‘Art adds value to your portfolio’: Australian art dealer to the stars reveals all – realestate.com.au

Australian art dealer Jay Lyon has sold art to Hollywood actress Sharon Stone and pop star Justin Timberlake, curates emerging artists for a national hotel chain and collects highly collectible artworks for his close circle of private collectors.

Lyon, who once dated Miranda Kerr, toured with his band Tamarama and starred in the reality TV series The Hills and The City, now focuses on art in the residential and commercial space. He has noticed a rise in demand for contemporary, modern works for the home; and it’s the reason his full-time gig is doing well.

He owns six galleries in Australia; its Potts Point location [ArtPlus Gallery] Here he exhibits fashion photography, landscape and contemporary works by local and international names. One of the first works of art he ever bought was a portrait photograph of Brigitte Bardot, taken by the great Douglas Kirkland; and it still stands as one of his favorites in his home.

According to Lyon, who has built an enviable network of celebrities and well-known personalities who collect art through him, the demand for anything custom and original is highly sought after by collectors.

“The push for all things handmade, hand-painted and made by an individual is what people want in their homes right now,” says Jay Lyon.

“We will see a huge increase in value in everything handmade; people want something original that cannot be easily replicated.”

His decision to expand his commercial footprint is a sign that consumer demand for collectible works is increasing. But it is his mix of big and emerging names that is attracting more attention in his own way.

He is all about finding art photography with a difference, urban art, pop art and celebrity images rarely seen by the public for his residential and commercial work. Some of the most famous whose works he represents include fashion photographer Ellen Von Unwerth, the late Patrick Lichfield and French photographer Guy Bourdain and Andy Warhol.

Lyon has provided more than 38 Scape Australian student hotels with artwork through an Artist in Residency program. Image: realcommercial.com.au

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Lyon has created his own black contacts book through decades of creative agency work and his penchant for world travel.

“Buying art adds value to your portfolio, whether in a commercial or business environment, at home or even as an investment – ​​you will never make a bad decision when it comes to owning someone’s creative work,” he said.

Lyon undertook the massive project to provide more than 38 of Scape’s Australian student hotels with artwork through an Artist in Residency program. They are located in cities such as Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney.

“Curating artists that align with the Scape Australia brand is something that sets us apart,” said Lyon.

Jay Lyon has built up a black book of contacts through decades of creative agency work. Image: supplied

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Artist Nathan Nankervis started the series in 2024 at Melbourne’s Swanston Street location, while Noni Cragg is the newest artist in residence at Scape Kingsford in Sydney; bringing portraits and large-scale murals to the site, while also hosting workshops in the hotel for an interactive difference.

“The Artist in Residence program has allowed us to bring new artists into this space where they can benefit from what they do,” Lyon said.

“Other artists have created huge murals specifically for the sites. With Scape Australia we wanted to align artists who fit their disruptive approach – they are heavily into creativity and most of their residents are students in a creative field. It was about bringing in artists who could connect a little with that way of life,” said Lyon.

His black book of connections is proof that all roads eventually lead to famous Hollywood houses.

“I met Sharon Stone through a former roommate of mine, who is very good friends with her. We met through an introduction,” Lyon explains.

“One thing led to another and I managed to get her an amazing work of art by Douglas Kirkland. Then I found an incredible work by Perry O’Neill for Justin Timberlake. When people see that you’re interested in the same things as they are, it’s all about building relationships that evolve naturally over time. I’ve lived abroad in the US and Europe for 12 years and my network and relationships have all been shaped by the conversations and people I’ve met along the way,” he says.

More recently, Lyon helped source artwork for Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec, a Croatian-Canadian businessman and investor who bought his latest home in Sydney’s Centennial Park for $23 million in 2023.

Lyon sold him an X-ray work by independent British artist Nick Veasey for his Sydney residence.

“Nick Veasey’s work is all about uncovering the idea of ​​inner beauty and showing how there can be peace in beauty. It was a beautiful addition to other works we received for our home,” says Lyon.

“Robert [Herjavec] is a great photographer enthusiast and was also a great collector of the works of Terry O’Neill. He brought a lot of this from America to his home in Sydney,” he says.

“He obviously has homes all over the world, and each of them has something different, but when we helped curate the art for his Sydney home, we asked First Nations artist Otis Hope Carey to create two incredible pieces. He is a contemporary Indigenous artist who works in pastel shades, pinks and greens. The work, A Healing Spirit, hangs proudly in the home. We then mixed this with really cool black and white photography to give the whole thing a modern, but soft and very eclectic feel,” says Lyon.