When it comes to buying art, which city ranks top for new talent, which is best for convenience, and which houses the greatest boutique galleries? Sophie Grove puts New York, London and Berlin to the test

NEW YORK

HOTTIP

Enlist an art consultant
Fine art guru, Leslie Rankow, is a good barometer. Or, look up a specialist on NYC’s trusted ArtRegister. But remember to buy what you love. And don’t forget to stop off at the Chelsea branch of Comme des Garçons, where the daring fashion collections are part of an ever-changing art installation.
www.leslierankow.com
www.artregister.com

BEST FOR

Convenience
Art in New York is easy. In Chelsea, the city’s contemporary art hub, you can cruise the post-industrial ‘art-malls’ without the hike and dreaded gallery fatigue that afflicts London. At the last count, the district had some 318 galleries – everything from the big names like the Gagosian(www.gagosian.com) to the Bortolami Gallery (www.bortolamigallery.com), housed in a former taxi garage, all within a few blocks. Some outfits like the Gavin Brown Enterprise (www.gavinbrown.biz) are open nearly 24/7. Check out indispensable website, www.chelseaartgalleries.com, for full details details of local galleries and exhibitions.

NOT SO GOOD FOR

Antiquities
It’s hard to knock New York’s diverse art scene. But Thomas Hoving, former director of the New York Met, estimates that up to 40 per cent of works that passed over his desk were in some way counterfeit. He suspects that New York’s artcollecting banker crowd has been on the receiving end of Chinese knock offs. So, be told.

LUX RATING 17/20

LONDON

HOTTIP

Do your research
Like the city itself, you only get what you give. If the prospect of navigating the dilapidated studios and old Huguenot alleys of the East leaves you dizzy, tag onto a tour with CommentArt. Groups leave Rivington Street on Saturdays and Sundays and take in six to 10 exhibitions.
www.commentart.com

BEST FOR

Boutique
London’s Fitzrovia is fast becoming a focal point for small, bijou galleries. Perhaps the East End is just too edgy? Gallerists like Stuart Shave Modern Art (www.modernartinc.com) have ditched Shoreditch and fallen for W1’s bohemian charm. His 600 sq metre former fashion showroom in Eastcastle Street is worth more than a look. Or try the leafy Percy Street, packed intimate quirky outfits, where every evening is a private view. Sip Sancerre on the step of the Rebecca Hossack Gallery (+44 20 7255 2828) and mull over your next acquisition.

NOT SO GOOD FOR

Bargains
First it was Damien Hirst’s £50 million (€63m) skull; now Lucien Freud’s $33 million (€21m) nude. It’s clear that while London’s art scene is burgeoning, so are the prices. Finance-savvy Young British Artists know the net worth of their work so you’re unlikely to snap up a bargain. There are a few exceptions. Make for the Royal College of Art’s (www.rca.ac.uk) annual ‘Secret’ show, where postcard-sized works by everyone from Grayson Perry to Tracey Emin, as well as upcoming talent, are available for just £40. The only catch is that you buy each work blind to the author’s identity, so wits and intuition are crucial.

LUX RATING 17.5/20

BERLIN

HOTTIP

Tap into the zeitgeist
Anything worth doing is über-discreet, super chic and underground. There’s no quick fix in Berlin. You have to mill around Mitte Street meeting the right people before you get a glimpse of the real deal. The most recent hot ticket is Hitler’s war bunker just, opened on Reinhardtstrasse, where within Albert Speer’s concrete creation the work by Wolfgang Tillmans and Olafur Eliasson is on show.
www.sammlung-boros.de

BEST FOR

New talent
If Cologne was the capital of contemporary art in the 20th century, Berlin has the 21st in the bag. Cheap rents and a plethora of young, innovative graduates keep prices relatively low. Once you’ve explored the trendy Mitte Street, head out of town to Leipzig where the Academy of Visual Arts (www.hgb-leipzig.de), a former Soviet Art School, churns out the next generation of creative output. While Gerd Harry Lybke, director of Galerie Eigen+Art (www.eigen-art.com), tends to monopolise some of the big hitters, Leipzig is a hive of young, brilliant talent ripe for the picking.

NOT SO GOOD FOR

Old Masters
While Berlin’s art scene may be abuzz with a hip, original sense of optimism, it still bears the scars of conflict. With an official restitution process still in the works, controversy continues to surrounds the city’s classic canvases, some of which were looted during the war. And like the Shushkin collection in Moscow, many collections were nationalised by the Soviets. Be sure to check the provenance of the work before buying.

LUX RATING 16.5/20