with unique expertise in the logistical operations of the art market and grants her priority access to the top-tier international auction houses. Prior to working at Phillips, Julia gained a range of experience at Christie’s Auction House, The Cultivist, and RxArt.
Julia received a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Through her interdisciplinary major, she cultivated a dynamic proficiency in the theories, practices, and cultures of seeing, which she supplemented with minors in History of Art and Cinema & Media Studies. Julia graduated Summa Cum Laude with Honors and was awarded the Visual Studies Senior Thesis Prize for her two-part thesis – a written component on “The Historical Development of the Artist-Curator” and a visual component titled Erasing the Male Modernist Gaze. As the Director of Art Collective, within the Penn Student Government’s Social Planning and Events Committee, Julia integrated the visual arts into the University’s community through curated exhibitions, speaker series, networking opportunities, and special events. Julia grew up in New York City, where she attended the Horace Mann School.