Eric Van Speights, Principal
Objects Love Their People was founded by Eric Van Speights as a creative consultancy dedicated to developing business-defining cultural projects for leading brands, artists, and institutions.
For over twenty years, he has worked at the intersection of art, entertainment and design, helping clients conceive and implement strategies and experiences that penetrate markets, capture new audiences, achieve global press, and accelerate revenue.
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Prior to founding Objects Love Their People, Eric served as the Head of Brand & Experience at PACE gallery’s experiential art division, Superblue. There, he led the strategic vision for the development of immersive art centers across America and Europe, including the redesign of the 65,000 sq. ft. Miami flagship arts center featuring works by James Turrell, TeamLab, Es Devlin and Studio Drift.
During his tenure, he established key partnerships with brands such as BMW, The Atlantic, and SoftBank, while facilitating the brand and exhibition frameworks for a range of artistic experiences including King Pleasure with the Family of Jean-Michel Basquiat, an immersive collaboration with Alicia Keys and TeamLab, a 30,000 sq. ft. installation at Art Basel Switzerland with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, a six-month activation at London’s Royal Academy with Studio Swine, and a permanent installation in Miami with Yinka Ilori.
For nearly a decade prior, Eric was the Creative Director & Head of Special Projects at Sotheby’s for the Americas and Asia. There, he spearheaded the creative development of public touch points including global campaigns, tentpole events, and various artistic collaborations with Drake, Ai Wei Wei, Chatsworth House, and Visionaire; live artistic experiences with A$AP Rocky, Nick Murphy (Chet Faker) and James Gray; and brand launches with Samsung, Artforum, Loro Piana and Assouline.
Previously, Eric was the Graphic Design Director at Robert A.M. Stern Architects. There, he led the design management of projects in brand development, print, wayfinding, and web design for the firm and its clients. For the firm’s eponymous product line of furniture and fixtures, he led operations of the showroom in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, including seasonal campaigns, media partnerships and events.
Noteworthy projects include identities for Tour Carpe Diem in Courbevoie, France, the University of Michigan’s North Quad Residential and Academic Complex. His portfolio extends to print materials for the Museum for African Art, Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse, Long Wharf in New Brunswick, Canada, and wayfinding systems for Lakewood Public Library, the International Quilt Study Center, Bronx Community College's North Hall and Library, the School of Business at Wake Forest University, and The Kohler Environmental Center at Rosemary Choate Hall. He has contributed designs to an architectural glass series for Bendheim, and developed custom lighting for the New Residential Colleges at Yale University
His body of work has been recognized with numerous industry awards including Graphis, and Communication Arts. His projects have been covered by international titles including, The New York Times, W, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Interior Design and The Wall Street Journal.
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We design, develop, and produce artistic experiences that accelerate business growth by creating strategic frameworks tailored to our clients' desired outcomes.
We frequently collaborate with designers, artists, curators, architects and technologists to support multidisciplinary projects at any scale. Our extensive network, decades of insider knowledge, and familiarity with the artistic process allow us to build specialized teams that cater to the unique needs of each client and project.
Design & Integration
Events & Activations
Public & Private Programming
Strategic Partnerships