The Exhibition - Collect Wisely

Paul Marks' collection of contemporary art reflects his interest in themes involving Time, the Void, Appropriation, Replication, Multiplicity, White and Black amongst others. Paul has served on the Contemporary Curatorial Committee and Acquisitions at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Board of Directors for the Art Gallery of York University, the Power Plant, and the MOCCA Collections Committee. He is one of the founders of Art en Valise, an exhibition space in Toronto dedicated to introducing Canadian audiences to new ideas in contemporary visual arts.

“Titus Kaphar’s painting Time Travel is part of a series of works in which Titus has attempted to reconstruct accounts of American history.  Specifically, he whitewashes a portrait of a black civil war soldier.  The message he sends centers around how we fail to recognize the loss of black lives in service to America.

Black Americans are contracting coronavirus and dying at an alarming rate that is disproportionate to the percentage of deaths in the white community. 

The racism that existed during the civil war still exists to a large degree today.  The whitewashing that dominated this painting sends a message to our nation that we need to address the serious injustice that is caused by the lack of adequate health care coverage for black and brown people. Up front, service-oriented jobs do not come with the benefits that many in the white community take for granted.

Time Travel has a much different meaning to me that it did when I acquired the painting.  I am sure that it has taken on new meaning for Titus as well.”

Monique Vanneschi is a private collector based in The Netherlands.

“The moment I was invited to participate in this exhibition, I started thinking of all the beautiful art pieces that I am surrounded with. I started walking around the house, realizing how lucky I am, almost taking it for granted that I can live the way I live. I enjoy all of my artworks every single minute of the day, I must say. But for some weeks now, I enjoy them even more intensely than before, when all was still hectic, and you were planning your next meeting or trip and didn’t have so much awareness of your direct surroundings. But life did come to an abrupt standstill and it took some time to change my mindset. I miss tremendously going to museums and art galleries, and although lots of art can be seen on Apps and in digital viewing rooms, it doesn’t come near to experiencing art in person.

I find it extremely difficult to pick just one work that is especially meaningful. There is a beautiful Edmund de Waal work in the kitchen which makes me smile whenever I go grab a coffee. Then there is the Rebecca Warren totem which I look at when having dinner, always discovering new colors in the bronze statue that I haven’t seen before. At my workplace, there is a Ger van Elk work on the wall, which shows a train driving into a station in a small tourist village in Switzerland which makes me long to go on vacation again. Then there is the work of Hugo McCloud in the former bedroom of our daughter, who is actually not allowed to visit us during the lockdown, which creates a big longing for her, but at the same time, the work gives me some solace.

Jill and Peter Kraus are active participants on the boards at a number of institutions; Jill is Chairman of the Board at the Public Art Fund, and a board member at the New Museum and The Museum of Modern Art. Peter chairs the Board of Overseers at CalArts and is an emeritus Trustee at Lincoln Center, where he chaired the public art program. The couple have gifted works from their collection to museums and institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.

"Every time I pass these two works together, I think of the isolation and insanity that we are going through in this pandemic."

“I have selected a work that I keep in my studio. It is a very intimate and ancient roman marble sculpture, possibly a Goddess that might have been part of a temple in a private home. She has been dated to be from the 2nd Century CE. Her proportions are quite perfect for being a small work (45 cm. tall). Her marble dress form is fluid and elegant. Although not intact, there is a serenity about this work that clearly comes from having survived millennia.

She has been with me for decades and no matter where I go, she is there—one of the few constants in my life. I find that having her across from my worktable, I am reminded that classical forms are timeless and so I try to infuse my work with that knowledge in mind.

This beautiful piece has been paired with contemporary photography, painting, works on paper, and my main passion, time-based works. On each and every occasion, the union has been perfect. Quite a lesson. To think that something so ancient and serene can have a dialogue with a contemporary work is a wonderful revelation. I consider myself quite fortunate to have this gem in my collection.”

Tiffany runs and curates the Times Square Space, which hosts exhibitions within the rotating empty offices of 1500 Broadway in the heart of Times Square. She is chairwoman of the Young Collectors Council at the Guggenheim and a founding member of the New Museum’s Artemis Council. She has a particular interest in emerging and “post-internet” art. Her personal collection features work by artists such as Tracy Emin, Item Idem, Josephine Meckseper, Joel Holmberg, Puppies Puppies, and Artie Vierkant.

“I have been thinking about Anj Smith’s work, The Combatant, during this moment. Anj’s beautiful, universal, melancholic work, set against a dystopian backdrop, encourages us all to bravely combat darkness from external and internal forces. The powerful work shows a person, looking with a direct gaze at the viewer, as creatures encroach on its mercurial body. Strength and defiance lie in the figure’s eyes, as they fight against the limits of their human flesh and against an internal psychological struggle; the challenge we face is both physical and mental. We are all united in this moment but also we are so alone and Anj’s work teaches us all bravery, power and defiance.”

Based in Mexico City, Pablo Sepúlveda is a founding partner of the architecture firm Legorreta Sepúlveda Arquitectos. His family’s collection includes works on paper, photography and sculpture.

“To some extent, after this pandemic is over or in control, the world will never be the same as we know it, or at least as it used to be. During these last few weeks of quarantine, Viviana, the girls and I have had the opportunity to see and enjoy every piece of art we’ve ever owned from a different perspective. Art has helped a lot in coping with this difficult time.

In order to enjoy every piece of art, I came up with the idea of doing my daily routines in a different room. That gave me and everyone in the family the opportunity to sit in front of a different piece of art.

Cindy and Howard Rachofsky have played a profound role in catapulting Dallas into a leading center for the collection and presentation of international contemporary art. The Rachofsky Collection has great depth in Post-War art, with particular strength in American and European Minimalism, Italian Arte Povera and Japanese Gutai, of which they’ve assembled the most extensive collection in the United States. In addition to serving on the Boards of many cultural institutions, Cindy and Howard have pledged their collections in its entirety to the Dallas Museum of Art. 

“Sadly, the Coronavirus has radically reframed several of the more unsettling themes explored in our current exhibition at the Rachofsky Warehouse, Psychic Wounds: On Art & Trauma. Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s artworks were informed by the fact that he was a gay man living with HIV. The discovery of the AIDS virus in the early 1980s and the impact of the AIDS epidemic in the 1990s brought to the fore extreme societal prejudices against the gay community and those living with AIDS. Similarly, this new viral threat has quickly become entangled with other life-threatening realities such as systemic discrimination, domestic violence, climate change, economic inequality, homelessness and mental health—issues that are often hidden, obscured, misrepresented or marginalized. In times like these, Gonzalez-Torres’s work reminds Cindy and I of the lessons we learned from the HIV/AIDS pandemic and how those lessons can usefully be applied to the fight against COVID-19. That is, at all times, and to the best of our ability, act with kindness and display compassion and humanity.”

But once the flour and eggs have been devoured, the vegetables digested, and any unnecessary snacks munched through, all that’s left from the grocery run is the receipt. I prop up those receipts in my mind much in the way Monk’s drawing is encased in glass and hung up high. They’re my last physical link to the broader world and the last semblance of normalcy.”​

I’m not wedded to one particular medium because even though I studied art history, I come from a very personal standpoint. Take minimalism, for example.  My parents are so boggled why I would like something so 'plain.'  But for me it has its beauty being minimal, and it is a very personal reaction to it and I just love it. - A quote from Gary Yeh's Collect Wisely podcast, #15 published May 1, 2019

It makes me feel more aware of the importance of science and medicine and the people that take care of us, that sacrifice so much for us. It makes me think about how actions have such a great impact on our families, our friends, our lives, and everything that surrounds us.

For me, this work represents the perfect metaphor for how society should live and adapt and connect with the environment and mankind. I have always thought of spider webs as a symbol of how I like to collect, and I have more spider webs in my collection, but living with this one has given me a whole new dimension of appreciation.”

The best advice is to study, study, and study. The more you look at art, the more you visit museums and fairs, and galleries, the more you're involved in seeing, watching, actually living. The more you create your own opinion, and that's what, I think, at the end of the day is important. Know yourself, take a position. - A quote from Tiqui Atencio's Collect Wisely podcast, #17 published July 3, 2019

It is again the case for this COVID-19 crisis, which is for me a brutal reminder of our fragility after decades of feelings of invincibility. I am looking forward to the world which will emerge from this breakup and the art which will follow it, or interpret it, or question it.

But COVID-19 is not changing my perception of the works in my collection. One work that I am happy to highlight today for its universal timeliness is this 1988 work by Barbara Kruger. We are at a time when we have to remember that behind every good, there is evil and behind every evil, some good.”

Collect meaningfully doesn't mean making money out of it, it's about preserving what I think is an important moment of the culture of today, and if you want to collect meaningfully you must go in places where people are feeling uncomfortable. I'm feeling very comfortable being uncomfortable. - A quote from Alain Servais' Collect Wisely podcast, #18 published September 19, 2019

Leo Shih began collecting in the 1990s and features artworks ranging from first-generation Chinese oil painters to contemporary work, with a focus on Chinese and Taiwanese artists. 

"Sanyu painted this marriage bouquet in the 1930s, when he had just gotten married and was also probably thinking that his artistic career was going to continue to bloom.  Unfortunately, that did not happen in his lifetime. Like a number of artists, his work did not receive wide recognition until well after his death.

In Marriage Bouquet, flowers are blooming inside the glass cover, even though there are a few leaves falling down to the ground. In a similar way, just as we are forced to isolate and quarantine ourselves to fight the coronavirus, illness and death, we should keep a positive mind and maintain happiness to face to the bright future which will be coming soon."

Based in Oslo, Norway, Erling Kagge is a lawyer, publisher, writer, and explorer and has been an art collector for over 30 years. He is the first person to ever surmount the Three Poles; the North Pole, the South Pole, and the Summit of Mount Everest. His collection champions young emerging artists, focusing on individuals who are just starting out. In 2015, he published A Poor Collector’s Guide to Buying Great Art and his most recent publication is Silence: In the Age of Noise and Walking.

"I need optimism, laughter, beauty, creativity, generosity and to see my girlfriend smile from ear to ear. Franz’ idea was to change Passtücke every working day."

You have to follow your own path, but obviously also, when you collect, you are not collecting only with your eyes, you are also collecting with your ears and your nose. So I talk to a lot of people about art, I listen to people, I read quite a bit, and I see a lot of art, and then I make up my own mind. - A quote from Erling Kagge's Collect Wisely podcast, #20 published December 18, 2019

For my submission, I chose a work we commissioned about five years ago for our living room , by the iconic English artist Richard Long. Made from white china clay sourced near the artist’s home and applied by his own hand on linen, the piece has an organic, personal feel that seems intimate, despite its massive scale. In this moment that feels dark and uncertain, this artwork has a relentless positive energy that refuses to bow to the moment. It radiates and welcomes you to each day — allowing you to draw on its dynamic nature to help power through the most surreal moments of this crisis.

For me, this piece represents timeless, natural movement and force. Somehow, I look at it and believe everything is going to be OK. I also feel grateful. It reminds me what I love most about collecting art, which is drawing inspiration from the genius and creativity of artists. I will remember that feeling and cherish my newfound appreciation for the art among us long after we move beyond this crisis”