The Collectors: Jack Shainman
The New York gallerist nurtures a lesser-known obsession for the colorful, stylized earthenware of French Art Deco master Charles Catteau
Although best known for championing socially engaged artists such as Kerry James Marshall and El Anatsui, New York gallerist Jack Shainman nurtures a lesser-known obsession for the colorful, stylized earthenware of French Art Deco master Charles Catteau. His first encounter came while browsing the Marché aux Puces in Paris as a college student. “I ended up buying three ceramic vases from different vendors,” he recalls. “It wasn’t until I got home that I realized all three pieces had the same maker’s mark on the bottom.” That fateful discovery commenced a quiet passion that has been with him ever since.
Primary focus: “I’ve always been really drawn to Art Deco, especially how artists from that period utilized natural elements but stylized them to make them almost geometric,” says Shainman, who counts the bas-reliefs on the Chanin Building in New York as one of his favorite examples of the style. “You could say I was predisposed to like Catteau’s work. Each vase seems to almost be its own little modernist sculpture.”
Vase chase: “I’m always on the lookout. There was a time when you could find them fairly easily, but then the catalogue raisonné was published. Now fakes pop up.”
Shelf life: “I have a number of very tall, simple white shelves. I like to have the vessels displayed all together, so their colors and angles can play off each other.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Late Fall Issue under the headline “The Collectors.” Subscribe to the magazine.