Yvonne Force Villareal at the opening of the Bunker Art Space on Dec. 3, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Sean Zanni | Patrick Mcmullan | Getty Images
Streaming shows “Gossip Girl,” “Billions” and “Inventing Anna” made it on to many most-watched lists — and their characters became stars.
And alongside wowing audiences watching on platforms like Netflix and Showtime, they helped give rise to a burgeoning industry: art placement.
When producer Shonda Rhimes needed to source artwork for “Inventing Anna,” the story of Anna Delvey (real name Anna Sorokin), the high-profile fraudster who tricked New York City’s art and social worlds, she turned to art consultancy Culture Corps.
In one scene, Delvey visits a museum showing pieces by the British artist Cecily Brown — a collaboration between the consultancy and Brown to make precise reproductions of her art. “We get high-res images and — we did this with ‘Billions’ — we make perfect replicas of the piece,” said Culture Corps co-founder Yvonne Force Villareal on a video call with CNBC.
Anna Delvey, played by Julia Garner, in front of a Cecily Brown painting in the streaming series “Inventing Anna.” Culture Corps creates precise replicas of artworks for shows.
Courtesy of Culture Corps, “Inventing Anna” / Netflix
In early seasons of “Billions,” savvy viewers might have noticed work by celebrated artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, photographer Gregory Crewdson or contemporary painter Carla Klein at the headquarters of Axe Capital, the hedge fund run by Damian Lewis’s character Bobby “Axe” Axelrod.
Force Villareal is a longtime art insider. After studying fine art at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design she worked in New York City galleries, collaborating with people like art collector “Baby” Jane Holzer — known as one of Andy Warhol’s “superstars” — before setting up an art advisory firm that counted Laurance Rockefeller as an early backer.
In 2000, Force Villareal and former architect Doreen Remen founded the Art Production Fund, a non-profit commissioning public artworks, before starting Culture Corps in 2014.
The firm’s first foray into placing art in shows was on the reboot of “Gossip Girl,” a deal initiated by Remen through her contacts in the entertainment industry. The firm approached sourcing artwork for the show as if it were for a private client’s home, Force Villareal said.
A piece by Lucien Smith in the Tribeca home of ‘Gossip Girl’ character Julien Calloway in season one of the series.
Courtesy of Culture Corps, Gossip Girl / HBO Max
“We’ll work hand in hand with the set designer … and we’ll understand what character lives in that set,” she said.
The blue tones of a contemporary piece by the artist Lucien Smith reflect the sky through the window of the Tribeca home of “Gossip Girl” character Julien Calloway in season one, while other locations feature work by German artists Candida Hofer and Neo Rauch.
Alongside liaising directly with artists, Culture Corps works with other IP holders such as estates, or with the Artists Rights Society to license work — contracts ensure the replicas are either destroyed or returned to the artists after they’ve been used in a show.
“So, there’s no danger of work ever entering a market,” Force Villareal said.
Force Villareal is also a champion of women in the art world. As a student, she was inspired by the work of big-name artists such as Cindy Sherman and Barbara Kruger, as well as New York City-founded feminist group the Guerilla Girls, all of whom gave Villareal a sense of conviction for her own career. “Yes, I’m going to do this,” was the feeling she had, she said.
Art installation “Seven Magic Mountains” by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone, close to Las Vegas. The project was overseen by the Art Production Fund, a company co-founded by Yvonne Force Villareal.
RB/Bauer-Griffin | Getty Images
In 2018, Force Villareal was invited by gallerists Paul Kasmin and Danny Moynihan to put on a summer exhibition, so she curated “Seed,” a group show by female artists including Hein Koh and sculptor Sarah Peters.
“I was thinking about being a woman and the aging process and how ageism is something that so many women face, and that really isn’t talked about so much yet in our society,” she said of the inspiration behind “Seed.”
Culture Corps gained certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council in 2022 and in September, Force Villareal spoke at a Women’s Power Series event aimed at bringing more women into the arts, organized by real estate developer Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos.
Yvonne Force Villareal curated “Seed,” an exhibition by women artists, at the Paul Kasmin Gallery in 2018. “Big Mother of Pearl,” by Hein Koh, is on the left.
Masato Onoda | WWD | Penske Media | Getty Images
Indeed, real estate is also a key part of Culture Corps’ work, and it has provided art for hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad, overseeing original works for common spaces and licensing pieces for the bedrooms.
The firm also sourced a colorful sculpture by British artist Yinka Shonibare to stand next to 360 Rosemary in West Palm Beach, Florida, a building that houses Goldman Sachs and BlackRock’s offices.
Force Villareal is keen to help artists find new income streams. “It’s so important that artists, if they so desire, are expanding their studio practice to reach into new areas and have expanded audiences, so TV is a brilliant way to do that, where millions of people are seeing your art,” she said.
