In an art world that often feels overrun with hype and speculation, Jeremy Larner is focused on something far more important: building long term careers. As the founder of JKL Worldwide, Larner has quietly established himself as one of the most strategic and successful artist managers working today — not by chasing trends, but by shaping them.

Before Larner was developing art world superstars, he was collecting art as a personal passion. After selling his entertainment business and retiring at age 32, he found himself unfulfilled. “I got bored,” he says. “I missed helping people reach their full potential.”

A lifelong talent manager, Larner had spent years guiding the career of MTV’s Ridiculousness star and entertainment mogul Rob Dyrdek — building brands, producing TV shows, and creating consumer ventures that defined a generation. But as Larner watched the art market from the sidelines, he realized that his true passion wasn’t in flipping million-dollar paintings — it was in building careers and shaping long-term cultural impact.

“Buying and selling art for profit is a somewhat interesting and lucrative field of business,” he says, “but transactions are definitely not my passion. I feel like I have so much more to give — and I’m at my best when I’m helping others achieve their dreams.”

That moment of clarity led to his first major artist partnership: Amoako Boafo. When Larner began working with Boafo, the Ghanaian painter had only one solo show and was selling works for $25,000. Larner leveraged his relationships with top galleries, curators, and museums to engineer a breakthrough — helping to secure a pivotal moment for Boafo at the Rubell Museum during Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019. Within months, a Boafo painting sold for over $850,000 at auction. Today, he shows with Gagosian, and his auction record exceeds $3.4 million — a meteoric rise that would’ve been unthinkable without Larner’s strategy and belief.

After a three-year run with Boafo, Larner turned his attention to Joel Mesler, an artist he discovered by accident — while commissioning a painting for his home in New York City.

“I had met Joel only once,” Larner recalls. “He came to my apartment to see a wall where he was going to make a painting — which I still own to this day. I was blown away by the intelligence and depth behind his work. His paintings are deceptively fun and commercial, but underneath they’re deeply personal. He’s such a fun and loving guy, and I knew I wanted to work with him.”

At the time, Mesler’s paintings were priced under $10,000. Larner introduced him to Lévy Gorvy, began promoting his work to a new tier of collectors, and before long, a Mesler painting sold for nearly $1 million at auction. His primary prices now exceed $200,000, and his work has been shown at major institutions, including the Long Museum in Shanghai and New York’s Rockefeller Center.

So who is Larner working with now? He won’t say.

“I won’t mention the names of artists I’m currently working with because I don’t want speculators rushing in,” he says. “I prefer to operate behind the scenes. I’m not interested in stepping into the spotlight I help to create for the artist.”

What he is interested in is nurturing greatness — slowly, intentionally, and with integrity.

“I’m a humble servant,” he says. “I work with artists who have tremendous potential, but may never realize it unless they have the mentorship and guidance I provide. Due to my relationships with major players in the art world, my strategy is simple: I take a young talent who is just as good — if not better — than other major artists, and I convince everybody in my circle that this artist deserves a shot on the main stage.”

Once Larner rallies the support of museums, curators, collectors, journalists, and key market forces, the magic ensues.

“It’s not about raising prices,” he explains. “It’s about putting artists in a context where everyone can see they’re one of the great talents of their generation. Once I’ve done that — the rest takes care of itself.”

‍