Each week, CULTURED offers our readers a peek inside the homes of top collectors both Stateside and abroad. No two collections are the same, but some truly stand out among the mix. From Jarl Mohn's four-ton sculpture embedded in a wall to Nancy Magoon's Aspen temple to art, our weekly insights into how collectors live with their troves come up again and again in insider conversations and Instagram feeds.
While the art world is taking in New York Art Week, we decided to revisit some of our conversations with all-time power collectors—who will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the city's current offerings. If you're looking for a bit of advice on how to reach their ranks, or at the start of your own art-world journey, these are the influential figures to follow.
Tech entrepreneur David Cancel’s earliest taste of the art world dates back to when he was a little kid, writing graffiti with his friends and hanging around Keith Haring’s Pop Shop in New York. The first artwork he ever purchased—a “Stop Apartheid” poster by Haring—came from the iconic concept store. For Cancel, being an entrepreneur is the practice of crafting something from nothing, lifting it up with sheer willpower and perhaps a bit of a helping hand. Now that he’s comfortable in his own position, the Drift co-founder has been looking around to see who he can support on their creative journey. “One of the things that we were really focused on in starting the last couple of tech companies was this idea of an equitable company and representation for all different people,” Cancel told CULTURED. “I brought that lens to my passion for art and wanting to make sure, at least in my case, to help Puerto Rican, Afro-Caribbean, Hispanic, and Latino artists find their way into museums and into collections.”
Jarl Mohn didn't balk at the total removal of a wall of his home in order to install a four-ton Michael Heizer sculpture. It might come as a surprise then, that his impressive collection began on rather inauspicious terms. He was weary at the prospect of even stepping foot in the fine art world, and it took much cajoling from his wife, Pamela, to begin. “I was completely against it saying, 'The entire art world is designed to take advantage of idiots like us!' One thing led to another, and soon we were collecting,” he told CULTURED. In the decades since being struck by fine art’s arrow in the early '90s, the Mohns have established themselves as Los Angeles Medicis, pledging generous support to the city’s art strongholds.
Puerto Rico’s preeminent art collector has an unexpected day job. A psychiatrist for nearly 40 years, César Reyes has been honing his visual instinct to assemble a roster of contemporary artists that rivals the world’s greatest private art museums. Along with his partner, Mima, Reyes has amassed a stunning breadth of talent—a large Rachel Feinstein or Yto Barrada here, a diminutive Jenna Gribbon or Radamés “Juni” Figueroa there. There's a deep commitment to women artists, such as Laura Owens, Elizabeth Peyton, Celia Paul, Zilia Sánchez, Issy Wood—the list goes on. You can’t really talk about Puerto Rico’s artists or institutions without the Reyes name coming up as a generous cultural force on the island.
She has one of the largest private collections of photography. Her Warhol hangs next to a monumental work by Rashid Johnson. In her private museum in Steinhausen, the walls are littered with pieces by Richard Avedon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Annie Leibovitz. All in all, Nicola Erni is one of Switzerland's foremost collectors. “Whether in contemporary art, photography, modern art, or any other field of fine art, we are so privileged to enjoy this,” she told CULTURED. In her interview, the prolific collector shares her thoughts on her local scene’s most exciting creatives, and what criteria she considers when contemplating a new purchase.
In Aspen, one of the premier art-viewing institutions might just be the private residence of collector Nancy Magoon. The 9,560 square feet of land are adorned, indoors and out, with everything from postmodern installations, to portraits of Magoon by Andy Warhol, to prehistoric pottery. Yet Magoon maintains that her best art is the expansive view of the Elk Mountains. The collector, who also has an equally art-filled residence in New York, currently serves as a board member of the Aspen Art Museum. During the busiest week on the mountain town's art calendar last year, Magoon caught up with CULTURED to share how she managed to build, and is still expanding, one of the most illustrious collections Stateside.
The 2001 Ace Award Winner might be best known in the public eye for her work in fashion, beauty, and entertainment, but over the course of her life, Tina Knowles has also become an ambitious art collector and philanthropist. In 2017, she and then husband Richard Lawson established Where Art Can Occur (WACO) Theater Center, an artist empowerment organization dedicated to creating opportunities for young people “beyond their zip code.” For CULTURED, Beyoncé and Solange’s mom invited the magazine into her own collection.
