Alix Holloway ’10: a Relationship-Driven Approach to Art Advisory

Written by Elva Zhang, Visual Arts Administration, ‘25

Alix Holloway is a 2010 graduate of NYU’s Visual Arts Administration (VAA) program and the founder of AH Arts, a fine art gallery and advisory firm in Chelsea. The gallery will mark its fifth anniversary this year—a milestone that reflects both the steady growth of her business and more than fifteen years of experience in the secondary market. Guided by a research-driven approach and a deep commitment to client relationships, Alix has built a model rooted in trust, care, and longevity.

Before coming to NYU, Alix studied studio art, art history, and marketing at Arizona State University, seeking to bring these interests together while gaining a holistic understanding of the art market. With that purpose in mind, she pursued the for-profit track at VAA, aiming to connect her creative practice with administrative training. During her studies, she found Melissa Rachleff Burtt’s course on the Dematerialization of the Art Market, an overview of dealers who championed conceptual art where nothing was for sale. This expanded vision continues to shape her thinking today by informing her understanding of the art world as a truly interconnected ecosystem and encouraging a more analytical approach to the market.

During her time in the VAA program, Alix worked at Mary Ryan Gallery, a primary-market gallery with a strong focus on prints. Shortly after graduating in 2010, she joined James Goodman Gallery, a respected secondary-market dealership with a fifty-year history. Drawn to its close-knit, family-run environment, she began in a front-of-house role and quickly took on broader responsibilities while working closely with James Goodman and his colleagues. Goodman, she recalls, was “a dealer’s dealer,” known for his fairness, generosity, and ability to conclude deals in ways that left everyone feeling respected. When Goodman died in 2019 and the gallery closed in 2020, Alix helped guide the transition—selling works from his personal collection, arranging for the donation of the gallery’s extensive archive to the Archives of American Art, and overseeing the placement of nearly 6,000 volumes from the gallery library to the Charles Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, New York. 

After the formal closing of James Goodman Gallery at the end of 2020, Alix founded AH Arts, where she now works as a gallerist, advisor, and certified appraiser, continuing to serve many of the clients with whom she had previously built long-standing relationships. She curates two exhibitions annually, most recently Italy in Dialogue, while also providing ongoing research-based advisory work and multi-generational estate planning for collectors. “I’m not looking for one interaction with a client by facilitating one sale,” she reflects. “I’m looking for a relationship, a dialogue that continues for years—a lifespan with clients and artworks.” 

That commitment to longevity, learned from Goodman, shapes every part of her work. Her day-to-day practice relies on rigorous research and connoisseurship—from verifying provenance and consulting catalogue raisonnés to working with conservators, assessing value, and ensuring that artworks move responsibly through the market. She considers her role to be educational, particularly for families newly inheriting collections and facing complex decisions. Every proposal she makes is guided by her clients’ best interests, with clarity and efficiency at the forefront. When I met her, she was preparing holiday cards for her clients and discussed the importance of touchpoints that aren’t just about selling—for her, earning trust requires patience, commitment, and time. 

Alix’s commitment to cultural communities extends beyond her gallery. She has long been active across nonprofit arts organizations, with a particular passion for contemporary dance. She co-chairs the Young Leaders Circle at the Joyce Theater and serves on its Development Committee, while also sitting on the Board of Directors for the Brooklyn-based dance company Highwild. She is especially motivated to support artists within small but visionary organizations, contributing to organizational development, fundraising, and long-term artistic growth.

As for the future, Alix will continue working closely with artists, collectors, and colleagues she respects, sustaining a practice rooted in trust, transparency, and listening. In today’s uncertain cultural climate, she remains grounded in a core belief: “We still deal in unique objects that require unique conversations. Technology and the way we communicate may change, but the human interaction—the connection through art, through culture—that doesn’t change. The more you embrace that and live it in your daily life, the more relevant you’ll be.”