Editor in Chief Jacqueline Terrebonne Debuts Galerie’s Collectors Issue

Galerie’s inaugural Collectors issue. Photo: Francesco Lagnese

When we embarked on creating our inaugural Collectors issue, one of the first people I reached out to was Max Hollein, the recently appointed director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If anyone knew how to curate a collection, I felt certain it would be him. But instead of explaining how to make big-name acquisitions, he went deeper and shared his observations on the psyche of collectors—and how their intimate knowledge of the works can teach even the most specialized curators new ways of looking at things. Unsurprisingly, his insights were spot-on and applied to the many luminaries featured in our story “The Collectors.” 

This passion extends to the talents we visit in their personal spaces. Designer and art collector Lillian Fernandez masterfully mingles blue-chip contemporary pieces such as an Anish Kapoor with vintage Art Deco furnishings to create a riveting conversation between textures and periods in her dazzling Palm Beach home. Legendary artist Larry Bell hangs his nearly 200 guitars with works like his “Church Studies” in his studio in Taos, New Mexico. And in London, designer Hubert Zandberg goes for a bold salon-style display, mixing Guido Mocafico with Robert Mapplethorpe, Maurizio Cattelan with Rick Owens.

A vignette in the London home of Hubert Zandberg. Photo: Simon Upton

Once we scratched the surface, everyone had something to share, from the fabulously rare to the exceptionally quirky. Personally, I’ve been hooked on oyster plates for decades—always on the lookout for these 19th-century gourmet collectibles, from Limoges versions with demure, hand-painted flowers to bold majolica ones bursting with colors. We’d love to hear from you about what you collect. Visit galeriemagazine.com/mycollection to tell us your story, and we’ll post our favorites on our newly redesigned site.

Recommended: Art Fair Director Zélika García Opens the Doors to Her Mexico City Home

Oyster plates from Moss Antiques in New Orleans. Photo: Courtesy of Moss Antiques

And if you’re on the hunt for what to snap up next, we’ve broken down the hottest art destinations, highlighting locales for fairs such as Art Basel, Zona MACO, and Nomad St. Moritz. After all, is a collection ever really complete? As designer Robert Couturier teased, after taking me through his impressive assemblage of Old Master portraits: “Collecting is really just an elegant form of hoarding.” Elegant, indeed!

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2018 Winter Issue in the section called Letter From The Editor. Subscribe to the magazine.