When Claire Halconruy first stepped into the Palais de Tokyo for a vernissage, she had no idea that moment would shape the course of her career. But the encounter with contemporary art’s raw energy and diversity set her on a path that would take her from cultural consultancy—where she worked on landmark projects such as the Fondation Luma and the MUCEM—to the corporate art initiatives of Pernod Ricard, where she gained first-hand insight into how art intersects with commerce.
My passion for art truly blossomed during a vernissage at the Palais de Tokyo, where I discovered the richness and diversity of contemporary art.
Claire Halconruy
Starting as Head of Sales at Artsper and now serving as CEO, Halconruy has been at the forefront of digital transformation in the art world. Founded in 2013 by Hugo Mulliez and François-Xavier Trancart, Artsper has grown into one of the leading online marketplaces for contemporary art, boasting a catalogue of over 200,000 works and partnerships with more than 1,800 galleries worldwide. With a keen eye for market strategy and an unwavering commitment to accessibility, Halconruy has played a key role in expanding Artsper’s global presence, strengthening relationships with partner galleries, and ensuring that both emerging and established artists find their place in the digital sphere.
As online platforms continue to reshape how collectors, curators and institutions engage with art, we spoke with Halconruy to learn more about Artsper’s mission, its role in democratising contemporary art, and how the company is adapting to an increasingly digital and global market.
Hi Claire, thanks for speaking with us. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your role at Artsper?
Claire Halconruy: Thank you for having me. My passion for art truly blossomed during a vernissage at the Palais de Tokyo, where I discovered the richness and diversity of contemporary art. This led me to a consulting firm specializing in culture and tourism, where I engaged in diverse and exciting projects, including the Fondation Luma and the MUCEM. Later, I joined Pernod Ricard and participated in FIAC through their corporate foundation, gaining valuable insights into art’s significant impact across various sectors.
Five years ago, I joined Artsper as Head of Sales, where I managed gallery relationships and explored new business opportunities. This role deepened my understanding of our partners and the market. In May 2023, I became Chief Operations Officer, focusing on business strategy, performance management, and cross-functional projects. Since March 2024, I’ve been the CEO of Artsper, driving our strategic vision with a focus on global expansion, branding, and technology enhancement. I oversee our strategic direction, ensuring we lead the online art marketplace and enhance our platform’s user experience.
We currently work with over 2,000 partner galleries, providing innovative solutions and support to ensure their success. In summary, I focus on strategic growth areas like international market expansion, branding refinement, and leveraging technology to enhance our services, all to drive Artsper’s mission forward: making contemporary art accessible and supporting the creative community.
Artsper was founded in 2013 by Hugo Mulliez and François-Xavier Trancart. What inspired them to create Artsper?
Claire Halconruy: Hugo Mulliez and François-Xavier Trancart founded Artsper in 2013, driven by their passion for art and a clear vision to revolutionise the traditional art-buying experience. They recognised the need to digitise an environment that had long been governed by the same principles, making it more accessible and less intimidating for everyone.
With this mission in mind, they created Artsper as a marketplace to remove entry barriers and simplify the process of finding and purchasing art. By leveraging a powerful algorithm, they ensured that users could easily discover pieces that matched their tastes and budgets. Their ultimate goal was to make the world of art more approachable, allowing people to explore collections from top galleries around the globe with just a few clicks from the comfort of their homes.
Image courtesy of Artsper ©artsper
Can you elaborate on Artsper’s mission to make buying art accessible to all?
Claire Halconruy: Artsper’s mission to make buying art accessible to all is centred on breaking down the traditional barriers that have historically made the art world exclusive and intimidating. By leveraging advanced technology and personalised recommendations, Artsper provides a user-friendly platform where everyone can find art that suits their tastes and budgets.
The marketplace offers an extensive catalogue of over 200,000 contemporary artworks from renowned and emerging artists, ensuring a diverse selection across various styles and mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, print, drawing, and design. With prices starting at just 100 euros, Artsper ensures that art is affordable for every budget, making it possible for anyone to purchase art, whether for personal enjoyment, as a gift, or as an investment.
Collaborating with 2,000 prestigious galleries worldwide, Artsper allows users to explore and buy from the comfort of their homes, making the art-buying process simple and quick. The platform’s advanced search and recommendation algorithms personalise the browsing experience, helping users discover art that aligns with their preferences, making the process of finding and buying art more intuitive and enjoyable. Additionally, detailed descriptions, high-resolution images, and virtual viewing tools enable users to visualise how artworks will look in their spaces, reducing the uncertainty often associated with buying art online.
Can you talk us through how the personalized recommendations work on Artsper?
Claire Halconruy: Artsper’s personalised recommendation system is designed to help users discover art that truly resonates with their tastes and preferences. Recognising that it can be challenging to know exactly what you’re looking for, our team of experts has developed intuitive tools to make the art discovery process seamless and enjoyable.
At the heart of our recommendation system is an interactive algorithm that functions similarly to popular swipe-based interfaces. Users can simply swipe left or right to indicate their interest or disinterest in specific artworks. This swipe-based recommendation test quickly learns your preferences, gradually building a profile of your unique tastes.
For those who prefer visualising art in different settings, Artsper has created various thematic universes. These curated environments allow users to explore artworks within specific contexts, helping them to better envision how a piece might fit into their own space and style.
Together, these features—swipe-based preferences and thematic explorations—create a comprehensive and user-friendly experience. They ensure that finding art you love is not only easy but also engaging and tailored to your individual taste.
Image courtesy of Artsper ©artsper
With over 200,000 works of art, how does Artsper ensure the diversity and quality of its catalogue?
Claire Halconruy: Ensuring the diversity and quality of our extensive catalogue of over 200,000 works of art is a fundamental priority for Artsper. We achieve this through a meticulous selection process and ongoing quality assurance practices that involve several key steps.
Firstly, diversity is inherently supported by the sheer volume of artworks available on Artsper. With such a large collection, we can showcase a wide array of styles, mediums, and genres, from painting and sculpture to photography, print, drawing, and design. This extensive range ensures that there is something for everyone, catering to varied tastes and preferences.
To maintain quality, Artsper collaborates with a curated selection of partner galleries. We meticulously choose these galleries based on their professional reputation and the quality of the artists they represent. Our selection process begins by identifying reputable galleries at prestigious contemporary art fairs. We also seek out galleries known for representing innovative and emerging artists, ensuring that our platform features both established and up-and-coming talents.
A critical aspect of our quality control is our independent selection committee, which is composed of market experts who review each gallery’s application to join Artsper. This committee ensures that galleries meet our strict criteria: they must be professional entities that sell artworks with certificates of authenticity and represent more than two artists. Only galleries that meet these standards and demonstrate a high-quality catalogue are accepted onto our platform.
Moreover, every artwork posted on Artsper undergoes a thorough review before it is made available online. Our team verifies the quality and authenticity of each piece, ensuring that it aligns with the high standards our users expect. This rigorous vetting process guarantees that the art on Artsper is always of exceptional quality.
Image courtesy of Artsper ©artsper
In addition, what measures are taken to make art accessible to buyers with varying budgets?
Claire Halconruy: Artsper takes several measures to ensure that art is accessible to buyers with varying budgets, making the art-buying experience inclusive and accommodating for all financial backgrounds. One of the key strategies is offering a wide range of prices for artworks, starting as low as 100 euros. This broad pricing spectrum ensures that whether a buyer is looking for an affordable piece for personal enjoyment or a more significant investment, there is something available for every budget.
To further assist buyers in finding art within their financial means, Artsper provides advanced search filters that allow users to sort artworks by price range. This feature helps buyers easily navigate the vast catalogue and focus on pieces that fit their budget, making the search process more efficient and tailored to individual financial constraints.
In addition, Artsper offers themed collections such as “Artworks for Under 500 Euros,” which group all artworks priced below 500 euros on a single, easily accessible page. This thematic organisation simplifies the search process for budget-conscious buyers, allowing them to explore a curated selection of affordable pieces without the need to sift through higher-priced items.
Moreover, Artsper collaborates with a diverse range of galleries, including those that specialise in more affordable art. This collaboration ensures a varied selection of artworks at different price points, including works by emerging artists who may offer lower-priced pieces compared to more established names.
How do you select the 1,800 partner galleries featured on Artsper?
Claire Halconruy: We currently have 2,000 partner galleries!
At Artsper, our selection process for the 2,000 partner galleries featured on our platform is meticulous and designed to ensure the highest quality and relevance of the art we present. We start by targeting contemporary art fairs that align with the positioning we want to give to Artsper, such as Art Paris, Art Élysée, Paris Photo, Urban Art Fair, Volta, Scope, and Fotofever. By recruiting galleries that participate in these prestigious events, we ensure that we are partnering with reputable and well-established galleries.
In addition to scouting at art fairs, we actively identify galleries based on the contemporary artists they represent. This proactive approach allows us to connect with galleries that showcase innovative and emerging artists, enriching the diversity and appeal of our platform.
To maintain a high standard of quality, we have a selection committee composed of independent market experts who review the applications of each gallery that wishes to join Artsper. This committee evaluates galleries based on their professional activities, ensuring they sell with certificates of authenticity and represent more than two artists. Galleries that meet these criteria are then assessed for the quality of their catalogue.
Furthermore, before any artwork is posted online, it undergoes a thorough review by our team. This step ensures that every piece of art displayed on Artsper meets our high standards of quality and originality. By implementing these stringent selection criteria and review processes, we maintain the integrity and excellence of the artworks available on our platform, providing our users with access to top-tier contemporary art.
Can you share some success stories of young, promising artists who gained recognition through Artsper?
Claire Halconruy: One of the most compelling success stories of a young, promising artist gaining recognition through Artsper is that of Nathanaël Koffi. His journey with Artsper highlights the platform’s unique ability to connect artists with a global audience and provide invaluable opportunities for career growth.
Nathanaël Koffi’s adventure with Artsper began with a simple yet impactful connection. Louise Perrotte, a representative from Artsper, reached out to him towards the end of the COVID-19 lockdown, captivated by his artistic work. This initial contact marked the start of a fruitful and exciting collaboration, igniting Nathanaël’s creativity and propelling his career forward.
Selling his art on Artsper proved to be a turning point for Nathanaël. The platform opened the doors to the international market, allowing him to make his first sales to buyers around the world. These sales were not only memorable milestones but also a testament to the visibility and accessibility that Artsper provides to its artists.
One particularly memorable experience for Nathanaël was his participation in a live painting event, organised in collaboration with Sloft Magazine in June 2023. This exclusive event provided him with a unique artistic and human experience, further strengthening his connection to the art community. It was more than just a sales platform; Artsper offered Nathanaël opportunities to engage with other artists, push his boundaries, and find his legitimacy in the art world.
Artsper also played a crucial role in helping Nathanaël establish his market value. The ability to define and validate his artistic pricing was a decisive moment in his professional development, marking a significant turning point in his career.
Nathanaël’s story is a powerful testament to the positive impact Artsper can have on an artist’s career. His advice to other artists considering selling their work online is clear: take the leap. In an increasingly digital world, using platforms like Artsper is essential for gaining recognition and expanding one’s audience.
©artsper
Can you explain how the resale option on the platform works and what benefits it offers to collectors?
Claire Halconruy: Artsper provides a comprehensive resale option for collectors, ensuring a seamless and efficient process for selling their artworks. Here’s how it works:
If you are an individual looking to resell an artwork on Artsper, the process begins with meeting certain conditions. The artwork must be priced between €800 and €25,000 and should not have a price disconnected from the artist’s market value. It must be in perfect condition, accompanied by its certificate of authenticity and purchase invoice. The artwork should be unique or part of a limited edition of no more than 300 copies. Artsper does not accept design objects or vintage artworks from before 1950, and no copies of the artwork should be available for sale on the site. The pictures provided must be current and taken by you, and the artist must be listed in the form provided by Artsper.
For artworks purchased on Artsper, you can access the details of your order through the “My purchases” tab and select “Resell this artwork.” If the artwork was not purchased on Artsper, you can submit it by filling out a form and providing complete information. Artsper reserves the right to accept or refuse any publication.
Once your artwork is approved for resale, you will receive a sales certificate signed between you and the buyer. The commission for the sale is 15% excluding taxes, paid by the seller. When a sale is made, you will need to carefully pack and protect the artwork for delivery. Artsper will provide a prepaid shipping label for the shipment. Payment is processed after the buyer’s 14-day withdrawal period, provided the artwork is delivered in perfect condition.
If the artwork is damaged or no longer available before shipping, you must contact Artsper immediately. The buyer will be informed, and if no agreement is reached, the sale will be nullified, and the payment will be refunded.
The benefits to collectors include a secure and straightforward resale process, access to a large audience of potential buyers, and professional handling of transactions. By using Artsper, collectors can easily manage their collections, ensuring they can sell artworks at fair market values while benefiting from the platform’s extensive reach and professional services.
How does Artsper curate and categorize different art mediums and styles to meet diverse tastes?
Claire Halconruy: Artsper employs a comprehensive and strategic approach to curating and categorising art, ensuring it meets the diverse tastes of its audience. This begins with our partnerships with over 2,000 galleries worldwide. These galleries submit artworks, which are then reviewed and selected based on quality, originality, and relevance to contemporary art trends. Our dedicated curatorial team evaluates these pieces based on aesthetic value, historical significance, and market demand.
Artworks on Artsper are meticulously categorised into various mediums, such as painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and mixed media. Additionally, they are classified by styles, including abstract, figurative, street art, pop art, and more. This detailed classification helps collectors easily navigate through the vast collection to find pieces that align with their preferences.
To further enhance this process, we regularly curate featured collections and thematic selections based on current art trends, seasonal themes, or specific events, providing users with a curated experience that introduces them to new artists and styles. For example, right now, we have a whole theme called “Artlympics,” which showcases sports-related artworks in celebration of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Moreover, Artsper enhances its curation process by providing expert recommendations and editorial content, including articles, interviews, and art guides. These resources help educate and inspire collectors, ensuring they make informed decisions.
In what ways has technology transformed the traditional art market, and how is Artsper leading this change?
Claire Halconruy: Technology has revolutionised the traditional art market, and Artsper is at the forefront of this transformation. One of the most significant changes is the enhanced accessibility that technology has brought. Artsper’s online platform allows collectors from around the world to browse, purchase, and lease artworks from the comfort of their homes, breaking down geographical barriers.
Digital marketing and social media have also played a crucial role in this transformation. Artsper leverages these tools, such as SEO optimisation, to reach a broader audience through targeted advertising, social media campaigns, and email marketing. This engagement drives traffic to the platform and helps connect with potential collectors and art enthusiasts.
Advanced algorithms are another critical aspect, enhancing user experience by analysing behaviour and preferences to provide personalised recommendations, making it easier for collectors to discover new artists and artworks that match their tastes.
Additionally, Artsper integrates virtual viewing tools, allowing users to visualise how artworks will look in their spaces, thus bridging the gap between the physical and digital art-buying experience. Furthermore, Artsper provides Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for partner galleries, including inventory management, online sales tools, and marketing support, helping galleries modernise their operations and reach a wider audience.
What trends have you observed in the contemporary art market since Artsper’s inception?
Claire Halconruy: Since Artsper’s inception, several notable trends have emerged in the contemporary art market. One significant trend is the rise of online art sales. Collectors are increasingly comfortable purchasing high-value artworks online, driven by the convenience and accessibility of digital platforms. Alongside this, there has been a growing appreciation for diverse artistic expressions, including street art, digital art, and multimedia installations, with artists from various backgrounds and disciplines gaining recognition.
A new generation of younger collectors has also emerged—tech-savvy individuals who prefer online platforms for art acquisition. This demographic is particularly interested in contemporary, edgy, and socially relevant artworks. Additionally, artworks addressing sustainability, social justice, and political themes have gained prominence, reflecting a growing collector interest in art that engages with contemporary societal issues.
Cross-disciplinary collaborations between artists and other industries, such as fashion, music, and technology, have become more common, expanding the reach of contemporary art. Art as an investment has also gained traction, with collectors becoming more informed about the financial potential of art, leading to a more strategic approach to art buying.
Looking to the future, what developments or expansions can we expect from Artsper in the coming years?
Claire Halconruy: Looking to the future, several exciting developments and expansions are anticipated from Artsper. Enhanced technological integration will be a significant focus, with plans to further incorporate advanced technologies such as AI and AR to improve the user experience. AI-driven recommendations and AR visualisation tools will continue to evolve, providing more personalised and interactive experiences for our users.
Artsper aims to expand its presence in new markets, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, building partnerships with local galleries and artists and tailoring marketing strategies to these regions.
The leasing offer will be expanded, allowing businesses and individuals to lease artworks for various durations, making art more accessible and providing galleries with additional revenue streams. We also plan to further develop educational initiatives, such as webinars. For example, we recently held a webinar on art investment with the French company Matis, which attracted more than 100 attendees! We also plan to participate in talks and conferences to solidify Artsper’s position in the art world.
Finally, the SaaS solutions for partner galleries will be further developed, offering more sophisticated tools for inventory management, customer relationship management, and online sales optimisation.
These anticipated developments highlight Artsper’s commitment to innovation and growth, ensuring it remains a leader in the contemporary art market.
Discover how Artsper simplifies art collecting – explore now:
©2025 Claire Halconruy, Artsper
Len is a curator and a contributing writer at Art Plugged, a platform for contemporary art; he also engages in web development, design, and marketing.
