Paige West

I am a curator of a large private contemporary art collection, founder of a gallery called Mixed Greens, author of the book "The Art of Buying Art: An Insider's Guide to COllecting Contemporary Art" (HarperCollins), and an all around contemporary art addict.

I went to college as a studio art major, convinced that I was destined to make great art. I spent two years making mediocre art (some would say lousy) and switched majors to focus on my interests in business. I began my professional career as a market and product manager at an investment services firm. I spent four years developing, writing, and launching business and marketing plans for investment products. Although I proved to be somewhat adept at developing businesses and products, I was not passionate about investments. I missed having art in my life. I left investments and returned to study the business of art at Christie's Education and NYU Arts Administration programs. Since leaving school I have promoted and supported artists by curating a major private collection of emerging and contemporary art, producing documentaries on artists Salvatore Scarpitta and Vik Muniz, and starting Mixed Greens to share my passion for learning about and collecting contemporary art.