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| Ross Evangelista in front of painting by Gerben Mulder; Tauba Auerbach, 50/50 Random (Fine) , Tauba Auerbach, 50/50 Random (Coarse) |
When I was in New York
earlier this spring I had the good fortune of being invited to our client Ross
Evangelista’s house for lunch. Since finishing graduate school at Fordham, Ross
has been working in the financial services industry. Mike, Ross’s partner,
enjoys moderate doses of art viewing and gives Ross plenty of latitude when it
comes to collecting. I was curious to see Ross’s collection, and I never turn
down an offer for a home-cooked lunch. Mike commandeered the kitchen while I
spoke with Ross about his relatively new obsession: collecting art.
Renee: Can you repeat what you were saying to
me earlier about collecting art?
Ross: There’s a tendency for collectors
to be obsessive. There’s something about collecting and obsession that are
related to one another. Collectors end up getting more than their walls are
capable of taking. Mike is laughing because he doesn’t think that’s healthy.
Mike: We’ve actually had discussions about
whether putting paintings on the ceiling was an option. Or could they go behind
the doors? That one little bit of wall space there…that I have...that has the
Buddhas on it…how about if we just wall-board that? That would actually then
give him more space. Limited wall space is a challenge—he can have two or three
pictures propped up against the walls. I make him shift them about.
Ross: So whether or not it’s true for
every collector, I don’t know, but I’ve spoken to a few collectors, and they
say, “Yeah, it’s kind of a disease.” Gallerists are always saying not to sell
anyone, especially the young artists.
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| Richard Misrach, Untitled #213-04 |
Renee: Don’t sell them?
Ross: Don’t sell them. Don’t put them at
auction. So what is our option? Basically, accumulate. I have spoken to some collectors
who say that they do sell some works, and they put others in storage. We don’t
have the luxury of storage, and I’d rather live with my pieces. What happens is
it all gets to be more fun. Somehow, they find their place somewhere.
Renee: What about the idea of curating your
collection? I have a friend who’s an obsessive collector. He decided to build a
closet to store his extra work. He curates his own shows! Every month or two,
he pulls out a new set of work and rehangs his apartment.
Ross: Wow. Does he do it himself, or
does he have people helping him?
Renee: He does a lot of it himself.
Mike: Thank you for that great
suggestion. (Sarcastic laughter) I like that idea a lot!
Ross: I’ve considered that also. That’s
sort of what we do, especially when we get new pieces. We want to live with
them, so when a new piece comes in, we often have to move others around. Really
it’s a function of size and space—like the Auerbach prints that I got from you
that are in our Long Island house instead of our apartment, because there’s
more wall space out there.I’ve considered
curating, but you have to rehang and repaint the walls. I sold a print in the
bedroom, and I haven’t even filled the holes in yet! Plus, we are in desperate
need of better lighting.
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| Jessica Eaton, Cfaal 241; Tauba Auerbach, Plate Distortion I. |
Renee: When did your art passion begin? Is this something you’ve been doing for a long time? Or is this something that started recently?
Ross: It started about six, seven years
ago. I’ve always been interested in art. I studied architecture, drawing, and studio
arts in college, but never had the income to buy art. I moved around a lot
before that. I lived in Connecticut, the Philippines, Germany, so acquiring art
never occurred to me, since I lived out of two suitcases for a long time,
because you’re only allowed two suitcases on international flights.
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I think what eventually triggered my interest in collecting was getting exposed to online art blogs such as Modern Art Obsession and Artmostfierce as examples, which are (were, in the case of MAO) run by long-time collectors. Both of them featured “Buys of the Month,” which would feature prints by respectable artists at reasonable prices. Phillips de Pury & Company was also around the corner on 18th Street. We would sometimes go and look there, realizing full well that I couldn’t afford to buy at the time.
Back then, Jennifer Beckman had started something called 20X200. I started out buying from 20x200. I must have 20 or so prints from Jen. Afterwards, I started purchasing limited edition prints from Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Photography. I also have a few limited-edition Aperture and AIDS Community Research Initiative of America photos (ACRIA) too. We try to go to galleries every week. When we travel, seeing art is definitely part of our agenda, which Mike doesn’t always like. You like seeing art, right?
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| Nicole Eisenman, Untitled; Julian Lorber, Untitled |
Mike: In moderation.
Ross: In moderation, yeah. For me, the
key to getting into collecting was understanding that art is accessible. I let
go of my fear of asking gallerists questions. I was trying to understand what
artists do. I think a lot of people are afraid of art collecting because
they’re afraid of asking questions. They’re afraid of not “getting it.” Of not
knowing. My real collecting started after I got over that hump.
Renee: Do you remember the first piece you
bought from a gallery?
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| Sarah Pickering, Abduction Sarah Pcikering, Fuel Air Explosion |
Ross: Sure. This is actually the first piece. (Sarah Pickering: Fuel Air Explosion). It’s part of her Explosion series. That’s my first real print from a gallery, from Daniel Cooney Fine Art. He’s a great gallerist, by the way. This is also Sarah Pickering. (Sarah Pickering: Abduction)
Renee: I love that one.
Ross: It’s awesome right? I had that framed at Bark Frameworks since
it’s so special to me. New York Magazine
featured them as the “best” framer in NYC. I didn’t know then how dear “best”
framing is!
Renee: Tell me a little bit more about her.
Ross: As I understood it, her body of
work then had a lot to do with keeping public order. She is from the UK, and a
number of her series depict training grounds for policemen, firefighters, and
investigators. In her photographs, you see what looks like a real street and
real houses, but they’re fake. They are training sets. She worked with public
officials to accomplish this. She’s a bit of a pyro, right?
Renee: Yes.
Ross: This is called Abduction. For this piece, she worked with
the fire department. They would create a whole room and set it on fire to train
firefighters how to look for a fire, how to fight them. They would leave clues.
If you look closely, there’s a gun on the couch. It’s a very active piece. Even
the explosion is a bit narrative. You ask, “How did this happen? Why is there
an explosion? Is this a war zone?” You don’t know because they are so well
composed.
Renee: It’s stunning!
Ross: From there, the floodgates opened.
I finished grad school around 2005. I didn’t have much money. I still save up
and try to look for good value and for what is interesting to me. Tauba
Auerbach’s 50/50 prints were probably my next large purchase. I can’t
remember if I bought all three at the same time, but I have three.
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| Sara Vanderbeek, Treme School Window, Baltimore Window |
Renee: I think you did. You have the Zoom In Zoom Out. It’s fabulous! Mike
said that you’re reading all the time, educating yourself. Do you find that you
want to get informed after walking into a show and being intrigued by what you
see? Or are you doing research first and then seeking out the artists that you
read about?
Ross: I think both. I am definitely very
research-driven in terms of what I look at. Even though I can’t add something
to the collection, I still read about it. I’d even include it on my blog, which
is a repository of works I own and works that I’d love to own. I have a lot of
art books. I’m not sure about the real purpose, I just like doing research.
Otherwise you are just a buyer. I don’t want to be just a shopper or a
decorator. I want to be informed about what I’m collecting.
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