Urban Culture Auctions was created by Palm Beach Modern Auctions following the massive success of the Studio 54, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Karl Lagerfeld sales (events with 100% sell-through rates and international press attention). Urban Culture Auctions handles a rising demand for a whole new kind of event based auction. What do we sell?
Urban Culture Auctions specializes in contemporary cultural artifacts salvaged from the electric deluge of entertainment and novelty. In a world where value is increasingly subjective, fun retains its status as the gold standard of all things desirable. Some examples? Pop art, Asian contemporary art, street art, urban rarities, vintage posters, photography, iconic furniture, pop furniture, music history, rare novelties, cool cars, salvage signage, pop objects, animation cells… Basically, everything from space debris to muffins bit by pop starlets. Where are we?
Urban Culture Auctions shares the Palm Beach Modern Auctions campus located at 1217 N Dixie Hwy, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460.
Meet The Staff
FOUNDER / OWNERAuctioneer
rico@modernauctions.com
Rico and his partner own a gallery frequented by the likes of Martha Stewart and Bruce Springsteen. Even as a young Cajun boy, picking berries and clubbing rattlesnakes, Rico knew he was destined to move to Palm Beach to join the rich and famous. In his downtime, he enjoys reading the newspaper with his dog Sasha.
FOUNDER / OWNERPresident
wade@modernauctions.com
After graduating with a business degree and co-founding an engineering firm with his brother, Wade waded into a successful career in waterfront real estate. He has owned and operated a gallery specializing in modern art and design for over a decade with his partner, Rico. He collects vintage sneakers and would rather be fishing.
8 yearsDesign Director
matt@modernauctions.com
Found working at a local frame shop, Matt has since served as photographer, graphic designer, webmaster, animator, video editor, sound technician, auction platform operator, SEO specialist, email marketing specialist, IT, JAVA software developer, muralist, and sign painter. He enjoys listening to long boring audiobooks, drinking too much (chamomile tea), and other staples of nursing home culture.
2 yearsConcierge Services Liaison
darin@modernauctions.com
Darin comes from a background of teaching high-school photography. He drives all the way from Boca Raton to contribute his expertise and passion to our photography process. His motto is, “If it’s not broke, we should buy more photo equipment to fix it”. His hobbies include taking beautiful photos of nature, watching movies with his daughter, and telling you that he read something about what you’re eating and that it’s actually healthier than we thought.
4 yearsCatalog & Research Coordinator
erika@modernauctions.com
Erika is mother to an aging cat, several fish and a daughter. She was rescued from a non-profit where she was forced to contribute to the well-being of others. She handles massive influxes of research with only marginal increases in apathy. Her hobbies include watching anime, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and writing long sentences where short sentences would probably suffice.
2 yearsAdministrator & Social Media Coordinator
carrie@modernauctions.com
Carrie has worked in the auction business for two decades but is most celebrated for her role as the voice on our answering machine. She enjoys collecting records, going for long bike rides and practicing Tai Chi with her daughter. She has a big dog named sugar and small pond in her backyard that would be perfect for hiding a body. So, you know, be nice.
8 yearsClient Services / Accounting
jackie@modernauctions.com
Jacqueline was technically retired and just entertaining herself with part-time work tidying things up at the gallery when she noticed Wade drowning in accounting paperwork. She casually mentioned that her background included accounting. She now handles the accounting for all three companies. Her family lives in Canada. Because of her French accent, she doesn’t pronounce the H in words that begin with H (which is funny when she says the word “hassle”).
