Richard, Richard, Richard. Have you ever met someone who you just wish the whole world could meet? Richard Kathlean, is a dear old friend from New York… or Brooklyn to be exact. Picture a smiling, sweet, and highly successful TV producer who has a huge heart and a ginormous passion for art. Richard is hands down the most passionate and committed art collector I know - I’m talking wall to wall - he just doesn’t have enough space to hang it all. He is absolutely my go-to for art advice. So here’s our chat about the life of an art collector…
Richard at Art Basel Miami
Richard, you and I have known each other for a long time, so I have a good idea of just how much you love your art. Tell us, how many artworks do you think you have right now?
Haha. Give me a minute to figure this out... I often swap pieces out of storage so let’s see, I'd estimate 100+ works by known/gallery-represented artists, consisting of original paintings, unique works, and editions. I'm always adding, but I do also gift works to friends and family if it feels right.
Wow. Incredible. Right and tell me, what are some of the most impressive pieces you have?…and don’t hold out on me.
Well I certainly have some “names”, like Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein, George Baselitz, or Joseph Beuys - but it’s not all about that, I am really moved by current contemporary artists.
Oh man, Joseph Beuys I just adore. Ok, so tell me more about some of these contemporary artists.
Omar Chacon with Margaret Thatcher at Margaret Thatcher Projects in Chelsea NYC
Well, two of my favourite galleries are Margaret Thatcher Projects in NYC and PDP Gallery in Paris. Lately, I've been really drawn to Urban Realism. I have a large Erin Holly in pride of place - it's a night scene of two people carrying large canisters - no faces etc, but it's extremely powerful and open for interpretation. I also have paintings by Inigo Sesma and Mohamed l'ghacham in my bedroom because they feel so personal to me. Some of my favourite contemporary NYC artists are Omar Chacon, a painter (and good friend) from Columbia who has a meticulous way of utilising memories, and Visakh Menon who creates images based on compressed sound. I also have a painting by Stan Narten that's based on a flower from a vintage sci-fi TV show. I think I'm trying to say that I'm most impressed when a work is true to itself but lets the viewer in, to identify with it and make it personal in a way that allows the work to take multiple journeys - a work doesn't have to be by a big name to do that.
Agree. Also, adore Omar.
So, any juicy stories to go with some of these works?
Ha - yea nice try... Well I can share two stories about editions that almost got away... Several years ago Marlane Dumas released an edition of a portrait of Alan Turing. I was traveling for work at the time but tried very hard to get it, but I did not. A few years later I was in London for Christmas with my brother, you know Sunny... We were spending the day at the Tate Modern and at the time they had a separate shop for gallery-level art. The guy helping us was great and I had made a joke about how I missed out on the Alan Turing edition... to which he said wait a minute and disappeared. He came back about 15 minutes later with one of the editions. Apparently it had just been found in the storage room and they were about to put it in the gallery. I became a member to get a discount that paid for itself and the sales manager walked us to the restaurant and got us a bottle of wine and a round of appetisers while he looked for a travel case for the work. It was an amazing day and I will always remember it!
Marlene Dumas, Alan Turing, 2015
Another time there was also a work by Jack Pierson, an image that says DINNER/FEAR BREAKFAST/HOPE. I had bid on it at an auction in NYC, but the man I was dating at the time wasn't a fan, and I did not win in life or the auction. Later I found an edition of it at the shop at IMMA in Dublin and quickly picked it up.
If there's a point to my stories - museum shops can be a great place to find good art!
Incredible Richard. I love it. And what is it about a work that makes you know you just have to have it?
This is a hard one to answer. With every single work of art in my home, I knew instantly that I had to have it. And I certainly have regrets for the ones that got away...
Ok you're asking me for stories so I'll share one, I'm from Seattle and because of my mother, I was involved with arts organisations from an early age. I was 19 years old and at a benefit at a private residence for Cornish Arts School and having a conversation with two Seattle art world players - I'll share names because it's a fond memory and they have both passed now. I was discussing a painting of a Native American crucified on a cross, with Don Foster a major gallery dealer, and Anne Gould Hauberg, a doyenne of the art world. Don said the painting was horrid but I had thought it was deeply moving - it was a debate. Anne interrupted us and said, "Richard, don't listen to Don, what the hell does he know, (in jest)... go buy it!" But I was too late, there was a red dot when I got back to the painting. That funny moment taught me to trust myself, maybe because it was also my first art regret.
Oh what a shame!
What is the main reason you decided to collect art?
Jack Pierson, Untitled, 2008
As a teenager, I was at an art fair with a family friend, she was a major collector and we were looking at a work that was basically a bunch of printer paper stuck to the wall with long pushpins. I didn't think much of it, but she told me to take a minute and read the placard. The work was called 31 Days of Agony - and was created the month after the artist's lover died from AIDS. The emotion of the work really hit me and it introduced me to the idea that art could be so much more than something you just put on your wall.
Gosh. That’s powerful.
What piece, or pieces of art maybe, from your collection would you never sell?
That's an interesting question. I am Native American, from the Tlingit tribe from Alaska, and I have several works and objects from my tribe that I would never sell. I have a cannonball that was fired by the Russian Navy in 1799 at my great, great, great grandfather's fort in Sitka Alaska. That is something I could never part with, but it's not technically "art".
I do have a big family and my nephew Jonah has called dibs on a Peter Doig that is one of my favourites, and my niece wants a large Damien Hirst. So I feel rather obliged to keep those for now.
If you could own any piece of art from anywhere and any time in the world, what would it be and why?
The room of Six Gray Mirrors by Gerhard Richter at DIA Beacon. Sitting in that room by myself is the closest that the complexity of my life has felt at peace with itself.
Name some of your all time favourite artists and tell us why.
Peter Doig, Gerhard Richter, George Baselitz, Nan Goldin, William Kentridge. So many reasons apply, including that I have works by all of them. But those are also obvious - for good reasons. But I also love looking back in history too - I would love a painting by Gustave Courbet. Some of his work is profoundly beautiful and haunting. So I'm always looking to expand my comfort zone. The bigger picture for me is that I travel a lot and I enjoy seeking out art, some of my favourite pieces are from little galleries or individuals in places off the beaten path. Those works of art mean as much to me as the big names. For me collecting art is as much about the journey and stories as it is the work of art that you take home.
So does collecting art all boil down to finding work that will ultimately increase in value?
Any collector who claims to be unaware of a substantial increase in a work they own is lying. But it does not have to be the only reason for collecting. There can be a nice middle ground that is not offensive. However, my brother and I sometimes push it lol... He lives in Seattle and is also a collector - we are always sending each other links to auctions etc trying to outdo each other with the biggest increases in values with artists we collect... but we have our fun with it.
Advice for new collectors?
Richard Kathlean at an exhibition at Dacia Gallery in NYC, 2015
If the reason anyone reading this wants to buy art is for an investment - then there are a few things to think about first. First, choose something you would actually like to live within your home because the turnaround is not always a fast process. And you will likely keep the work for longer than you planned. It's also quite the task to sell art - there are commissions/costs and timing that are involved with selling that people don’t factor in. But if your mind's set on a big art purchase, identify bigger names you like, and follow their work, sometimes that can introduce you to new artists too. But if you are seeking out a big name, make sure the work is in the known wheelhouse of the artist - like you can look at it and easily say that's by... I'd also recommend starting with an edition. Pick a range you're comfortable with spending, say $2000-5000, and follow multiple artists, and when you see something you like in that range and it feels right then buy it. I think that's a good starting point for anyone.
Yes, it sounds like sentimental value is pretty important then.
Exactly. Art is not always a great quick investment, but it is more than likely to increase in value over time. But most importantly I'd say have fun with it. The whole process can add some joy and depth to your personal conversation with life. That’s worth the investment too.
Take the plunge and invest in works you love at the Studio BAE shop.