Collecting art can be a tricky endeavor for those starting out. For the next generation, the art world landscape they inhabit is changing at a rapid pace as they embark on their own path.
The drives behind why people buy art are multifaceted. For the young collectors that Artsy spoke to, collecting is about purpose, whether that is through activism, in highlighting specific communities, or relying on one's intuition.Artsy spoke with 10 prominent young collectors, aged 35 and under, who shared their passions and motivations behind their art buying journeys.
Millie Jason Foster, Director, Gillian Jason Gallery
Walking through London's Soho district, it's hard to miss Gillian Jason Gallery's storefront, which is adorned with large windows populated by bright and bold artworks of female and nonbinary artists. It is also home to a familial venture that led to Millie Jason Foster's first introduction to art collecting. "I really started building my collection when my mother, Elli, and I decided to take on my grandmother's gallery and solely [champion] the artworks of women," said Jason Foster, who is a director at the gallery. Growing up, she witnessed her grandmother, Gillian Jason, who founded the gallery in 1982, spotlighting "brilliant women at a time where female artists really were not being championed," Jason Foster said.
"I'm very much drawn to original works on canvas, oil, and acrylic on canvas," she said. "I don't necessarily have a particular medium. I have clients and friends who say, 'Well, how do you decide what goes in your collection? Does one piece fit with another?' And I always say to them that collecting is like building a wardrobe. You have amazing statement pieces that you buy because you think they're brilliant. But when you put everything together it's still in essence of you and what your tastes are."
Jason Foster approaches her collection from both an academic and a personal angle. With a background in investment banking, she is interested in art as an alternative asset, but doesn't imply art is merely a financial transaction-it's also a social transaction and personal investment, she noted.
"I have a lot of friends in corporate jobs who [ask], 'How can I give back socially?'" she said. The answer? Support artists, especially up-and-coming female artists: "I always think about it from a personal perspective. Do I love the piece of art? Do I want to look at it on my wall every day?"
For Jason Foster, the joy of collecting comes from purchasing pieces and then witnessing the progression of the artist's career over time. It's an approach to collecting that encompasses the very ethos and mission of her family's gallery.
