BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors

Bernardo Paz

Instituto Inhotim – Centro de Arte Contemporânea e Jardim Botânico – Brumadinho, Brazil

Bernardo Paz. Photo: Rossana Magri
Bernardo Paz. Photo: Rossana Magri
Bird’s eye view of the Centro de Educação e Cultura Burle Marx at Instituto Inhotim. Arquitetos Associados. Photo: Brendon Campos
Bird’s eye view of the Centro de Educação e Cultura Burle Marx at Instituto Inhotim. Arquitetos Associados. Photo: Brendon Campos

When exactly did you buy your first contemporary artwork? Was this entwined with a conscious decision to be a “collector”?

The first work I acquired with the profile of what would become Inhotim was a work by Dan Graham, Bisected Triangle, Interior Curve, purchased in 1995. When I bought this work, I hadn't made a conscious decision to be a collector, but to create a public art space, open to visitors, that could offer an interaction between art and nature. That was the first wish that moved me to create Inhotim, not the idea of assembling a collection.

Does your collection follow a specific concept, theme or artists?

The Inhotim collection is always tuned to our current times, the moment we live, that is, it mirrors current history. Although Inhotim is known worldwide for its site-specific works, our collection also houses paintings, installations, sculptures, sound works, photographs—all types of art.

What do you value and pursue as your responsibilities as a collector?

Although I collect artworks, I don’t consider myself, in a strict sense, a collector, since my responsibility is towards the public, how this collection will make sense to the people who visit Inhotim. The creation and expansion of the collection is always based on broadening the public’s aesthetic, critical and political knowledge.

Yayoi Kusama, I’m Here But Nothing, 2000. Photo: Daniel Mansur
Yayoi Kusama, I’m Here But Nothing, 2000. Photo: Daniel Mansur
Chris Burden, Beam drop Inhotim, 2008. Photo: Brendon Campos
Chris Burden, Beam drop Inhotim, 2008. Photo: Brendon Campos

What has been the most challenging artwork or idea to install on the vast grounds of Inhotim?

Beam Drop Inhotim. The relationship with Chris Burden was exceptional. Chris constantly challenged his own way of living, always against modern society. Beam Drop Inhotim is, due to its symbolic meaning, one of the park's most emblematic works. We used many trucks, many beams, cranes, a colossal operation, which deeply marked the staff, the artist and the history of the institution.

Launched on December 4, 2021 and continuing for two years, Inhotim is to house the Museu de Arte Negra (Museum of Black Art), envisioned by Brazilian poet, writer, playwright, visual artist, professor, Pan-Africanist, and politician, Abdias Nascimento. Tell us more about what is involved in this project.

This partnership between Inhotim and Ipeafro, the institution that manages Abdias Nascimento's estate, is historical. Art institutions need to rethink their role, how to continue to play an important role in people's lives. And this involves thinking about partnerships, how to articulate exhibitions in different ways, bringing in new audiences to the museum. Abdias has always been a visionary, understanding the fight against racism in a broad way, integrating various elements in society. The Museu de Arte Negra (MAN), happening inside Inhotim, shifts the dynamics of artists, of audiences, of all agents. It is a way of thinking how art can engage with our times.

How much focus do you give to presenting First-Nation and Brazilian histories and narratives amongst the international stars at Inhotim?

Inhotim's collection is literally global when it comes to art. The histories and narratives we work with are not “Brazilian,” they are plural.

Doug Aitken, Sonic Pavilion, 2009. Photo: Daniela Paoliello
Doug Aitken, Sonic Pavilion, 2009. Photo: Daniela Paoliello
Claudia Andujar, Gisela Motta, Leandro Lima, Yano-a, 2005. Photo: William Gomes
Claudia Andujar, Gisela Motta, Leandro Lima, Yano-a, 2005. Photo: William Gomes
Matthew Barney, De lama lâmina, 2009. Photo: William Gomes
Matthew Barney, De lama lâmina, 2009. Photo: William Gomes

What is your biggest hope for a post-Covid Art World?

There will be big changes in behavior, in lifestyle. The pandemic has changed people's relationship with the environment and technology, and this change in relationship is only starting. People tend to look for open spaces, where they have greater contact with nature, where they can connect with fauna and flora in new ways. In Inhotim’s case, as this is also associated with the contemplation of artworks, this experience is enhanced. Inhotim is the museum of the future.

What is a beautiful moment from Instituto Inhotim, or your life as a collector that you would like to share with us?

This moment hasn’t come yet; it is always to come.

Which publicly accessible private collection would you recommend visiting?

To avoid being influenced, I’ve always sought highly competent professionals from all over the world, and I value what they bring me. I don't visit collections myself. Inhotim is unique, it cannot be influenced.

Dan Graham, Bisected triangle, Interior Curve, 2002. Photo: Brendon Campos
Dan Graham, Bisected triangle, Interior Curve, 2002. Photo: Brendon Campos

Images courtesy Instituto Inhotim – Centro de Arte Contemporânea e Jardim Botânico

More Information on Instituto Inhotim

Collectors (77)

Narda van 't Veer

The Narda van 't Veer Collection – Monnickendam, Netherlands

Rashid Al Khalifa

RAK ART FOUNDATION – Riffa, Bahrain

Olivier Chow

The Olivier Chow Collection – Lausanne, Switzerland

Valeria Napoleone

Valeria and Gregorio Napoleone Collection – London, UK

Matteo Novarese

SOF:ART – Bologna, Italy

Martin Steppacher

Gallery Durchgang – Basel, Switzerland

Carmelo Graci

Graci Collection – Mantova, Italy

Dr. William Lim

Living Collection – Hong Kong

NICOLA ERNI

Nicola Erni Collection – Steinhausen, Switzerland

Lukas Jakob

Jakob Collection – Gundelfingen, Germany

Claus Busch Risvig

Bech Risvig Collection – Silkeborg, Denmark

Joseph Awuah-Darko

The Terra Collection Of African Contemporary Art – Accra, Ghana | London, UK

INGRID AND THOMAS JOCHHEIM

Ingrid and Thomas Jochheim Collection – Berlin, Germany

Michał Borowik

Michał Borowik Collection – Warsaw, Poland

Tony Salamé

Aïshti Foundation – Beirut, Lebanon

Nadia & Rajeeb Samdani

Samdani Art Foundation (SAF), Dhaka, Bangladesh

Lord David Cholmondeley

Houghton Hall – King's Lynn, Great Britain

Galila Barzilaï-Hollander

Galila's P.O.C., Brussels, Belgium

Martin Margulies

The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse – Miami, United States of America

Christine and Andrew Hall

Hall Art Foundation - Reading, USA & Derneburg, Germany

Qiao Zhibing

TANK Shanghai and Qiao Space - Shanghai, China

Christen Sveaas

Kistefos Museet, Jevnaker, Norway

Noemi Givon

Givon Art Forum – Tel Aviv, Israel

Michael Buxton

Buxton Contemporary - Melbourne, Australia

Seth Stolbun

The Stolbun Collection – Houston, USA

Jochen Zeitz

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) - Cape Town, Africa

Dominique & Sylvain Levy

DSLCollection – Paris, France

Andrea von Goetz

Sammlung Blankenburg – Hamburg, Germany

Gordon Elliott

The Elliott Eyes Collection - Sydney, Australia

The Vague Space

Christian Kaspar Schwarm on the first solo presentation of his collection at the Weserburg Bremen

Anita Zabludowicz

Zabludowicz Collection – London, United Kingdom

Anastasios A. Gkekas

The Office Collection - Nicosia, Cyprus

Rik Reinking

WAI - Woods Art Institute, Wentorf bei Hamburg, Germany

Maria Didrichsen

Didrichsen Art Museum – Helsinki, Finland

João Carlos de Figueiredo Ferraz

Instituto Figueiredo Ferraz (IFF) - São Paulo, Brazil

Julia Stoschek

Julia Stoschek Collection – Dusseldorf, Germany

Maurizio Morra Greco

Fondazione Morra Greco, Naples, Italy

Christian & Karen Boros

Sammlung Boros – Berlin, Germany

Timo Miettinen

Salon Dahlmann – Berlin, Germany

Marli Hoppe-Ritter

Sammlung Marli Hoppe-Ritter – Waldenbuch, Germany

Désiré Feuerle

The Feuerle Collection – Berlin, Germany

Gudrun & Bernd Wurlitzer

Wurlitzer Pied A Terre Collection – Berlin, Germany

Corbett Lyon

Lyon Housemuseum – Melbourne, Australia

Geert Verbeke-Lens

Verbeke Foundation – Kemzeke, Belgium

László Vass

Vass Collection – Veszprém, Hungary

Daisuke Miyatsu

Dream House – Ichikawa, Japan

Samara Walbohm & Joe Shlesinger

Scrap Metal Gallery – Toronto, Canada

Charles Riva

Charles Riva Collection – Brussels, Belgium

Venke & Rolf Hoff

KaviarFactory – Lofoten, Norway

Alain Servais

Servais Family Collection – Brussels, Belgium

Ivo Wessel

Sammlung Ivo Wessel - Berlin, Germany

Ramin Salsali

Salsali Private Museum – Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Vittorio Gaddi

Collezione Nunzia e Vittorio Gaddi – Lucca, Italy

Miguel Leal Rios

Fundação Leal Rios – Lisbon, Portugal

Gertraud and Dieter Bogner

Kunstraum Buchberg – Gars am Kamp, Austria

Bob Rennie

Rennie Collection at Wing Sang – Vancouver, Canada

Heiner Wemhöner

Sammlung Wemhöner – Herford, Germany

Lin Han

M WOODS – Beijing, China

Kenny Goss

The Goss-Michael Foundation – Dallas, USA

Karsten Schmitz

Arbeitswohnung Federkiel – Leipzig, Germany

Devon Dikeou

The Dikeou Collection - Denver, USA

Thomas Olbricht

ME Collectors Room Berlin/Stiftung Olbricht – Berlin, Germany

Mera & Donald Rubell

Rubell Family Collection – Miami, USA

Pétur Arason

Safn – Berlin, Germany / Reykjavík, Iceland

Steffen Hildebrand

G2 Kunsthalle – Leipzig, Germany

Frédéric de Goldschmidt

Frédéric de Goldschmidt – Brussels, Belgium

Daniel Teo

The Private Museum – Singapore, Singapore

Claudio Cosma

Sensus – Luoghi per l’arte Contemporanea – Florence, Italy

Michał Borowik

Michał Borowik Collection – Warsaw, Poland

Herbert Gerisch

Herbert-Gerisch-Stiftung - Neumünster, Germany

José Berardo

Museu Coleção Berardo – Lisbon, Portugal

Bärbel Grässlin and Karola Kraus

Sammlung Grässlin - St. Georgen, Germany

Joëlle and Eric Romba

Rocca Stiftung – Berlin, Germany

Myriam and Amaury de Solages

Maison Particulière – Brussels, Belgium

Friedrich Gräfling

Sammlung Fiede - Aschaffenburg, Germany