If Damien Hirst invited you round for tea, what would be hanging on his living room walls? A load of his own dot paintings? Probably not. What about Peter Blake – what artwork has he got on display at his place, what’s hiding in the attic, or stored in crates in the garage? Now we can find out as the Barbican Art Gallery holds an exhibition curated from the private collections of some of post-war and contemporary art’s biggest names. Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector includes art and curiosities owned by Hirst and Blake, along with Andy Warhol, Arman, Martin Parr and Sol LeWitt to name but a few.
The artists themselves are well-known, but their private collections are largely that – private. Curator Lydia Yee has coaxed a tremendous selection of material from the artists and their estates for the show designed by London’s Dyvik Kahlen Architects. From the Warhol collection there is a fun range of ceramic cookie jars, while at the darker end of the spectrum Arman’s unsettling gas mask sculpture is accompanied by a collection of pieces of African art and Samurai armour. Hirst’s pieces reflect the artist’s own works through their interest in anatomy and physical form, and the eclectic contents of two rooms in the late Hanne Darboven’s house have been relocated to the gallery. Take a rare chance to be unashamedly nosey at the exhibition which runs until 25 May.
Andy Wharhol’s artwork.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Martin Wong collection, Dahn Vo artwork.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Damien Hirst’s collections.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Courtesy Murderme Collection
Jim Shaw’s thrift store paintings collection.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Andy Wharhol’s cookie jars collection.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Martin Parr’s Space Dogs collection.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Hanne Darboven collection.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Peter Blake’s dolls collection.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Martin Wong collection, Dahn Vo artwork.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Martin Parr’s artwork.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Sol LeWitt’s collection.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Martin Wong collection, Dahn Vo artwork.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Arman artwork.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Damien Hirst’s Collections
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Courtesy Murderme Collection
Hanne Darboven artwork.
Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist as Collector
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Martin Parr’s collections.
Magnificent Obsessions
The Artist as Collector
Installation images
Barbican Art Gallery 12 Feb — 25 May 2015
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
