BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors

Noemi Givon

Givon Art Forum – Tel Aviv, Israel

Noemi Givon
Noemi Givon

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

It’s important only in the sense that I can prove that art is worth preserving and living with. It determines the sphere of a life that the collector adapts to.

Yet, a collector who is also a gallerist is in a different position than the collector who isn’t dealing or representing artists. Some will say there’s a conflict of interest here so it’s entirely up to the integrity of the collector. You need a matter of empathy, loyalty and appreciation. This is what is allowing me more influence on exemplifying collecting in my own collection.

Does your collection follow a specific theme or particular artists?

Indeed, my collection depicts my development in art chronologically and historically, as well as my contemporary way of looking at things. It derives from the place I live in and where I see myself as part of the culture thread.

I am very much aware that I act on specific grounds where it touches and defers from international art. This position, of course, has pros and cons: on the one hand I concentrate on artists in my environment and encourage them as much as I can, and on the other I look around internationally.

This approach is very similar to high-tech developments in Israel, investigating the unique quality of the local achievement in as much as it differs from what is known worldwide. Therefor, I don’t care about “center and periphery” but rather I look at the place as another kind of center that beholds it’s own values.

My chances have increased because, in my opinion, as globalization in art failed it only succeeded market-wise. This was clear at the last Venice Biennale and Documenta.

Installation view "Close Follow-Up"
Installation view "Close Follow-Up"

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

Yes, very much so. I actually view my relationships with artists as a way of life. It is with them that I learn, evolve and engage in dialogues.

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

Oh yes! Especially because some of the strongest works are found in Media Art and complex installation work.

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

I wouldn’t call them mistakes. Acquiring art reflects one’s beliefs, feelings and sociopolitical standpoints as well as how one views a contributive society and how society views the collector. One way of handling the situation is to tell young collectors to take their time when buying. To tell them that it’s about the materialization of the deepest spheres of life, one of which is authenticity: where money nor words play necessary mundane roles.

Israel Kabala, ’One Person Show a Mouse and a Turtle Would Seem to Their Lover as Two Lights’, 2017 (installation view)
Israel Kabala, ’One Person Show a Mouse and a Turtle Would Seem to Their Lover as Two Lights’, 2017 (installation view)

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?

Since showing my collection publicly four years ago it has given me a lot of strength and personal gain.

As a gallerist, I need to have a tactic, an agenda and clear parameters. I need to defend it on daily basis, even fight for it, for the shows I curate, for the artists I believe in and their positions, and the thematic shows that I initiate. I need to appeal to collectors as well as enticing the viewer.

Showing my collection is a very humble thing and very personal. The fact that people have reacted well to it does not influence me on what I collect; it just makes me a happier person.

Israel Kabala, ’One Person Show a Mouse and a Turtle Would Seem to Their Lover as Two Lights’, 2017 (installation view)
Israel Kabala, ’One Person Show a Mouse and a Turtle Would Seem to Their Lover as Two Lights’, 2017 (installation view)
Israel Kabala, ’One Person Show a Mouse and a Turtle Would Seem to Their Lover as Two Lights’, 2017 (installation view)
Israel Kabala, ’One Person Show a Mouse and a Turtle Would Seem to Their Lover as Two Lights’, 2017 (installation view)

How has the attitude to collecting changed since you began?

The kind of people who collect have changed, society as a whole has changed and thereby the attitude to collecting has changed. When I began collecting there wasn’t talk about art investment at all, in fact there wasn’t much talk about the market. We regarded the artist as a social leader as such, and a critical one. People followed their instincts and their convictions concerning their issues, as well as the matter of living with art.

Back then the conversation about art qualities was intense, and some of the best writings came out of that time. Much of the influence came from music, philosophy, psychoanalysis, physics and the history of art. Today, the term “Avant-Garde” is rarely spoken.

Which publicly accessible private collection would you recommend visiting?

In Israel, I would say the Schocken Collection that is partly hung in the liberal newspaper, Haaretz’s premises and in a gallery space opposite to it. Their shows are thoroughly thematic and very loyal to art development in our country.

All images courtesy Givon Art Forum, Tel Aviv

More Information on Givon Art Forum

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

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