Salt Mine Projects

What Salt Mine Projects does

Salt Mine Projects is a New York-based full-service art dealing and curatorial consultancy established in 1992 by Damon Brandt. The firm operates as a private commercial art consultancy with a service portfolio spanning art dealing, collection advisory, curatorial consulting, exhibition curation, and multimedia documentation. Its client base includes private collectors, multinational corporations, and museums, indicating a relationship-driven, high-touch business model rather than a transactional retail model. The firm runs an integrated ecosystem through three subsidiaries: Duane Park Studios (exhibition/creative production), Duane Park Studio Productions (multimedia/video), and Duane Park Studios Design Collective (interior/architectural design).

The company's revenue is derived from commissions on art sales, advisory retainers, and fees for curatorial services and exhibition production. Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed, but the firm operates as a small boutique practice with 1-10 employees, implying commissions on individual high-value transactions and project-based fees rather than recurring subscription revenue. The business model is anchored on the personal expertise and reputation of its founder, whose 35+ years of experience in the art market underpins the firm's commercial relationships. The firm maintains active partnerships with multiple established New York galleries — Bruce Silverstein, Fredericks & Freiser, David Nolan, Andrew Edlin, Kasmin, and Steven Kasher — and curates exhibitions for these venues.

The firm has expanded its service scope to include luxury real estate developer advisory, notably serving as art consultant for One High Line (formerly The XI) in Manhattan's West Chelsea, a role ongoing through Winter 2024. It has also engaged in community positioning through charity work, including a partnership with God's Love We Deliver at the 2024 and 2025 Outsider Art Fairs. There is no evidence of external funding, acquisitions, or technology-focused operations.

Name

Salt Mine Projects

Legal name

Salt Mine Projects

Website

https://saltmineprojects.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Salt Mine Projects is a New York-based art dealing and curatorial consultancy founded in 1992 by Damon Brandt, serving private collectors, multinational corporations, and museums with collection advisory, exhibition curation, and design services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Art Dealership and Collection Advisory: Damon Brandt has worked with collectors for over 35 years, sourcing and placing distinctive works of art with private collectors, multinational corporations, and internationally renowned museums. Revenue is generated through art transactions, acquisition fees, collection management, and curatorial consulting services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Salt Mine Projects is a private art dealing and curatorial consultancy that curates art exhibitions, advises private and corporate collectors on acquisitions and collection management, executes art transactions, and produces multimedia documentation of artistic practices. The firm operates with a curatorial philosophy that integrates ancient tribal cultures with contemporary art, serving UHNW collectors, multinational corporations, and museums.

Product overview

Salt Mine Projects is an art consulting and curatorial services company founded by Damon Brandt in 1992, operating as a single unified offering of art dealer and curatorial consulting services. The company provides collection philosophy advising with emphasis on integrating ancient tribal cultures alongside contemporary art, curatorial services for exhibitions, and documentary production through its Duane Park Studio Productions division. Additional offerings include DPS Design Collective for functional design collaborations, The WayWatch vintage compass collection, and art acquisition management including fieldwork, appraisal, restoration, shipping, and installation. The company serves private collectors, multinational corporations, and internationally renowned museums.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Duane Park Studios Design Collective: A fluid collaborative group of conceptually nomadic and compulsively curious designers, engineers, and artists focused on functional design and fine art cross-pollination.

Quantifiable outcome

• Refco Collection of Photography sold successfully as a single owner sale at Christie's, New York in 2006.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Bigelow / The Witkoff Group / Access IndustriesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Art consultant role on One High Line (formerly XI) twin tower project designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. Original project defaulted in 2021; recently purchased and scheduled for completion Winter 2024 under new ownership. Features artists including Not Vital, Richard Long, Sol Lewitt, Lorna Simpson.
• Edlin Galleries / Andrew EdlincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership with Edlin Galleries to support God’s Love We Deliver at the 2024 and 2025 Outsider Art Fairs, raising $30,000 and $60,000 respectively for medically tailored meal programs.
• Simon Watson ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Co-presented Leandro Júnior: Ten Paintings exhibition featuring Brazilian artist from rural Jequitinhonha. Also introduced Duane Park Studios Design Collective at this exhibition.
• Andrew Edlin GallerycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Curated Parallel Phenomena exhibition blurring boundaries between 'outsider' and 'insider' artists, featuring Carroll Dunham, Susan Te Kahurangi King, Gladys Nilsson, and Peter Saul.
• Kasmin GallerycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Consulted on PreModern component of Between the Earth and Sky exhibition exploring phenomenological and transcendental experience of totemic sculpture at Kasmin Gallery, New York.
• Bruce Silverstein Gallery / Liam Derik Van LoenencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Curated de-FORMATIONS group show featuring André Kertész's Distortions series. Collaboration with gallery director Liam Derik Van Loenen to assemble provocative exhibition including works by Ana Mendieta, John Coplans, David Smith, and Sarah Lucas.
• David Nolan GallerycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Multiple collaborations including George Grosz: Politics and His Influence (2016) and Mad Women: Kornblee, Jackson, Saidenberg, and Ward Art Dealers on Madison Avenue in the 1960s (2022).
• Andrew Zuckerman / ChambercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Salt Mine Projects acted as Andrew Zuckerman's advisor on integrating ancient art and authentic artifacts from tribal cultures into the Chamber Collection #2 exhibition titled Human/Nature. Exhibition successfully launched October 2015 with 46 pieces from around the world at Chamber gallery in Chelsea, New York.
• Tim Hunt / Hunt Fine ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Joint curation of Two-D exhibition featuring figurative and abstract art from Africa and the Pacific. Exhibition held in an apartment gallery off Fifth Avenue with public hours and salon style evenings.
• Third Streaming / Christophe Daviet-Thery ÉditionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Collaboration on Howdy Bamington project by John Bock, an artist's book that evolved into a collection of 30 'puppets' presented at Third Streaming gallery in New York.
• Fredericks & Freiser Gallery / Andrew FreisercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Co-curated Images from a Floating World exhibition on 18th & 19th century Japanese erotic prints and their echo in modern and contemporary art. Also co-curated DAMN! THE DEFIANT in 2019.
• Steven Kasher GallerycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Co-curated Between the Bricks and the Blood: Transgressive Typologies exhibition examining the grid as installation to disrupt social categories. Featured works by Mapplethorpe, Emory Douglas, Bechers, Walker Evans, Mike Disfarmer, and Warhol.
• Christie'scoreOthersFacilitated the sale of the Refco Collection of Photography as a single owner sale at Christie's New York in 2006. Also connected to Christie's through various collection references.
• Ricco/Maresca GalleryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Trust the Peeple! exhibition featuring William Kent's unique slate prints from the 1960s. Special thanks to William Kent Art Foundation and Margaret Bodell.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Christie's: Major global auction house handling high-end art sales and private collection transactions; Salt Mine Projects has direct partnership history (Refco sale) and is comparable as a transaction intermediary for high-value art.
• Phillips: Global auction house with growing contemporary art focus and private advisory services; broadly comparable to Salt Mine Projects in serving collectors and curating sales of significant works.
• Sotheby's: Premier global auction house with auction, private sale, and advisory divisions serving HNW collectors; comparable to Salt Mine Projects in facilitating placement of museum-quality works with collectors and institutions.

Direct peers

• Pace Gallery: Major contemporary art gallery with strong relationships across museums, corporations, and private collectors; comparable to Salt Mine Projects in cross-cultural curatorial approach and museum-quality exhibition development.
• LGDR (Lévy Gorvy Dayan): Boutique art advisory and dealership founded by Brett Gorvy and Dominique Lévy, specializing in private sales, collection strategy, and museum-quality placements; directly comparable as a relationship-driven high-end art advisory.
• Hauser & Wirth: International gallery representing major contemporary and modern artists with comprehensive advisory and exhibition programs; directly comparable as a high-end private art dealer and curatorial partner for collectors.
• Marian Goodman Gallery: Established New York gallery known for conceptual and contemporary art representation; comparable in curatorial depth, museum relationships, and advising collectors on sophisticated multi-artist programs.
• David Zwirner: Premier contemporary art gallery with global footprint serving HNW collectors, corporations, and museums; comparable in advising on collection strategy and curating museum-quality exhibitions.
• Kasmin Gallery: Established New York gallery representing major contemporary and modern sculptors; Salt Mine Projects has collaborated with Kasmin on curatorial projects (Between the Earth and Sky), making it a directly comparable peer in cross-cultural curation.
• Gagosian: Leading global art gallery representing blue-chip contemporary artists with deep HNW collector and museum relationships; directly comparable to Salt Mine Projects in serving high-end collectors with curatorial expertise and museum-quality placements.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/salt-mine-projects

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Salt Mine Projects