Conversation with a Gallery Patron

Why do you collect art?

Art has an energy that you can’t get from a decorative poster. There is something about a real live thing that someone has created rather than something manufactured. 

What moves you to acquire a piece?

I like workmanship, but I really want questions. I want artwork that has ambiguity – what it means, how it was made, etc. Mostly what it means. I like pieces where you can find another possible interpretation every time you look at it, just about. It keeps the piece interesting. Keeps the dialogue going. Is the character happy, sad, hopeful? Is the dark thing behind them a cat or a tiger? Is it supposed to really be there or does it represent something the subject is imagining? Was this done from a reference photo or posed?

Comments on why people should consider buying here instead of going up to Chelsea

I believe in shopping local. I also like the range of pieces that come through LMG during the year and remain in stock. I like meeting the artists at the gallery.

Any other insights?

Art is great when you just can’t stop thinking about the piece. You love the composition or the colors or the meaning you see in it. Sometimes you fall in love with the brushwork – refined or impressionist. You find something you like and you take it home and make it part of your space. Hopefully it increases in value over time, but mostly you should collect what you like and what speaks to you. I love a mystery, but I also like a great multi-media piece, something really unexpected, or something that reminds me of a feeling or a place or a time that may have been part of my life or may not have been. Something about the art is really compelling or resonates with me. That is when I want to take it home.

Impressions of programs at LMG

I like the themes in the shows because it increases the range of artwork you get to see. How the theme relates to the pieces is another question to investigate. I’ve enjoyed demonstrations and talks about the artwork by the artists. Some of the shows have artwork with very strong points of view, which is interesting.

How and why would you refer to LMG?

I refer LMG as a local gallery with a wide range of art. Representational to deeply abstract – the artwork is current and fresh, but there are items in the gallery and in the shows that cover a lot of ground in terms of subject matter, palette and clarity. I see a lot of pieces at LMG that I want to buy – and I buy them when I can. If I can’t buy them myself, I want someone else to enjoy them.

Specific pieces over the years you would like to comment on?

I’ve loved so many pieces at the gallery – more than I can afford. We’ve invested in several Kent Knowles works, which I continue to really enjoy because they are full of mystery. We’ve also bought a number of works by other artists at the gallery. Things I’ve coveted: I really liked the 3-d pieces that said “for” all over them and had the wrapped wire work. The paintings of paintings of houses were great. I liked the bird-woman sculptures, the big glass whale head, the kinetic art that bowed, the four blue ceramic heads from the show at the old Stryker Center, the big trapezoidal canvases with the crowned figures on them, the Tyrus Lytton Pulp Images – there is a very long list. It’s nice to get a piece now and then – something that catches our eye and our imagination. It may “go with” some part of the house, but we’ve also kept walls and areas less defined so we can put a stronger piece of art up and let it have its own speaking platform. I wish we had more wall space.