There is so much about art, and contemporary art in particular, that I love. The art I have collected over the years creates an environment where I feel most at home, a kind of sanctuary in harmony with who I am and what I like.
Contemporary art has more to offer than the purely transactional. Yes, the art world is a multi-million dollar market. Yes, the price of art is at times so inflated that it feels totally disconnected from reality. But art doesn’t only exist for the happy few. As an art advisor, I have seen time and time again how living with contemporary art can be transformative.
Let’s not get intimidated by the art market and let’s not get fooled by the perception that only the 1% can collect contemporary art. I recently met with one of my clients who has been buying and collecting contemporary art, through Partner in Art, for the past 4 years. Over time, I have witnessed how his home has been transformed in the kind of haven where he feels most happy. Each work of art has a story to tell, a story he can remember and relate to. Each work of art is a window to a different world, and like any good piece of literature or music, feeds the viewer’s soul and thirst for learning and understanding the world we live in.
The market is a necessary evil, but this is not why people collect art. People collect art out of love, passion, curiosity, a sense of adventure, a willingness to go places that are unfamiliar; they want to enrich their lives, experience the world through someone’s else lenses and ultimately be moved. Art can be beautiful, compelling, intriguing, obscure, enigmatic, but never indifferent. Like any good writer or musician, an artist tells stories that at their best resonate with the viewer.
With Contemporary art you get at times, the added bonus of meeting the artist, developing a relationship, and creating that way an emotional connection to the work of art. It is no longer a work of art that lives on its own in a vacuum, it is a work of art that lives in the context of an artist, his experience and shared humanity.
[Originally published on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-collect-art-estelle-fournier/ ]
