Andy Valmorbida is an international fine art businessman. He is president of Untitled-1 Holdings and founded River-Labs, a company associated with the

generative art Generative art is post-conceptual art that has been created (in whole or in part) with the use of an autonomous system. An ''autonomous system'' in this context is generally one that is non-human and can independently determine features of an ...

movement. He became known as the "King of Pop Up" after organizing 45 pop-up art exhibitions in 12 different countries, where

street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant gr ...

was predominantly featured. Artworks from notable artists such as

Richard Hambleton Richard Art Hambleton (June 23, 1952 – October 29, 2017) was a Canadian artist known for his work as a street artist. He was a surviving member of a group that emerged from the New York City art scene during the booming art market of the 1980s ...

, Futura,

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...

, and

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

were exhibited in these shows.

Early life

Valmorbida was born in July 1978 into one of the wealthiest families in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia and was raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States. His father was Paul Valmorbida, an Australian businessman and son of Carlo Valmorbida. He was educated in business studies and began his career at the Valmorbida family's investment firm based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Career

At the age of 25, Valmorbida transitioned from his initial involvement in

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

to street art. He met the artist Richard Hambleton in 2009, which led to a collaboration with

Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld is a French-American businessman and President of CR Fashion Book Ltd., the media company that publishes the namesake biannual style magazine founded by his mother, Carine Roitfeld. He leads business strategy, business de ...

in 2011 to promote Hambleton's art.

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...

, an avid collector of Hambleton's work, sponsored several of the "pop up" celebrity attended art shows exhibiting the works. Valmorbida acted as executive producer on the 2017 documentary '' Shadowman'' reflecting Hambleton's life and career. In 2010 Valmorbida helped curate and assisted with the donation of two Hambleton pieces to the amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research 17th Annual Cinema Against AIDS Gala During the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. The pieces sold for $920,000.

Legal Issues

In September 2021, he was involved in a legal dispute regarding accusations of fraud and alleged efforts to conceal his

tax residence The criteria for residence for tax purposes vary considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and "residence" can be different for other, non-tax purposes. For individuals, physical presence in a jurisdiction is the main test. Some jurisdictio ...

, leading to his case being referred to Jersey's

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. Valmorbida admitted in court to creating and using fraudulent documents.

Personal life

In his earlier life he was a noted socialite, having made headlines in 2008 after his credit card was stolen by US oil heir

Brandon Davis Brandon Michael Davis (born May 8, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Davis began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 20, while ...

who had been cut off from his family fortune; as well as for partying with people including

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...

. Valmorbida has two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valmorbida, Andy Australian art dealers Living people 1978 births