As even decent bodies do out of context they look a bit ridiculous The French guy
As even decent bodies do out of context, they look a bit ridiculous The French guy called Vincent is one of the chosen He catches us watching and rolls his eyes heavenwards The ladies next to us take photographs. All the members of the entourage have been chosen for their physique and walk behind the horse in swimming trunks. In 20 to 30 years' time we will be proud to see their work in galleries and museums."Asprey Jacques, 4 Clifford Street, London W1, 0171-287 7675Modern Art IncStuart Shave soon realised that his art could never quite realise what was in his head. She later went to The British School at Rome as curator and the pair kept in touch.Asprey and Jacques hit the ground running, doing enormous amounts of travelling. Selling art is dealing in ideas, something created very personally by the artist It's not just a commodity of finite value You can make money but that is not a primary concern. His sitting room has Martin Richman's work lighting the windows and bookshelf, and glass shoe sculptures by Jane Mullfinger dance ghost-like in the corridor.He would do it all differently if he were to start again, he engagingly confesses. It was the heady days of the mid-Eighties, and the artists were all friends from The Slade and Central St Martins.
But I learned a lot."The Hales Gallery, 70 Deptford High Street, London SE8. Hedge's plans for The Hales Gallery took shape during the nine years he pounded the beat as a postman. Hedge was a student at the nearby Goldsmiths College (the artist Julian Opie was a year ahead), while Maslin read economics at Cambridge. Claude Heath, Andrew Bick and Sarah Beddington were shortlisted for the NatWest Art Prize.Hedge and Maslin have flourished in the art market despite confessing an alarming early ignorance. She doesn't impose commercial boundaries, nor tie her artists to a contract: "If they feel it is beneficial to them and they want to work with me, that's fine. And her artists explore any concerns through any medium including sculpture, audio, paper or video.Grassi sees her mission as introducing art that wouldn't normally be seen in Britain and enabling her artists "to make the work that they want to make".
She came here because it was familiar: she did an MA at the Courtauld Institute, and only left Britain because, at first, she saw no way into its old boy's art scene.Greengrassi opened in 1997, on the first floor of a house in Fitzrovia, central London. The Americans want a slice of the action, and these dealers are ready.GreengrassiCornelia Grassi is half American, half Italian, and worked in a gallery in Milan for seven years. Both share the cash and kudos that comes from access to high- profile exhibitions, important collections and lucrative auctions. And as the Young British Artists move from enfants terrible to mid-life crisis, even younger artists are bubbling up - with the dealers who support them. In turn, dealers are flattered by links with celebrated artists. Taken up by a reputable dealer, there is an immediate buzz around an artist that wasn't there the day before. It is a thorny, catch-22 of a question as to who makes an artist's reputation, the dealer or the artist - in reality it is a symbiotic relationship.
Increasingly, the founders of such businesses are creating cultures that actively encourage initiative and as a result often spawn new businesses.For example, JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin's brother, Gerald, has since left the business to set up the Old Monk pub company, while the founders of Computer Futures, the second-placed company in this year's listing, have helped establish several other businesses, including Progressive Computer Recruitment.Jeremy Newman, director of KITE, said: "The results show that the growth in private companies is not restricted to any sector or geographic area. Not all of them are investing millions of pounds in high-tech developments, but they are seeing opportunities for growth and acting fast to exploit the potential.Nor is it just a select group of entrepreneurs at the top of these organisations that are leading the way. Do people take the job just to get some great holidays?That's what everyone thinks, but it's not true really. We get the chance to join travel clubs, and there are some amazing bargains advertised, but a lot of them are "going next week" offers and we just can't get the time off at short notice.Also, a lot of people think that as a travel agent you get lost of free holidays - you don't.What about those so-called "educationals", where agents are taken to a particular destination by tour operators - how much actual education is involved?Lots. I went skiing for the first time in March this year, to Andorra for four nights with Panorama. I learned a great deal from the trip - before then, it was hard for me to sell skiing. And when you get back to the shop, you can tell everyone else about it as well.Where do you go from here?There are opportunities to move up in the company.
I don't think I'd like to work abroad, but if you start off as a travel adviser, you can move up in the shop or go to head office.The party question: at a party, you reveal your job as a travel agent. What is the question that people invariably ask?How much is it going to cost for them to get wherever it is they want to go? Or, do I know of any late deals around?How do I sign up?Visit your local Going Places shop [there are more than 700 around Britain] and pick up an application form.The bottom line: Going Places says it is difficult to quote a specific starting salary for travel advisers: however, says the company "last year our top travel advisers earned pounds 18,000". THE TRAILFINDERS advertisement from 1989 reads: "Sydney, pounds 730 return". A few things have changed between then and now in the ads from Britain's biggest discount agency. The first is that the London phone number then was plain old "01". The next: the phrase "includes pre-paid taxes and passenger service charge" was not necessary back in 1989, because apart from the odd $3 levied by the US, there were no significant pre-paid taxes on airline tickets. But by far the most significant change is how sharply fares have fallen.