Elizabeth Fazzare: How did you begin to build your own collection?
Pete Scantland: I’ve been interested in art my whole life, and studied art in college, but realized early on that I would be happier being adjacent to artists rather than being one myself. I founded a media business, Orange Barrel Media, in my early twenties and as we expanded to new cities I would find time to visit museums and galleries. I got involved at home too, joining the Columbus Museum of Art board as a highly unqualified 29-year-old. I didn’t have the time or resources to dedicate to collecting until much later, but I spent a lot of time in New York and Los Angeles for work and was able to piece together how things worked pretty quickly once I jumped in.
EF: What was the first piece you purchased?
PS: The first was from an artist friend while still in college, and as I came up through my twenties I would buy work I loved, mostly from local galleries. Once I decided to do it in a more dedicated way, early acquisitions were a Derrick Adams floater painting and a quilt work by Hank Willis Thomas. So it was a progression from a pretty young age but has accelerated as I was able to dedicate more knowledge and resources.
EF: Do you have a defining theme to your collection?
PS: The collection focuses on artists of this generation, with a particular emphasis on artists engaged with kind of the most important themes: representation and identity, politics, justice and other themes we’re navigating in this era. I’m really trying to build a collection that captures this moment in time and includes the most important voices emerging during this period.
EF: What designers/artists are inspiring you right now?
PS: So many, and as it would be impossible to name all of them, we’re fortunate to have recently collected works by Bambou Gili, Sarah Slappey, Sayre Gomez, Lucy Bull, Sara Cain, Guimi You, Hayley Barker, Che Lovelace, Oscar Yi Hou, Anna Park, Yesiyu Zhao, Deborah Roberts, Nadia Ayari, Jenna Gribbon, Emily Mae Smith, Kenny Rivero and Angela Heisch.
EF: In terms of discovering new artists/designers, what are your trusted methods?
PS: Seeing shows; speaking and visiting with friends, galleries, artists, advisors; Instagram, and other industry sources such as Artsy and of course, Cultured!
EF: What is the next piece on your radar?
PS: Works by Lauren Quin, Umar Rashid, Caitlin Cherry, Lauren Satlowski and Alina Perez.
EF: What is the last piece you purchased?
PS: An amazing 18-foot-wide painting by Jessie Makinson from her show that just opened at Lyles and King gallery in New York.
EF: What is the one piece that got away?
PS: Sadly, there have been too many. The artists I’m obsessed with that haven’t happened yet are Jennifer Packer, Salman Toor, Janiva Ellis, Sasha Gordon and others…but I plan to keep trying.
