Post-War & Contemporary Art

Alex Rotter is Chairman of Christie’s 20/21 Art Departments, where he is responsible for overseeing a global team of specialists spanning the full scope of 20th and 21st Century art, including Post-War & Contemporary Art, Impressionist & Modern Art, Design, Photographs, Prints, American Art, Latin American Art and Modern British Pictures. Rotter is recognized as a leading authority in contemporary art and has become known for his innovative strategies for driving business, and his astute understanding of the rapidly evolving international art market.

Rotter’s progressive approach to presenting extraordinary works of art to the market has yielded many of the most groundbreaking moments in auction history. His recent career highlights include the 2017 sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi , which sold for $450 million, becoming the most expensive object ever sold at auction, and Jeff Koons’ Rabbit from the Collection of SI Newhouse, which sold for $91.1 million and set a world auction record for a living artist. He also established the new main sale category 20th and 21st Century Art at Christie’s, a reimagined sale strategy that positions art within the period that it was created, as opposed to the movement that defined it.

In 2020, Rotter’s keen market intelligence and creativity were integral to the implementation of the first-of-its-kind global relay auction, live-streamed from Christie’s salerooms in Hong Kong, Paris, London and New York. Responding to the need to reconfigure the traditional Evening Sale format as a result of the COVID-19 virus, the groundbreaking sale ultimately yielded the highest result for any auction that year.

Prior to joining Christie’s, Rotter was Worldwide Co-Head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s (2008-2016), where he oversaw the rise in the firm’s global contemporary art sales.

Growing up in a family of art dealers in his native Austria, Rotter studied at the University of Vienna. He currently lives in New York with his wife and two sons.

Sara Friedlander is the Deputy Chairman of the Post-War & Contemporary Art Department at Christie’s New York. In this role, Sara works with important private collectors, institutions and museums, advising on acquisitions and sales both privately and at auction. Since joining in 2006, Sara has distinguished herself as both a team member and specialist. She has led and contributed to some of Christie’s most important auctions and consignments including The Eppler Family Collection, Property Sold to Benefit the Donald and Barbara Zucker Family Foundation, The Barney A. Ebsworth Collection, and The Robert B. and Beatrice C. Mayer Family Collection. Previously, Sara oversaw seven of Christie’s most successful auctions as the head of the New York Evening Sale, including the highest grossing sale of all time.

Sara graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. in Art History, with minors in Creative Writing and Women’s Studies. She completed her Master’s degree in Fine and Decorative Arts at the Sotheby’s Institute in London. Sara is the Co-Chair of the Contemporary Circle at the Jewish Museum, on the Contemporary Council of the American Friends for the Israel Museum, is a member of the board of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan and is on the board of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Brandeis University

Barrett White is an Executive Deputy Chairman for the Post-War & Contemporary Art Department, focusing on business development and private sales. Barrett joined Christie’s in 1999 and has held senior positions in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Department and Christie’s subsidiary Haunch of Venison. He was also formerly the Senior Director at L+M Arts in New York. His experiences in both commercial galleries and the auction house give him keen insight into the complexities of the art market and this wide perspective has gained him the trust of international collectors. Today, he moves seamlessly between auction and private sale activity for the department securing major consignments and advising clients on building collections. Barrett was born in New Haven Connecticut where early-on he developed a love for the arts while visiting the studios of his mother and her friends at the Yale Art School. He has a BA in Art History from New York University and a MA in the History of the Art Market and Art Market Studies from Christie’s Education.

Johanna Flaum joined Christie’s in October 2017. As Vice Chairman, 20th and 21st Century Art, Americas she oversees the Post-War and Contemporary sales in New York working closely with the individual sale heads and the international team to collaboratively and strategically develop the sales and other business across multiple venues. Additionally, she focuses on cultivating client relationships and advising clients on consignments and acquisitions for both international auctions and private sales. Prior to joining Christie’s, Johanna worked for another international auction house for 12 years where she led the highest grossing and most successful series of sales in the Day Sale category. In her role, she was responsible for achieving day sale auction records for works by Andy Warhol, Ellsworth Kelly, Ed Ruscha, Gerhard Richter and Mark Rothko. Johanna received a B.A. with Honors in Art History and Fine Art from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005.

Ana Maria Celis is a Senior Vice President, Senior Specialist where she is responsible for maintaining Christie’s market-leading position in the category. Prior to joining Christies in 2013 she worked at another international auction house for almost six years where she held the post of Head of the Contemporary Art Afternoon Sale. Since joining Christie's, Ana Maria has worked on a number of curated sales including the record breaking "Looking Forward to the Past" and "The Artist's Muse." Born and raised in Caracas, Ana Maria is fluent in Spanish and English and plays a key role in our international team through the fostering and development of collectors in the Americas. Ana Maria has a BA from New York University in History of Art and Latin American Studies.

Joanna Szymkowiak is a Vice President, Senior Specialist in the Post-War and Contemporary Art department, focusing on business development for auction and private sales, as well as cultivating important client relationships. She joined Christie’s in 2011. During her time at the company, Joanna has been closely involved in the sale of key works by Joan Mitchell, including three of the top ten auction records for the artist, as well as Morris Louis, Hans Hofmann, Jackson Pollock, Wayne Thiebaud, Ed Ruscha and Alexander Calder. She has also been responsible for numerous breakout prices by artists including Ruth Asawa, Neil Jenney and Robert Colescott. Joanna earned her BA in International Letters and Visual Studies and in French from Tufts University as well as an MA degree from New York University.

Emily Kaplan is a Senior Vice President and Senior Specialist within Christie’s Post-War & Contemporary Art Department and is the Co-Head of the 20th Century Evening Sale in New York. Her focus is the Post-War period, specializing in Abstract Expressionism, Pop, and Minimalism, among others. In May 2021, she pioneered the first 20th Century Evening Sale to outstanding results - totaling $481 million. Emily has worked in the auction world for 11 years and joined Christie’s in 2018. Prior to running the Evening Sale, Emily has spent much of her career focused on Day and Midseason sales of Post-War and Contemporary Art, where she presided over the highest Day Sale total in history in November 2019 at Christie’s. Born and raised in New York City, Emily was exposed to the arts from a young age. Emily has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in Art History.

Isabella Lauria is a Vice-President and Specialist within the Post-War and Contemporary Art department at Christie’s and Head of the 21st Century Evening Sale in New York. In this role she is focused on introducing new and established collectors to well-known, as well as emerging and underrecognized artists of the Contemporary period. Isabella has worked in the auction world for 8 years and previously ran the mid-season sales at Christie’s. Born in Caracas and raised in Miami, London, Washington, D.C., and New York, Isabella speaks Spanish, English and French. She received her Master’s in Art Business with a focus on Contemporary Art from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York.

Kathryn Widing is a Vice President, Senior Specialist in Post-War and Contemporary Art and Head of the 21st Century Evening Sale. Previously at Christie's, she was the Co-Head responsible for the department’s highly successful Day Sales in May and November from 2019-2023. In addition to offering works by some of the most famous artists of the postwar and contemporary era, she also has a specialty and interest in works by emerging artists, as well as female and under-recognized artists. She has worked on major collection sales within Christie's including the Rockefeller Collection, Bucksbaum Collection, Sonnabend Collection, Getty Collection, and the Anderson Collection. She has led Christie's partnerships with non-profits and museums in highly successful auctions, including for the NYC AIDS Memorial, Art for Acres, LAXART, Storm King Art Center, Public Art Fund, the Bronx Museum, among others. She also assists the department in business-getting initiatives and client communications for both auction and private sales, as well as appraisals for private clients and museums. In addition to her work on the East Coast, she also assists with initiatives in the Aspen area as well as the Bay Area. She joined Christie’s in October 2014 in the Post-War and Contemporary department. Prior to joining Christie’s, she was a sales assistant to the president at Pace Gallery in New York and curatorial assistant at High Line Art, the non-profit public art program of Friends of the High Line in New York. She earned a M.A. degree in the History of Art and the Art Market with a focus in Modern and Contemporary Art from Christie’s Education and a B.A. from Colgate University with a major in Art History, where she received high honors for her thesis on the art of Robert Colescott.

Rachael White Young is a Vice-President, Senior Specialist and Head of Core Market Sales for the Post-War & Contemporary Art department in New York. She is responsible for the management, strategy and growth of all Core Market auctions for the department in New York, including the Day, Post-War to Present and First Open Online Sales, collectively amounting to more than $200 million in annual sale totals.

She has eleven years of experience at Christie’s. She previously served as Head of the Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sales (2018-2023) and Head of the Post-War & Contemporary Midseason and Online auctions (2017-2018). During her tenure at Christie’s, she has overseen numerous records, including the highest figure ever achieved for a Day Sale—$110 million in November 2019—and an industry-record high for a work offered in a Day Sale: $8.5 million for a painting by Mark Rothko, achieved in November 2021. In addition to her function as Head of Core Market Sales, she provides top-to-bottom services for her client-base throughout the year, including global auction consignments and sales; private sales; and comprehensive appraisal services. Her specialization is post-war abstraction, including Abstract Expressionism, Color Field and Pop Art, but her passion spans the entirety of 20/21st century art.

Rachael earned a Masters of Fine Arts from the Sotheby’s Institute in London in 2012. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and European Studies from Vanderbilt University, with a Minor in History of Art, graduating in 2009. In between degrees, she began her professional journey at Sotheby’s Madrid.

In her free time, she donates her auctioneering services at fundraisers, galas and events for various charitable organizations across the globe.

Michael Baptist is an Associate Vice President, Specialist, and Co-Head of the Day Sale in the Post-War and Contemporary Art department in New York. He previously served as head of sale for the Gerald Fineberg Collection, as well as the Collection of Thomas and Doris Ammann day sale auction. Michael was also the Head of Online Auctions for the Post-War and Contemporary Art department in New York from 2020-2023, during which time he drove the name-brand First Open online auctions to new heights, and conducted a number of online auctions dedicated to prominent private collections. From 2016-2020, Michael served as a junior specialist for the post-war and contemporary Evening Sale auctions in New York, and assisted in the sales of masterpieces such as Jeff Koons’ Rabbit and major collections such as the Robert B. Mayer Family Collection and the Barney A. Ebsworth Collection. Prior to joining Christie’s in 2013, he worked for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Michael specializes in a range of post-war and contemporary artists, including the post-war period of American abstract expressionism, pop art, and 1980s New York artists. He earned a B.A. in English from Northeastern University in Boston, and studied art history at Studio Art Center International in Florence, Italy.

Allison Immergut is an Associate Vice President, Specialist in the Post-War and Contemporary Art team and Co-Head of the New York Day Sale. Her focus is Post-War Art, specifically Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. She began her career at Christie’s working with the Andy Warhol Foundation property, which she continues to oversee. Allison has pioneered various initiatives with the Warhol Foundation, ranging from successful curated online sales to ‘buy it now’ pilots at Christie’s. She has also held roles in both Private Sales and the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale, where she worked on the highest Day Sale total in history in November 2019. In her most recent role as a Specialist working on the 20th Century Evening Sale, Allison was instrumental in overseeing proposals, marketing, research and business-getting for the sale. A native New Yorker, Allison received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania.

Julian Ehrlich is a AVP, Specialist and the Head of the Post-War to Present Sale at Christie’s. With an interest in emerging and underrecognized artists, Julian is responsible for maintaining the momentum of Christie’s mid-season sale platform. Prior to joining Christie’s, Julian worked at another international auction house where he focused on Post-War and Contemporary sales, playing an instrumental role in achieving record prices for artists such as Ed Clark and Lynda Benglis. A native New Yorker, Julian earned his B.A. in Art History and Computer Science from Bowdoin College.

Nicole Sales Giles joined Christie’s in 2012, holding various positions primarily within the 20th and 21st Century Art departments in New York. In March 2021, she was the business lead for the historic sale of Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, the first purely digital artwork to be sold at a major auction house. In 2022, she spearheaded the launch of Christie’s 3.0, the first fully on-chain NFT platform for an auction house, as well as led the sold-out inaugural sale of Diana Sinclair’s digital artwork. Prior to her current role, Nicole was the Associate Vice President and Business Manager of the Private Sales division and for the Online Sales group. She has also held management positions in Client Strategy and Business Intelligence. Nicole holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a B.A. in Art History and Economics from Duke University.

Sebastian Sanchez is a Manager of Digital Art Sales at Christie’s. He is passionate about pioneering a new form of art through digital ownership and the web3 ecosystem. Prior to joining Christie’s, Sebastian spearheaded web3 projects with brands such as Warner Brothers, HBO, and Discovery where he lead multiple projects and charitable initiatives from conceptualization to launch. He co-founded generative art platform ARTXCODE in 2018, where he worked with artists such as Tyler Hobbs and Dmitri Cherniak and was instrumental in cultivating the early generative art market and community. Sebastian is originally from Miami and is fluent in both English and Spanish. He is a certified Full Stack Engineer with a degree from App Academy and holds a B.B.A in Design Management from Parsons the New School for Design

AJ Kiyoizumi is an Associate Specialist and Head of Online Sales of Post-War and Contemporary Art in New York. Her expertise is in contemporary art created from 1980s to present, and was a key member of the 21st Century Evening Sale team. Prior to this role, AJ served as a coordinator, project manager, cataloguer, and specialist for the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sales. She was a key member of the sale team for the Paul G. Allen Collection (the top philanthropic auction in history). She began at Christie’s in fall 2015 managing the office for the Deputy Chairman of Post-War and Contemporary Art. One of her first projects was managing the curated ‘Bound to Fail’ Evening Sale. She worked on the most valuable auctions and artworks since then, including record-breaking masterpieces by David Hockney, Jeff Koons, and the last painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Prior to Christie’s, AJ received her Bachelor of Arts degree with High Honors from the University of Berkeley, California. Alongside business-getting for the department in both auction and private sales, she is a certified appraiser.

Alma Davidsohn is a Specialist in the Post-War and Contemporary Art department in New York, working in the Private Sales team, with an interest in emerging contemporary artists. Born and raised in Israel, Alma has a unique perspective on the global art-market, having worked in the Middle east, Europe and North America. She began her career at Christie’s in London, where she held various roles on the Post-War and Contemporary Art department Day and Evening auctions. Since 2021 Alma’s focus has been the development of private sales of contemporary art, withing the unique sphere of an auction house. Alma received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and Psychology from Tel Aviv University, and a Masters of Arts degree in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York.

Shereen Al-Sawwaf is a Junior Specialist in the New York Post-War & Contemporary Art department. In her current role, Shereen helps the department source, appraise and price works for auction. Additionally, she assists with researching, cataloging, and conducting expertise on works to be included in all upcoming sales. Shereen joined Christie's as part of the Graduate Training Program. Since joining the Post-War & Contemporary Art department full-time, she has been fortunate to work on landmark auctions such as Beeple: The 5000 Everydays, which marked the first purely digital work and the most expensive work ever sold in an online auction, and Andy Warhol's Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, which marked the most expensive 20th century artwork ever sold at auction. Shereen also has worked on bringing prominent collections to auction such as the Surrealist World of Rosalind Gersten Jacobs and Melvin Jacobs, the Collection of Thomas and Doris Ammann, and the Gerald Fineberg collection. Shereen earned a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies from the University of Chicago.

Taylor Nemetz is a Junior Specialist in the Post-War & Contemporary Art department in New York. She joined Christie’s in November of 2020 as Copyright Coordinator for the Christie’s 20/21 Division in New York, overseeing matters of copyright and intellectual property for the Post-War & Contemporary and Impressionist & Modern Art departments. Since then, as a Cataloguer for the Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Taylor has enjoyed taking on a significant role in research and catalogue production, with a particular specialization in contemporary art. She also actively assists the department with business-getting initiatives, appraisals and valuations, and developing client relationships. Coming from a background in collections management and art advisory, Taylor has previously worked for a number of significant private art collections based in the New York area, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Global Liberal Studies from New York University. Taylor is most passionate about engaging with and bearing witness to art being made during her lifetime.

Taylor has successfully completed training in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice facilitated by a certified AQB instructor from the Appraisers Association of America.