A new website for art lovers? UrbanAngel.com, introduce yourself...

Urban Angel is made up of a small group of collectors who have been collecting contemporary and urban art for the last few years. We are both a primary and secondary market dealer. We have 7 artists that we are working with, plus benefit from strong relationships with many of the leading primary dealers in street art.

Where the idea came from?

Funnily enough, the idea came from the art forums. As a regular user, I was amazed by the growing interest in the scene. I wanted to be a part of the movement and as my personal collection was almost complete, I thought the only way I could continue my addiction was to start buying and selling on an ongoing basis. Urban Angel was born in July 2007 but it's taken around 6 months to get the ground-work in place. Now we're in Jan 2008 and we're ready to launch.

Are you another online gallery?

I have a real issue with the word 'gallery'. In my mind, a gallery has four walls and a ceiling, and although we do actually have four walls and a ceiling, we trade from an industrial office / warehouse, so I wouldn't class us as a gallery. I don't like the term 'online gallery' either - We are a web based art dealer. We will be putting on at least 2 shows through 2008, one around spring and another later in the year. Further details will be announced closer to the time.

What's your relation with the artists your represent and sell?

Another hard question. Some of our artists we represent exclusively, some exclusive in the UK or Europe only, others we are one of a small number of dealers selling their work. As not to confuse customers, or upset the artists, we chose the word 'affiliated'. In simple terms it means that we have direct access to the artists and buy from them directly. We also have very strong relationships with many primary galleries and work with them to help promote their own artists. I was quite annoyed by the lack of camaraderie amongst people working in this new exciting scene. I aim to bridge the gap between primary and secondary dealers. All of the primary galleries that I spoke with said the market was 'crying out' for someone to do secondary properly...and I hope that we can achieve that.

Do the artists get their fair share on the pieces sold on your website?

We are very unique in the way we operate. We work closely with our artists, and agree on a price in advance, whereas usually the artist only gets their money after the work has sold. We think by doing this we are offering something that no other primary or secondary gallery is currently doing. We do this as we believe in the artists that we work with and are confident that their work will sell. We have already been approached by numerous new artists that want to work with us, but we want to remain focused on the artists we currently have in place. They offer very different styles and bodies of work, from stencil to sculpture to collage to cardboard cut-outs.

How do you protect your buyers from fake pieces of art?

We offer a 100% money back guarantee against fake artwork. As a collective, we have bought a vast amount of art over the last few years, so we feel we know a fake piece from a genuine one, just about as good as anyone would. If we were ever unsure, we would always check with the primary dealer of that artists work before we bought a piece into stock. We also buy 90% of our work from primary galleries, so of course we can safely guarantee that work as genuine.

Do you propose a valuation service?

We have taken legal advice on this and have been advised not to, other than for work by artists that we have a direct relationship with.

What are your future plans?

I don't like to plan too far ahead, but I can assure you that we'll be here for many years to come...and I'm confident that Urban Angel will be a name that becomes synonymous with urban art.

Andrew Blumson
www.urbanangel.com