Artful Amy
Learn the CliffsNotes of collecting with Guggenheim
board trustee and AAM council member Amy Phelan
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| Just This Side 1999 by Jim Hodges
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IM OFTEN ASKED about acquiring contemporary art and what advice I’d give someone starting a collection. I began seven years ago after moving from Dallas to New York, and my passion for the art world has come full circle. I’m a trustee of New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and am on the National Council of the Aspen Art Museum (AAM). My husband, John, is on the board of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Additionally, I serve as cochair of the AAM’s annual ArtCrush summer benefit, while John is treasurer of the board of trustees. I mention the above because we spend time in both Manhattan and Aspen and have learned a lot about collecting by becoming involved in the local art communities. On many levels they’re the same. And the New York art world has quickly discovered what Aspenites already know: Aspen is an amazing city for contemporary art—and building a collection can be a pleasure.
COLLECT WHAT INSPIRES YOU
Successful collections grow from a passion for the
art itself, and I strongly believe in pursuing works
you really care about. Buying artwork based on
investment potential might garner financial windfalls,
but most collectors agree that choosing art
you love—and want to live with—is most interesting.
I truly love the pieces John and I collect. We’re
engaged by what they mean to us and what they
say about the world around us.
ASK QUESTIONS AND
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Reputable gallery owners and directors make sure the work of represented artists goes to sincere collectors. If you approach a dealer about an artist’s work with the same attitude you might when buying a lottery ticket, you won’t win many friends. Visit the galleries you’re interested in and get on mailing lists for upcoming exhibitions and receptions. Go often and get to know the gallery personnel and their artists’ work.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
As in any other field, success as a collector means a strong education. Some collectors consult art advisers. I do my own research, and prefer getting involved in the dialogue, knowing the work, the galleries, and artists for myself. I also talk to other collectors, artists, directors, and curators of galleries and museums to keep up to speed and find out about exciting artists I might not know yet.
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Amy Phelan in front of Scrumptious by Marilyn Minter. |
GET INVOLVED
The Aspen Art Museum is a wonderful place to get to know the work of established and emerging international contemporary artists. Access to artwork and the creators of art is available yearround through the museum’s various public programs. The bookstore also carries great titles on contemporary art and collecting. The AAM provides face-to-face dialogue with art-world insiders and global artists. Donors can sign up for international group trips with director and chief curator Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson. We recently visited Shanghai and Beijing for an insider’s look at the exciting and highly volatile Asian art scene.
Additionally, AAM’s ArtCrush gives the new collector as well as the connoisseur a chance to bid on a short list of handpicked works by a who’s who of contemporary artists. All pieces are donated by the world’s most influential and important galleries. There are very few venues, and even fewer public institutions, that can offer what the AAM does, and it’s here in our own backyard.
TAKE CHANCES AND HAVE FUN
The “learning and knowing” approach is important, but the contemporary art world is also about staying ahead of the curve and developing your eye. What’s significant or important about a work? Does it speak to you about what’s going on in the world or make you think, laugh, or cry? Which galleries are showing work that people are interested in? What young, emerging artists are hitting their stride? Can I live with it? Can I live without it? This internal dialogue begins with the first piece you consider and stays with you throughout the journey. Some questions are difficult to answer, but the challenge makes it fun and keeps you going back for more.
Insider Info
Aspen Art Museum, 590 North Mill Street, 970-925-8050; aspenartmuseum.org.
photograph by Kirk Edwards
| The complete article appears on page 254 in the Winter 2008/Spring 2009 issue of Aspen Peak. SUBSCRIBE NOW and get Aspen Peak delivered direct. |
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