Now on view thru September 7, 2008 at the National Academy Museum is the 183rd Annual Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary American Art which includes works of art from 125 different artists chosen by a curatorial committee. Though not an avant-garde selection as you might find in a contemporary art fair, for example, there are some interesting pieces ranging from paintings to installation pieces to sculptures. The installation works were unusual for the National Academy, and I really enjoyed them: Lisha Bai’s trippy black and white linoleum floor laid down in a vestibule which seemed fantastic in a classic Beaux-Arts townhouse where one might expect to see a black and white marble floor; and Soo Sunny Park’s “Fractal Immersion” where the viewer looks through an opening in the wall, through a mesh-like surface, into an uncertain depth of reflections and openings. The paintings are usually the strongest suit at the National Academy and there were some excellent examples once again, this time from painters David Collins, Bill Scott, Lee Marshall, Jeanette Fintz, Julie Heffernan, Barbara Takenaga, Sean Skully and Anthony Thompson to name a few.

1083 Fifth Avenue between East 89th and 90th Streets.

How does a group of different artworks become an art collection?

The answer is elusive and one of those things that sometimes you just know it when you see it. Other times a group of works is tighly curated so as to form a museum-quality collection. In general, a collection is a group of artworks assembled by a collector with knowledge, expertise, or a particular interest in that type of artwork. Rarely can one just run out and buy a group of things and say “Voila, that is a collection.” Remember that museums have curators and acquisitions committees to select works of art that fit within their existing collection and to guide that collection in its future collecting goals. The good private collections also account for such factors.

Here are a variety of organizing principles for art collections:

geography (such as the art of Mexico)
subject matter (such as marine art, folk art, video, installation sculpture etc.)
timeframe (some people collect mid 20th Century works of art, for example)
“school” – this refers to the work done by a group of school of artists done in a particular time and place, style or method – such as The Ash Can School (it was not literally a school!)
material (such as a collection of art glass or works on paper)
travelogue (artwork collected over the years in various travel destinations)

Many good and well-edited collections combine a variety of factors. The possibilities are endless. Some collections are organized according to the influence of a particular artist on other artists, for example. Other true collectors have a variety of collections. For example, in addition to contemporary landscape paintings one could collect vintage fashion photographs.

Remember, not every piece of art that you have has to be part of a particular collection. Sometimes we just buy something because we like it. However, if you are going to be spending a lot of money on valuable artwork “the collection” is often more valuable as a whole than the individual pieces would be and it behooves you to make a wise decision as to how a work fits with your other pieces.

My lecture at the Met today focuses on special topics and exhibitions of Contemporary art at the Metropolitan Museum in a variety of media including Tara Donovan’s installation of silver mylar tape rings filling the walls of a gallery; selected works of photography from “Photography on Photography, Reflections on the Medium Since 1960”; sculpture by Jeff Koons in “Jeff Koons on the Roof” and a discussion of prints as a medium in “Pop Art: Works on Paper”.

We will also discuss this week’s Contemporary auctions, focusing on artists whose work we examined in last week’s class, to see how that market works and what auction prices are all about.

I began a new lecture series today for Metropolitan Moms which focuses on Contemporary art in New York. The weekly series meets at the Met and in galleries around town to see as much artwork as possible as well as to discuss trends in Contemporary art, current market conditions and public response to works and artists.

My lecture at the Met today focuses on the museum’s special exhibition of Nicolas Poussin’s 17th Century landscapes. Truly an influential artist both for the beauty of his works and for the intellectual and emotional content of his landscape paintings, Poussin executed landscape paintings from which generations of artists would learn.

We will also take a look at Jeff Koons’ rooftop exhibition featuring his Balloon Dog (Yellow), Coloring Book and Sacred Heart (Red/Gold).