Collecting with Purpose, Part II

<Mounts her soapbox and clears her throat…>

I have a bone to pick with the art world. Well I actually have many bones to pick but the one in question today is how ridiculously snobby it is. On the one hand our little community talks about how welcoming we are to all types of people, and how every person’s voice should be heard, and how we want to represent the complete spectrum of humanity. And at the very same time, galleries and dealers are some of the snobbiest, most exclusionary, isolating entities and people on the planet. So, who are you? If you are going to preach inclusion and justice for all, then you better practice it too.

Just this week, I read a Town & Country article asking the question how young is too young to start an art collection. Truth be told, the article did not really offer an answer to this question and in my opinion it is a silly question to ask anyway. (For the record, I collect art on behalf of and with my young sons, so maybe I’m biased. But I still think it’s a dumb question.) My problem is not with this question but what some of the cited sources say about art collecting. One advisor who wished to remain anonymous (cue eye roll) said:

As with many things, a proper education is key. “It’s important to understand the culture, the language, and the rules of the collecting world before you saunter into a Gagosian or Zwirner. The surest way to look like a rube is to go in and say, ‘I need something for over my couch,’ ” the anonymous art advisor says. “There is a gentility to it that is learned.”

Yes, this is true, in the current climate, one should never admit to buying art that is to be hung above a couch even if that is the goal, but OMG can we please change that??!!!! Can we please stop. Stop with the snobbery. Stop with the pretension. Stop with with serious collector BS. Climb down out of your ivoriest of towers and meet people where they are. So what if someone wants to buy a piece of art to hang over their couch! Let’s stop for a second, just a millisecond, and think about what that actually means—wanting a piece of art for over the couch. The wall over the couch is usually a big space so the work is going to be large and highly visible. In all likelihood, the buyer spends a lot of time in this room. Over the couch has pride of place. For a homeowner, deciding what you want to hang over your couch and look at day-in and day-out is a really big decision.

MOREOVER, this person who has sauntered into your gallery looking for “couch art” has come to YOUR GALLERY and not IKEA or HomeGoods. They are TRYING to buy something good. They recognize that good art can be transformative and want to do better than an industrially-produced giclée print of a blue blob. So meet them where they are and teach them about good art and what to look for and how to see and help them find something that will make them want to buy the next thing. Don’t all “serious collectors” have to start somewhere?

Have you ever met an artist who would prefer that their work be crated up, sent to a storage unit in the freeport never to see the light of day again until it goes under the hammer for a massive return? I mean, that’s what we are all talking about when we say “serious collector,” aren’t we? Serious collectors often have collections so large that they don’t actually live with the art. They are just buying and storing in a tax-free facility. And many are buying low and selling high for huge financial gains, you know, investment potential… I have never spoken with an artist who would not take profound joy in knowing that their art is hanging in someone’s living room, being seen and enjoyed, and sparking conversations.

Yes, it is a big deal when the work of a young artist enters a significant collection of established artists or a genuinely passionate collector or an institution. But given the option between an investor-collector who may hold hundreds or thousands of works that they never look at or a novice collector who is buying their very first piece, I think I know the placement most artists would prefer.

So what if they want the art that they LIVE WITH to go with their decor. So what if they want the red one instead of the blue one? You gotta make a decision somehow.

And that brings me back to how we are collecting with purpose in 2025. When we are collecting with purpose, we may be shopping for something to hang over our couch but we are also shopping for something that will reflect our goals, values, ambitions, and personalities. Our decor becomes just one guiding principle among many other criteria. So when we walk into a gallery we can say, “I’m shopping for a large painting to hang over my couch that is all about ______.” You fill in the blank with whatever resonates with you. Collecting with purpose helps you clear the highest hurdle in the art-buying game—the snobby gallery gatekeepers.

If you’re not sure how to fill in that blank, let’s chat!

And if you are being snobby to novice collectors, this is your sign to lighten up!

<Steps down from her soapbox.>