FPX.ART | Free Port eXchange for blue-chip fine art

Welcome!

We want to provide tailored information ensuring the optimal use of your valuable time.

PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR CATEGORY: Collector
Consultant
Wealth Manager
Gallery / Dealer

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Free Port eXchange & ecosystem for blue-chip fine art

Confidential, secure, and legally compliant trading of certified fine art—only accessible to selected collectors, consultants, and wealth managers.

Search & buy

Our supply includes works by Picasso, Monet, and Warhol, a.o. If we don't have your desired artwork, we'll find it with our sophisticated research processes.

Sell art

Our secure, anonymized, step-by-step deal workflow offers your artwork only to selected high-profile collectors who meet strict, pre-defined criteria.

Top service

We combine state-of-the-art technology and data with a human touch. According to your preferences, we are always just one click or call away.

Efficiency

Due to our free port approach, we deliver globally within a lean process, cutting out unnecessary intermediaries and offering great value at low fees.

Access only to selected collectors, consultants, wealth managers, and partners

We provide tailored information and services for the following audiences, ensuring the optimal use of your valuable time and resources:

Collectors

FPX.ART elevates the experience and opportunities for UHNWI collectors in acquiring, selling, and managing blue-chip fine art and premium collections.

Consultants

Our advanced tools, technology, and expertise enable you to prioritize client needs, eliminating various inefficiencies of the market.

Wealth Managers

Our cutting-edge technology and legally compliant KYC, KYA, and AML processes introduce innovative ways to integrate art into investment strategies.

Partner

We collaborate with top art galleries, free ports, logistics companies, and legal and tax advisors to offer comprehensive full-service solutions.

BUY ART

SELL ART

We love art and technology, time to combine the best out of both worlds

FPX.ART is rooted in Morgen & Stern's heritage as a family office specializing in trading and collecting blue-chip fine art for generations.

Tillmann Woeske

One of the leading art entrepreneurs in Germany and beyond with a strong global network of collectors

Andreas E. Lohaus

Serial entrepreneur, Co-Founder and shareholder of ART DÜSSELDORF, lawyer, and tech enthusiast

Felix Holzapfel

Serial entrepreneur, accompanied numerous Fortune 500 and DAX 30 into the digital age

Patrick S. Lewis

MBA, cybersecurity and distributed ledger technology expert with proven sales track record

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

HOW DO I GET ACCESS TO FPX.ART?: If you are not yet a Morgen & Stern client or a member of our network, please start the onboarding process by clicking the "BUY ART" or "SELL ART" button below. You will need to provide some personal information for our initial background research. If you meet our criteria, we will schedule an onboarding call with one of our managing partners to discuss your preferences and learn more about you. If both parties are satisfied with the onboarding call, you will receive your login details and gain access to our FPX.ART platform and ecosystem.

BUY ART

SELL ART
WHICH ARTWORK DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE IN STOCK?: One of the most significant impairment risks during the sales process of any artwork is that it gets shown to too many wrong people. Therefore, we believe confidentiality is key and never show our inventory to the public! We are not just another marketplace; we have built a sophisticated workflow and platform to show artwork only to high-profile collectors within a safe, non-public space that have already indicated their interest in precisely this or similar artwork. Thus, we beg your pardon, stating that you must register first and tell us about your preferences before you get access to our premium inventory of blue-chip fine art. However, we can already tell that our current inventory includes works by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, and Andy Warhol.
WHY FREE PORTS AND WHAT FREE PORTS DO YOU COLLABORATE WITH?: Art & Finance Report 2023 by Deloitte and ArtTactic: 28% of art collectors already use free ports, and 43% are likely to use free ports in the future. Without free ports, international art transactions are more difficult to structure, coordinate, and execute.

Supply: Direct and digital access to the most extensive storage of blue-chip art.

KYC & AML: We can use existing processes and regulations of free ports.

KYA & Trust: We only need to certify art once while onboarding to our ecosystem.

Efficiency: We optimize taxes, logistics, and complexity for international art transactions.

Hubs: With a few free ports, we already gain global coverage, get close to our clients, and only need a few local partners, e.g., for viewings and verification of artwork.

Partners: We collaborate with all free ports that are fully legally compliant and well-known to collaborate with authorities to avoid any legal issues.
DOES ARTWORK NEED TO BE IN A FREE PORT TO BE LISTED ON FPX.ART?: No, artwork does not need to be stored in a free port to be listed on FPX.ART. However, before closing the deal, artwork should be placed in the free port to take advantage of benefits such as optimized taxes, logistics, and simplified international art transactions. In rare cases, it's possible for artwork to not go through a free port at all. For example, if the seller and buyer happen to live in the same country, state, or city and agree to process the transaction locally.
HOW DO YOU GUARANTEE LEGAL COMPLIANCE?: KYC & KYA: Our smart KYC & AML process provides complete comfort and confidentiality to our clients while also meeting all legal requirements. Additionally, free ports and legal advisors involved in the transaction have their own KYC & AML processes, too. Every artwork traded on our platform gets certified by leading and indepent third-party experts specialized in the respective artist.

Legal Advisor: We process all legal and financial matters of transactions only with legal consultants with experienced art and wealth management departments.

Free Ports: We only work with free ports that are fully legal compliant and are well-known to collaborate with authorities to avoid any legal issues.
WHY EXCLUSIVE UHNWI COLLECTORS NETWORK?: Sales process: Showing artwork only to selected high-profile collectors within a safe space offers a premium experience, avoids "burning artwork", and delivers best results.

Privacy: Our blend of exclusivity, first-class technology, and cybersecurity guarantees anonymity and security (ISO9000 and ISO27001 ready).

Experience: The best sales happen within trustworthy networks. Directly connecting buyers with sellers delivers the best results (we work only with serious dealers and no brokers).
HOW DO YOU GUARANTEE THE SECURITY OF MY PERSONAL DATA?: Developed to protect state secrets, to safeguard our clients' data and ensure secure transactions. We only store your personal data for a brief period during our onboarding process in an online system. After approval, we promptly delete most of the data and retain only your name and contact details in a non-hackable offline system located in a highly secure facility. Alternatively, you can undergo our smart KYC & AML verification process with a third-party supplier, ensuring that we do not receive most of your personal data at all. Upon finalizing the onboarding process, you receive an anonymous ID for logging in and conducting transactions on the online marketplace and ecosystem of FPX.ART. This guarantees that none of your personal data can be accessed, even in the unlikely event of a breach in our online system despite the implementation of the highest security standards.
CAN DEALERS AND BROKERS GET ACCESS TOO?: We provide authorized dealers with restricted access to list their inventory on FPX.ART. All artwork offered by dealers must go through the same KYA process as artwork provided directly by collectors to our platform. Brokers do not have access. However, we do offer an affiliate program so they can benefit from deals within their network on our platform. Find more information under the question "DO YOU OFFER AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM?"
WHAT ARE YOUR FEES?: Comparing fees alone can be misleading as there are often hidden costs. The best way to compare different methods of trading art is by considering the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). This involves calculating the difference between the total proceeds for the seller and the total price for the buyer, including all fees and costs such as provisions, logistics, insurance, legal advice, and due diligence. On average, for an artwork with US$1 million in proceeds for the seller, the TCO numbers are as follows:

Auction house: 47,97%
Gallery: 26,15%
Dealer: 11,50%
FPX.ART: 11,00%

The prices listed do not include VAT, import duties, or export duties. Often, the cost savings of trading high-value artwork through FPX.ART are significantly higher compared to other platforms. Additionally, it's important to consider the lower impairment risk and better liquidity, as well as the shorter time it takes to sell and buy art through FPX.ART compared to most of our competitors.

We are happy to provide you with detailed calculations, as well as further information about our services, fees, and their advantages.
DO YOU OFFER AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM?: We have an affiliate program available for collectors, dealers, brokers, free ports, and other strategic partners. With this program, you can benefit from every transaction of any of your leads on our platform. There is no exclusivity requirement, so you can still make deals outside of FPX.ART if you are able to source supply and match it with demand within your network. Please reach out to us to explore how you can make the most of our affiliate program.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA OF FPX.ART?: We established FPX.ART based on the potential business, existing network, and key learnings of Morgen & Stern, which was founded by Tillmann Woeske in 2010. Morgen & Stern had an average potential business of about $339 million per year, with $112.6 million directly from owners and serious dealers, including works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Claude Monet, Gerhard Richter, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Pablo Picasso. However, inefficiencies in the art market often made it challenging and time-consuming to convert this potential into tangible business. At the end of 2023, art entrepreneurs Tillmann Woeske and Andreas E. Lohaus met Felix Holzapfel and Patrick S. Lewis, who were rooted in the tech world. It quickly became clear that this was the perfect match and breeding ground to build FPX.ART, the first online marketplace and ecosystem focusing on blue-chip and fine art in free ports—only accessible to selected collectors, consultants, and wealth managers (exclusive UHNWI network).
WHAT ARE YOUR AMBITIONS?: We aim to transform the current opaque and chaotic gray market for blue-chip fine art into a transparent and legally compliant white market. Our approach combines the high-quality user experience of luxury brands with a data-driven strategy from financial trading, making blue-chip fine art more easily tradable assets. Our goal is to expand the current $65 billion art market into a multi-trillion dollar industry by providing valuable data and efficiency to wealth managers and leading collectors, increasing the supply of blue-chip fine art, and boosting trading frequency.
HOW DO I KNOW THAT I CAN TRUST YOU?: Trust is paramount in our multi-generation family office, Morgen & Stern, which specializes in trading and collecting fine art. We understand that trust is earned over time and can be lost in an instant. We encourage you to research our company, our team, and our partners thoroughly. Additionally, we are happy to connect you with other high-profile collectors, consultants, or dealers, who have worked with us, so you can hear about their experiences with our team and services firsthand.
WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON ART HIDDEN FROM PUBLIC IN FREE PORTS?: First of all, we believe that it's completely up to collectors if they want to share their collection with the world or not. It is a fact that for many different reasons, more and more blue-chip fine art is being stored in free ports. Jean-Luc Martinez, director of the Louvre, described free ports as the greatest museums no one can see. The Geneva free port alone is home to about 1.2 million works of art, with an estimated value of US$100 billion (including around 1,000 works by Picasso). The Louvre, by comparison, has 380,000. The Geneva Freeport is the oldest and largest free port facility, but it is just one of many worldwide. This means that we are "only" digitizing habits and processes that are already very common within the art world. At the same time, we offer benefits and tools to our clients to encourage them to share their collection with the world—without their artwork losing the free port status and gaining in value at the same time. Because at the end of the day, we also agree with Jean-Luc Martinez, who said that works of art are created to be viewed.
IS THERE "ONE MORE THING"?: Indeed, we are the first collaborative platform for wealth managers, family offices, and consultants to actively support collectors in managing their portfolios.

According to your preferences, we are always just one click or call away

E-Mail

Info@fpx.art

Phone

+49 030 5316 4864