FAIR TEAM
Michael Plummer
Michael Plummer, the co-Founder and Principal of Artvest, is a notable figure in the field of art and finance. Founded in 2009, Artvest offers guidance to Private Collectors, Museums, Foundations, Auction Houses, Dealers, and Fortune 500 Companies on art-related business strategies and investments. Michael was a founder, co-owner and co-director of the TEFAF New York Art Fairs in 2016, which gained recognition for their critical and commercial success, and before that, the acclaimed Spring Masters New York Fair, with a unique hexagonal booth design created by architect Rafael Viñoly.
Previously, Michael served as Chief Operating Officer of Christie’s Financial Services, where he led in the development of art funds and art lending facilities. Prior to that he held executive positions at Sotheby’s auction house. Michael remains one of the industry’s leading speakers on art finance and business trends and has lectured at New York University, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and The Wharton School. Currently, Michael is the instructor of Christie’s Investing in Art: Art as an Asset Class course and hosted the Jetstream Podcast for Christie’s Education. Michael has a Bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and resides in New York City.
Benjamin Genocchio
Ben is a former New York Times art critic, with almost three decades of experience in the New York art and journalism world. Following a decade writing at the New York Times, Ben was appointed the Editor-in-Chief of Art & Auction Magazine and was also simultaneously the founding Editor-in-Chief of the first dedicated online art news site, Artinfo.com. He continued to innovate in online news as founder and first Editor-in-Chief of artnet news, the world’s largest, most popular art news website. He went from here to become executive director of The Armory Show, New York’s largest art fair before returning to journalism. Ben is currently the editor-in-chief of Incollect magazine and Incollect.com.
Joshua Rose
Joshua Rose spent a majority of his career with International Artist Publishing where he served as the Editor for American Art Collector, Western Art Collector, American Fine Art and Native American Art Magazines. While Rose now resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he grew up in Tempe, Arizona and spent a majority of his life in the Phoenix area. His career in art criticism began when he was chosen to be the weekly art writer for the East Valley Tribune’s Get Out Magazine. He has also served as a contributing writer to Art News and Art Forum and was a full-time professor at the Art Institute of Phoenix from 1998 to 2005. In 2001, he started shade magazine, the legendary art and culture magazine that documented the downtown Phoenix art scene for several years.
Rose left International Artist Publishing in 2020 to become the Senior Vice President at the Santa Fe Art Auction, where he specialized in Fine Art. This past year, Rose launched Rose Creative, A full-service marketing, publicity and creative agency focusing on the art market. His clients include the Santa Fe Indian Market, The Santa Fe Botanical Gardens, the Scottsdale Art Auction, The Coors Western Art Show and Mark Maggiori and the Far West Show. He also writes frequently for Western Art and Architecture Magazine. He has worked closely with several non-profits as well, including The Coalition to Stop Violence against Native Women.
Rose studied literature and philosophy at the University of Minnesota and received a master’s degree in the Art and Poetry of William Blake from the University College of North Wales, Bangor.
OWNERSHIP & ADVISORS
Trey Brennen
Trey Brennen is a 2nd generation Art Dealer who has resided in 6 affluent art communities around the country, and has exhibited in multiple fairs from NY to Wyoming. Brennen is the founder of Artisor, an online platform that allows artists to illustrate their own markets and offers a 7-day Auction for artists, galleries, and Collectors.
Jason Rose
Scottsdale Polo Championships, LLC.
The Scottsdale Polo Championships, America’s most attended polo event, is brought to you by a team with over 50 years of event management and promotion experience. We are passionate about creating unique events that pair luxury experiences, cultural performances and a bit of the unexpected. We are proud to be the stewards of internationally-renowned brands and look forward to presenting elegant events.
Cities West Media
Publisher of Arizona’s only two paid and audited regional magazines: PHOENIX magazine and Phoenix Home & Garden. For over 45 years, PHOENIX has been the city magazine for the Valley. PHOENIX mixes great service articles with in-depth and insightful reporting on need-to-know topics. Phoenix Home & Garden is the premier regional magazine for Southwest living. With a 30+ year history, the magazine is the go-to guide for design inspiration for desert homes, local artists and resources, and exciting arts events.
Emilie C. Dietrich
Emilie is the owner and creative visionary behind RAYMAR Fine Art Panels, a leading producer of archival art materials entrusted by the world’s top professional artists. Prior to RAYMAR, Emilie, a Notre Dame business graduate, was a successful foreign exchange trader with the Chicago Board of Trade. Emilie left finance to pursue art at Parsons in NYC. With a deep creative passion and entrepreneurial drive, Emilie has grown RAYMAR into a 25-year success. Dedicated to her mission to empower artists, Emilie started RAYMAR Studio in 2022, serves on the board for Artlink and judges several international art competitions.
Mark Candelaria
Mark Candelaria, AIA started the firm in 1999 after an 18-year career as one of the founding partners of CCBG Architects in Phoenix. During his time at CCBG he worked for and with the legendary George W. Christensen, FAIA who mentored Mark from the time he joined the firm at age 22 in 1982 until Christensen’s retirement in 1999 whereupon Mark decided to go out on his own. Along the way Mark has carefully assembled a team very dedicated to the values that act as the soul of Candelaria Design. Named a Master of the Southwest in 2005 by Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine, Mark and his team all share the passion of good design coupled with warm and friendly personal service. From his tours to Italy to cooking for his clients upon the completion of their home, the process of designing a home means so much more than just producing a set of plans to our team – the process of designing a home means the creation of a whole new way of living that accentuates and celebrates every aspect of living in a home.
Amy Gause
Amy Gause began her career in art journalism in the early 2000s as Managing Editor of Desert Living Magazine, covering art, design and architecture in the Southwest. She was later appointed Advertising and Marketing Director at International Artist Publishing, where she launched and managed American Art Collector, Western Art Collector, and American Fine Art Magazine for almost a decade. An ardent supporter of the arts, Amy has served on Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art’s founding SMoCA Nights board and Scottsdale Artists’ School board of directors. As Vice President of Phoenix Art Museum’s Contemporary Forum, she launched and developed two successful fundraisers: CF Art & Architecture Tour and Going Once! art auction that garnered significant funding for the Museum’s contemporary art initiatives. Amy has a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture and a minor in Psychology from ASU’s Herberger College of Art and Design, and completed advanced Fine and Decorative Arts Appraisal Studies at New York University.