BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors

Corbett Lyon

Lyon Housemuseum – Melbourne, Australia

Corbett Lyon
Corbett Lyon

How important is having the title of being a “collector” to you?

We have never considered ourselves “collectors” in the sense of acquiring and owning works in our collection. We view ourselves more as custodians of the works and as long term supporters of Australian art practice.

Does your collection follow a specific theme or particular artists?

We have been collecting for over 27 years and have followed many artists in depth. We currently have 53 artists represented in the collection. It has no single underlying theme but embraces different aspects of the contemporary world – the contemporary city, impacts of new technologies, cultural politics and other contemporary issues.

Marco Fusinato, "There Is No Authority", 2012
Marco Fusinato, "There Is No Authority", 2012

Do you have a personal relationship with the artists you collect?

We have developed close relationships with all the artists we have supported over this time and many have become good friends. It has enabled us to follow their evolving practices closely, and to bring works into the collection at key points in their development.

Is there an artwork that you love but can’t live with due to size, medium, or value?

So far, we have been able to accommodate all works on our “acquisition list”, and these have varied greatly in size, medium and value. We are currently constructing a new public museum next door to the original Housemuseum where we will be able to show large works and installations.

In your opinion, what mistakes do young collectors do new collectors make? And what mistake did you make when first starting on your collecting journey?

The biggest mistake new collectors make is moving too quickly to acquire works. The advice I was given when I started out was to spend a year visiting galleries and museums to see what is out there, and only then to begin to acquire works.

Emily Floyd, "Workshop" (detail), 2012
Emily Floyd, "Workshop" (detail), 2012

What has the reaction been like from visitors of your collection since making it publicly accessible? Does this reaction impact you and what you collect?

We now have visitors coming to the Housemuseum from all over the world including museum directors, curators, art lovers and members of the public who are interested in seeing the Housemuseum's combination of a residential home and a public art museum. Visitors are always interested to see a personal, idiosyncratic collection which represents something about the mind of the collectors and the group of artists, and works, which make up the collection. It is very different from viewing works in a public collection. I had my first experience of this visiting the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice many years ago – it was a revelation to see her collection and to learn about her as a collector and the connections that she had with all of the artists that she collected.

Where do you find out about artists that you are interested in purchasing?

We identify new artists through galleries we visit, through word-of-mouth and by visiting public galleries and museums. All the works in our collection are acquired from the primary market – through the artists and their representative galleries.

Daniel Crooks, "An Embroidery of Voids", 2013
Daniel Crooks, "An Embroidery of Voids", 2013

Which publicly accessible private collection would you recommend visiting?

My favourite private collection is still the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. We visited it several weeks ago and it remains an astonishing collection by one of the world's most extraordinary collectors. And all of it presented in the domestic setting of Guggenheim's Grand Canal palazzo.

All images courtesy Lyon Housemuseum, Melbourne

More Information on Lyon Housemuseum

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

Bernardo Paz

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

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

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