Palm Beach’s New Power Couple Nick Hissom & Kameron Ramirez

Photos by Nick Mele

When Nick Hissom and Kameron Ramirez first met at Soho House in 2018, they never thought they would end up living in Palm Beach together. At 26, Nick, the stepson of Steve Wynn, was rocking the music industry, and 19-year-old Kameron was working in film. They were two Millennials living their best bicoastal lives. But Covid changed everything, and as New Yorkers flocked to Florida and real estate boomed, so did the art market. Now, as cofounders of Aktion Art—which they run out of Nick’s step-father, Steve Wynn’s art gallery on Worth Avenue—they reign as the new “Power Couple of Palm Beach.”

Jackie & John Kennedy & CZ & Winston Guest

In a town where other power couples have included Jackie & John F. Kennedy, CZ & Winston Guest, Dina Merrill & Stan Rumbough, Estée & Joseph Lauder, Hilary Geary & Wilbur Ross, and even Ivana & Donald Trump, how is it that a young, unmarried, gay couple could wield such influence in Palm Beach?

Like many of the younger generation who found themselves isolating with their families on Palm Beach Island during Covid, Nick pivoted in 2020 to serve as the director of his family’s Wynn Fine Art. Specializing in museum-quality masterworks, the gallery that showcases the work in Steve Wynn’s collection opened on the upper level of The Esplanade in 2019. Picasso, Monet, Basquiat, Gauguin, Renoir, Bacon, Van Gogh, Warhol, Modigliani, and Lichtenstein are just a few of the artists in the collection. Nick curated two shows for Wynn Fine Art’s return-from-Covid season in 2020-2021: Master Works by Roy Lichtenstein featuring seven paintings by the world-famous pop artist from the1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, and Warhol x Basquiat, which featured a selection of works by Andy and Jean-Michel. Both exhibits were widely covered by the media, including Town & Country, Artnet, and The Palm Beach Post.

Growing Up Surrounded by Masterpieces

When I asked Nick about growing up with Steve Wynn -the king of Vegas and an important collector, as his step father, he confided, “Growing up surrounded by art was an amazing opportunity and training exercise for me. I’ve been lucky to spend time living alongside masterpieces and learning to understand what comes with it. The best-of-the-best art dealers, collectors, auction house executives, critics, conservators, designers, and entrepreneurs are all a staple of the day-to-day life and culture that surrounds and follows each of these kinds of masterpiece works. So, to have such proximity to them, within my family’s homes, has been an enormous privilege, responsibility, and learning opportunity.”

Institut le Rosey & A SAFTA Award

Born and raised in London, Nick’s mother, Andrea Hissom, married Steve Wynn in 2011. Nick was educated at Institut Le Rosey and the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in History, Anthropology, and Art before establishing Aktion Art with Kameron. He also supports numerous charities, including Children International, UNICEF, AmfAR, Make-a-Wish, Share-the-Meal, a host of donations to private individuals in need, as well as a variety of LGBTQ causes.

Originally from Palm Springs, Kameron moved to New York in 2018, where he founded a creative and directive agency called Red Button. Specializing in film, fine arts, television, advertising, talent, and directing, Red Button created award-winning productions in collaboration with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube RED, and ABC. At 21, Kameron was nominated for a SAFTA Award for his record-breaking production A Very Bonang Year, featuring South African Superstar Bonang Matheba, making him the youngest recipient of the award. His father is from Nicaragua, so he speaks Spanish fluently, which is helpful in the art world today. He is also a member of the junior Luminaries Committee of the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC.

Off Duty Life

“When Kameron and I are not working, we love spending time with friends, playing padel, running, biking, going to the gym, and boating. Kameron is a certified licensed captain and so can drive a variety of boats, and we love being by the beach and in the sea. We’re pretty relaxed and healthy during the Palm Beach season – and love taking advantage of all the sun and amenities the community and island has to offer. At night, we enjoy the social scene, too. Art never sleeps so it’s always exciting being out and seeing people, hosting events at our gallery, and supporting other local businesses, friends, and charities,” said Nick.

Kevin HEES

Kameron’s eye for talent led to the discovery of Aktion Art’s first artist, Kevin HEES. (HEES: Honor, Empathy, Energy, and Strength). Kameron oversaw the production of HEES’ early works and exhibitions as well as an artist-in-residency program at the Paris Elysée. The series, titled PARIS 2020 went on to become a major establishing body of work for the artist and the gallery, selling out to collectors and foundations throughout the US and Europe. His works were recently exhibited at the Norton Museum of Art in Palm Beach, the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC, and have been auctioned at Sotheby’s.

ThankYouX

While working with the Museum of Arts and Design, Kameron discovered emerging artist ThankYouX (née Ryan Wilson) as well. Inspired by Andy Warhol, but with a De Kooning-esque aesthetic of his own, Ryan began his career graffitiing street stencils in spray paint in homage to the late legend. ThankYouX’s work has been placed into some of the world’s most prominent collections, and he has also become one of the leading artists in the NFT and hybrid digital-physical art space, most recently with record-breaking auctions at Phillips and Sotheby’s, as well as a widely acclaimed collaboration with Hans Zimmer.

Nick told us, “Working in the art world in Palm Beach during this rapid change via Covid, we saw the need for a faster-paced art advisory, which specializes in younger contemporary blue-chip and emerging artists, but whose work still makes sense displayed alongside the museum-quality works of collectors here.” Aktion Art is both a primary gallery and a secondary market dealer and advisory, servicing both their collectors’ and artists’ needs. With their experience curating collaborative shows alongside the likes of Haring, Hirst, Lichtenstein, Warhol, and Basquiatas as well as dealing to top-tier collectors from around the world, Nick and Kameron use their unique network and platform to create opportunities for the galleries’ roster like no other.

Connor Addison & Nick Hornby

Nick and Kameron began working with two additional artists this year, Connor Addison and Nick Hornby. In addition to managing the careers of these artists, Kameron oversees the production of six to eight exhibits a year for the gallery in Palm Beach and has even bigger plans for the year ahead. “We want to expand to another location, travel and attend more art fairs like Frieze London and New York, Scope in Mexico, and Art Basel Miami. We want to get the Aktion Art name out there, develop new artists and clients and become a household name for people who love art.”

Tommy Hilfiger, Picasso, Léger & Matisse

Palm Beach neighbor Tommy Hilfiger was just one of the bold-faced names, along with an attractive crowd of young people from some of the most illustrious families in Palm Beach, to attend the opening of “Still and Still Moving” by acclaimed British Artist Nick Hornby at Aktion Art x Wynn Fine Art in March 2022. The art—described by Nick as “cubist figurative sculpture”—was juxtaposed next to works by Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, and Henri Matisse from the Wynn Collection, all of whom are major influences on Hornby and his work. The gallery featured seven pieces in an array of materials that perfectly communicate both their abstract and figurative nature. And Hornby’s art-historical perspective combined with his unique sense of scale allows the sculptor to transform the smaller-sized works on display in the gallery into the monumental site-specific works for which he is known. Hornby took on a cubist approach in combining digital software with traditional materials such as bronze, steel, granite, and marble to create works that cast expanding shapes, silhouettes, and shadows in a unique way. “The show was a sell out,” said Nick.

Hamish Bowles

“Palm Beach is such a cool place, and so it was exciting to bring such a big star in the art world like Nick Hornby here and to introduce him to so many high-level collectors who have the space to show his type of work. The larger homes and larger gardens of Palm Beach are perfect for his monumental site-specific work and for our art-savvy Palm Beach collectors who are also a major influence in New York,” he continued.

Born in 1980, Hornby is a student of the prestigious Slade School of Art and Chelsea College of Art. Hornby was awarded the University of Arts London Sculpture Prize and has exhibited at the Tate Britain, The Southbank Centre, Leighton House London, CASS Sculpture Foundation, and the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge. Internationally, Hornby has exhibited at The Museum of Arts and Design New York, Ponznan Bienalle, Poland, and Eyebeam (New York). Also, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors, his work has been reviewed by The New York Times, Frieze, Artforum, The Financial Times, Architectural Digest, and Vogue. Hamish Bowles is said to be a fan.

Jane Holzer & Nick’s 30th in St. Tropez

This summer, friends joined Nick and Kameron in St. Tropez to celebrate Nick’s 30th birthday. On an Instagram post about the week-long event, he wrote, “Thank you to all my friends who made such a huge effort to make this weekend so special. I am so proud of what Kameron Ramirez and I have accomplished with Aktion Art and all we are continuing to build. More updates on our Tour des Artes through Europe to come – and I am beyond excited to welcome our collectors next year!” This summer they also visited their artists and collectors in London, Paris, Barcelona, and Tokyo, and ended their travels in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Aktion Art is curating a show at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art featuring Warhol, Basquiat, Haring, HEES, Kristin McIver, and ThankYouX, in collaboration with Warhol muse and Palm Beach resident Jane Holzer. The exhibition runs through January 2nd, 2023.

Work & Play Together 24/7

How is it that two young men can work and play together 24/7 as they do? Kameron says, “Although we work together, we have very different perspectives and skill sets. I enjoy finding, discovering, and scouting artists. My favorite part about my job is meeting people. Nick is a tastemaker and is able to see the potential in art and artists. He looks to the future and is great at promoting whatever he’s involved in. Nick excels at what I’m not as good at and vice versa. Certainly, there are challenges, but overall, it just works for us. We balance each other.”

We asked Nick & Kameron how they felt about being named Park magazine’s 2022 Palm Beach Power Couple, and Nick replied, “It’s a huge honor and joy for us to have been welcomed with such open arms into the Palm Beach community by such wonderful people of all ages, and like all of our young friends here, hard work and mutual respect has been a big unifier that keeps all of us happy and thriving as we enjoy this amazing island.

“I think that for some time, Palm Beach has been attracting a younger group of people, and Covid really catalyzed that change and put things into overdrive, which was also when we moved here full time and opened up the gallery. Covid created a huge growth in the community and culture of Palm Beach, as people opted for a more remote way of life, and this was followed by the opening of top galleries, retail stores, and restaurants from around the world that are all contributing to make Palm Beach the cosmopolitan center it is today—and we are so happy to be a part of it!”

“The art world closely follows real estate, so we have seen a mass interest in the gallery both on the Wynn Fine Art (museum quality) and Aktion Art (blue chip and contemporary) sides, and we are so thankful that we’ve had the turnout and community response to our events, and cannot wait to do more this season! I come from a background in hospitality, so applying that to the gallery and to our collectors, making it not just a place to buy art, but also a social and cultural hub, has been a key part of our mission,” said Nick.

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