The colorblind collector
Private art collection of Arthur and Brenda Magazzu
Where does your interest in art originate, and what was the first piece you collected?
It was on a weekend in July of the summer of 1993 when we quite unintentionally became art collectors. We had just moved into Brenda’s dream home, a 250-year-old dilapidated Greek Revival and it was July, and It was hot, and I do mean hot. The windows in the main house, all painted shut, did not open and so the four of us (Brenda, me and the two boys) were huddled in an adjacent outbuilding that was affectionately known as” The Studio”. We were all in there because it had an old air conditioner that blew hot air, and it brought some sort of relief.
After discussion about how to escape the oppressive heat, it was decided that we would take a drive to a shopping mall to cool off. At some point in the mall visit Brenda left me with the two boys while she disappeared off to shop.
About a half hour later Brenda excitedly returned impatiently waving her arms asking me to “come see, come see”. As usual I just sort of loudly grunted “see what, see WHAT”? Refusing to tell me what I was going to look at, she took us all deep into an art gallery where there was a painting, a figurative, that she insisted she could not live without. The image was of a young woman holding flowers standing thoughtfully next to a tranquil stream. I never really thought about art or artists much up till then, but she was so excited about it and that made me happy. And so, over the next week after thoughtful consideration and discussions with the gallery, I signed a two-year financing contract for $3600.00, and the painting came home with me. The painting by artist Juan Mondero Rosell born 1947, hung in our home for the next 30 years and so it turned out that it was just the first of many paintings we would later take home with us. All figurative, all female form.
Was there a specific moment or piece that made you transition from loving art to collecting it?
Yes, definitely. In 2001 we bought our first major work, a painting by Roman Frances which hung in our living room. My mother was a stifled artist and a highly critical woman of anything and everything. She came to our home for a gathering of some sort. Upon seeing the work, she was stunned and all she could muster was the word "wowzer". She put her nose right into the center of the painting and suddenly began to comment on extensive use of the China Red that was front and center in the work. In great detail began to discuss with me how difficult it was and the skill required to work in that color and especially on such a large scale. She caught me completely by surprise with her approval, and it was at that exact moment in time we became serious collectors.
How has your taste evolved since you first started collecting?
It has never changed at all. We still love the same things. What has changed is our knowledge and what we are looking for in a piece. We are much more discerning in what we are willing to pay for. I truly believe that just as in the same way as an artist learns and grows over time, the very same is true for a collector. I'm embarrassed when being called a "collector" it infers that I have a unique skill that someone else does not. I do not believe that at all. I think for the most part we just stumble into things we love to do and eventually become good at it. In recent years I have listened to many interviews with prominent collectors and in each I have listened to I walk away with the same feeling and that is there is no magic formula to collecting and we really don't know anything at all.
How would you define the focus or theme of your collection?
I have definitely worked and tried so very hard for a long time to do this. I question what is this all about? Is there a rhyme or reason to any of it? This thing you spent so much time and money on? Just most recently I just finally had to settle on this one thing and it's not very profound. The theme of each piece evokes either a memory of a place or that of a moment in time of my life. That is it, that's all I got. Nothing more. Nothing less.
How do you decide which pieces to add to your collection, and what is your "must-have" criterion?
This question I can actually answer with some authority and this is the part where I think I can say I am an experienced collector.
#1 Hands: Must have well done hands and hopefully two of them.
#2 Legs: Must have two of them. Don't give me one leg and hope I can live with the other leg being implied.
#3 Symmetry: Must have symmetry I cannot live with a piece that the work is not centered or properly balanced in some other way.
#4 Connection: Makes me feel or remember something.
How do you balance acquiring emerging artists versus established artists?
Very simply put, I don't. We never had the pocketbook for well established artists but I learned I have a special gift, an"eye" as it were for talented emerging artists and that is my only focus.
How important is it for you to have a personal relationship with the artists you collect?
This is of the utmost importance to me. I am part of the process and an important part, especially with emerging artists because I love helping them. I want the one-on-one relationship, a collaboration and a shared experience. I am not wealthy, but I am still willing to invest what little I have in the artist. For me there has to be a personal connection with the artist or the work has no meaning to me at all.
What is the biggest challenge of being an art collector?
For me it's one word "restraint". I have a very impulsive personality and too many times my enthusiasm has gotten the best of me. Constantly, I must force myself to slow down, take time. Walk away and if you still can't get it out of your head, go back to it and then decide.
How do you use art consultants, advisors, or galleries in your purchasing process?
I like to think I don't "use" anybody. I find it odd that with well over 200 works in our collection no one ever reaches out directly to me and says, "go for this" and at my age now, it no longer matters.
But I want to tell young people starting out. Please do not be afraid to work with a gallery. When I was young and knew nothing about anything I became friendly with two different gallery people. One was an 85-year-old collector who was always trying to sell me something, Jimmy Apostle, He would not let me walk out of his shop without putting money down on something. There was also a very smart woman, Lois in another gallery very pushy, very expensive but I liked her a lot. Both of these people let me make payments, Both of these people forced me to buy pieces that at the time I could not afford and now more than 40 years later those same pieces that they forced me to buy are the most beloved pieces we own. Moral of the story; not everyone is out to get you. Have some faith.
How do you hope your collection will be remembered?
I only hope they remember me.
