What do you do?
We are the founders of My Art.
Glenn: I work in finance.
Sonja: Interior Design
Why do you go to galleries?
To be informed, enlightened, stimulated, and inspired.
What was the first piece of art that really mattered to you?
S: I was a gifted a small Ted Dutch print by the artist for my 21st birthday, that we still own along with a number of Ted’s works. Ted studied art at St. Martins in London and was a master of his craft. You could say it was the start of an enduring passion. I also vividly remember a school trio to AAG as a child, and being mesmerised by Richard Estes’ Telephone Booths (1968), and I was lucky enough to re-visit this work at Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid a few years ago.
If you could acquire any work of art for your collection, what would it be?
A Gordon Walters koru painting.
The most enigmatic piece in your collection?
Cerith Wyn Evans, cite/sight/site (2014). It is a chandelier light work with an independent breather unit, so it pulses, and appears to be constantly trying to say something…
Tell us about the one that got away?
An early Richard Killeen cut-out work – sometimes taking the plunge pays off.
A work of art in your collection that you return to time and again?
There are many, but I am particularly drawn to the craftsmanship of Francis Upritchard, the detail of Kushana Bush’s ‘stories’, and the delicacy of John Ward Knox’s painting.
Tell us about a recent discovery?
Not so recent, but I love the work of Jake Walker with his hand crafted stoneware frames. Also British artist Jane Bustin; her little ‘paintings’ delicately combine copper, silk, paint, and other materials sensitively, and with expertise.
Why collect?
The visual artist, like a songwriter, poet or story teller, has a message to impart. The most enduring works are those that keep you coming back, questioning and maybe reimagining the message. It is a form of dialogue in a visual medium, that should be challenging, exciting and stimulating. Art also allows us to show our personalities through these stories and within our home. Art in the home makes for unique environments, and makes a far more interesting place to live. We like to revisit our art, by rehanging it and seeing things with fresh eyes again.