Magnificent Obsessions: the Artist as Collector

‘Collecting starts in childhood but artists are allowed to continue collecting into adulthood and make something else of it,’ says Lydia Yee, the curator of this showcase of what 14 artists across oil painting, conceptual art and photography have bought from junk shops, auctions and antiques dealers. The question is do the possessions of the artists – whether ephemeral street market finds bought by Peter Blake and Andy Warhol or the beautiful African masks acquired by New Realist artist Arman and exquisite Indian miniatures owned by Howard Hodgkin – help us understand their work better or simply illustrate how many artists are obsessive collectors?

Four artists in this show seem to employ a complete scattergun and indiscriminate attitude to collecting. Because their collections are so large and varied it’s not always apparent how their effects affect their work. Blake and Warhol of course reproduce or incorporate objects into what they create but only a tiny fraction of what they have amassed.

What has been chosen from the possessions of Arman and Howard Hodgkin seem more relevant to their output. The similarity between what Arman and Edmund de Waal have acquired and what they produce in form, colour and texture, which goes beyond pure representation is very interesting to see. Sol LeWitt has a fine eye for objects of great artistic merit. His Japanese woodcuts and Henri Cartier- Bresson photographs are a treat. Both Martin Parr and Damien Hirst have focused collections and we can easily spot their influences.

To really see how their collections have influenced the artist’s work there should be more of their work and less of their stuff. In some cases there is only one piece by the artist. The curator is of the opinion that most people are familiar with the selected artists’ work but I would disagree.

To fully appreciate this exhibition it is not only necessary to study the show very carefully but also to read the catalogue, which is more than just an inventory of the displays. The Q and A interviews with the artists tell us how they formed their collections and what all their things mean to them.

Until 25 May at Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2: 020-7638 8891, www.barbican.org.uk