Celebrity art dealer Jean David-Malat opens gallery with Instagram sensation Henrik Uldalen

For Jean David-Malat, the irrepressibly charmant art dealer to the stars, buying art is a rite of passage - just like getting married, or having children. “Celebrities buy art like everyone. When you have the house, the family, why not? Then you need the art,” he declares.

“It’s a good way to entertain when you have dinner in your house - just like talking about wine. It’s also about stature: if someone has a Jeff Koons or a Damien Hirst, they’re proud of it.”

The 43-year-old is sitting in his new gallery next to Claridges, which opens its doors to the public today. The well-connected Malat is one of the most powerful people in the art world, and has worked with a glittering roll call of friends and clients: Kate Moss, Bono, Madonna, Gordon Ramsay, Dolce and Gabbana... “You want a Picasso, I have a Picasso, you want a Bacon I can find you a Bacon, a Condo, I can find you a Condo,” he assures me.

Men’s fashion magazines adore him for his sharp personal style. He favours tailoring by Ozwald Boateng, a friend from his modelling days. 

If the inside track on art dealing to the beau monde is what you seek, Malat is your man: “Pierce Brosnan is an art collector, Lionel Richie, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West of course...Will. I. Am and the Black Eyed Peas are very into art. Creative people like art; if they don’t, it’s not normal - they’re artists themselves. Madonna was dating Jean-Michel Basquiat in the Eighties, so she has a lot of his art.”

But Malat’s mission is to open the door to would-be art collectors and budding artists. Known for championing emerging names, the first exhibition at the JD Malat Gallery showcases the work of Henrik Uldalen, a self-taught artist he discovered on Instagram just eighteen months ago.

“No limitations, just pure expression,” says the South Korea-born, London-based Norwegian artist Uldalen of the exhibition of oil paintings, titled Metanoia. Each painting depicts a human figure undergoing a moment of transformation, half obscured by thick layers of impasto. The effect is otherworldly, yet familiar.

It would have been a shame if Uldalen had remained in obscurity; but thanks to Instagram (666k followers at time of writing), and now to Malat, worldwide appreciation of his work is reaching giddy heights. "Establishing professsional relationships by connecting on Instagram is the future of uncovering the next generation of artists," says Malat.

Malat gave ￡15,000-worth of prints to the first 30 people to step through the door this morning: the cynic in me screams publicity stunt, but Malat is truly keen to share his passion for Uldalen’s work - rather than simply to make a fast buck. “I don’t look straight away at the commercial side; of course, you need to make money because it’s a business, but firstly you need to go with your passion, with your feeling. And if that’s real, the collector will feel it, and they will buy it.

“I’m so happy to see Henrik's rise. We’ve come a long way from a discussion we had in Soho House a few months ago, and now his exhibition is on the wall...when he came and saw it he was very sensitive to it. He’s young, you know? 31 years old. It gave me a good feeling,” he admits earnestly.

“Of course, I often deal with masterpieces, if that’s what clients want - but the way it feels to push a young artist internationally, and give collectors the opportunity to buy before the price goes up -  that’s very exciting. You need to create a desire, a buzz.

“Natalie Imbruglia loves Henrik’s work - she posted a picture on her Instagram from the VIP opening. She loved it. My son, who is seven, gave her a tour of the gallery, because I was so busy. I love Natalie, she’s so sweet and very sensitive to art.”

At the moment, Uldalen’s work is accessible to the first-time art buyer. “Henrik starts at about ￡7,000 and goes up to ￡40,000; new collectors don’t want to spend so much at the beginning, they want to find their feet,” explains Malat. “After that, it becomes a passion. You buy one, then you buy another - two, three, four.

“One of my first clients eight years ago bought his first painting because of the birth of his daughter, as a present for his wife. Now, he’s got maybe 250. He started buying, selling - it’s a great feeling to introduce people to it.”

It's easy to see why Malat’s celebrity clientele trust him so. He possesses the distinct quality of authenticity in spades- and there’s no hard sell involved.

“I sell art, but I don’t sell it,” he says. "It’s a long term process. I’m never in a rush, I just advise; it’s a personal relationship. I have very private moments with my clients. It’s like being a doctor in a way...I sit, I exchange ideas and stories. Building a relationship and trust with a client is a big part of it; the most important thing is to enjoy yourself, not to think straight away about the investment, and to go with what you feel.”

It would be very easy for someone like Malat to become hubristic, but his knack of humility, I suspect, has served him well. “Whether people are celebrities or not, they’re the same. I don’t focus only on celebrities. I travel a lot, I’m very social, I go to a lot of important parties to network - which is nice to do, but it’s also something you have to do if you’re an art dealer. You’re invited everywhere. Art Basel in Sweden, Basel Miami in December, FIAC in Paris, Frieze..."

I arrived at the JD Malat Gallery feeling like an intruder; I left feeling like an insider. And that, I think, is Malat’s magic in action.

JD Malat Gallery, 30 Davies Street, Mayfair, London W1K 4NB; jdmalat.com