Larry’s List had the pleasure of talking to Fabio Szwarcwald, a young and successful private banker based in Rio de Janeiro, on his foray into the contemporary art collecting. Fabio first sparked interest in art at the age of 30 and a decade later, he’s now hosting the 8th edition of AURARTE Project, bridging the gap between artists, galleries and novel collectors.

Fabio is also on the board for Parque Laje Art School and Casa França-Brasil, New Museum of New York, the Acquisitions Committee of Rio’s Museum of Modern Art, the Selection Committee of the PIPA Prize and the founding partner of the Symbioses in Art project.

Questions On Collecting

What made you want to start collecting contemporary art?
I’m 43 years old. I’m not from an art collecting background: only my brother is a musician but that’s it! No previous encounter with art at all. In 2002, my architect proposed to go to an art gallery. This was my first time stepping foot in one. I enjoyed talking to the gallerist and seeing the full body of works. It was all interesting to me! It was my first time of everything and I ended up buying 5 artworks that day. Soon I had the works at home and I gradually fell in love with them. I felt very vibrant living in an environment surrounded by these artworks. They gave me power! I began to learn more about the artists. I was impressed how friends came to my house and they felt the energy too! I invited people over and we all enjoyed the art together. I experienced that I wasn’t collecting just for me but for all of us. This was all a very novel experience as you can imagine. Now of course, I go to the houses of other collectors and am invited to different places, it’s different now. For that time it was unique.

In the beginning you enjoyed having all these artworks at home. Does your collecting style changed? Do you still keep them at home? How do you manage?
Yes, mostly at home, and also at storage and at my family´s. To me this is still very intriguing. Art on my walls makes me think all the time about how to accommodate paintings onto my walls. I remain very creatively engaged and active. It makes me work my mind in ways I never had. Every day, the works speak differently to me.

You have a playful approach to art displaying…
Yes! When you just start collecting, you don’t know exactly how much space you have, then after, you begin to have an idea of how much art you can fit in your apartment. Art makes me feel that my house is complete.

Is it an obsession to collect art now?
For some it is a luxury, for me it is a necessity. I can’t express how I can get this, if it is not through art. For me, art opened a new door. A completely new door in my life.

What is your focus in your collection?
I am interested in contemporary art, in the plasticity of art, artworks that hold a sarcastic feel, and a depth in meaning. I want art that I can live with, and to live with. I have 20% international contemporary art and 80% Brazilian contemporary art.

How many artworks do you own?
Around 400 artworks.

Do you rely on art advisers or how do you make your decisions concerning purchases?
No, I just have my taste. My collection is very particular in that sense. I never bought an artwork of more than 60.000 dollars. I prefer to meet new artists and experience new different emotions rather than just hang onto one big fantastic piece. This is how I see today.

Questions On the Art World

Who inspires you in the art world?
A collector and also a friend of mine called Gilberto Chatobrian. He’s 90 years old and always has a new mind towards things. He’s very updated in everything in the art scene and I appreciate that a lot. He buys works done by new artists and he’s very active!

What was your happiest moment being involved in art?
This part of my life with art, is the best part of my life!

Your words and the way you talk, denote a positive and optimistic view about art, and you seem to have fun with all you do. Can we ask you if there is anything you don’t like about the art world? What’s its negative side?
I think the art system has changed a lot. It became much more intense. All the fairs make you feel more intense. The market grew in volume and grew fast. People are looking for shortcuts to get rapid results. The problem is these results don’t mean they are good results! Such high velocity of the art market takes out the poetic element about art. And this is dangerous!

Gallerists, artists, some individuals are more into objectives rather than achieving visions. They don’t stop and think about the work. The career of an artist is a marathon, if prices go up too high in the beginning, people will try to push up the price but then it may go down even faster. The gallerists have the responsibility to be concerned with artists careers and it is the responsibility of gallerists to maintain a certain velocity to the artists´ production processes and price construction. Now everybody wants to be rich very quickly. Art is not a way to be rich. Why do we need to keep remembering this?

Questions on other topics

You have launched AURARTE PROJECT, in its 8th edition. Could you tell us how this project is helping participants reaching out to new collectors?
Well, it happened that many friends and colleagues wanted to buy works exactly like the ones they saw at my home. They even offered to buy my own pieces! Most of them didn’t know any artists, or any galleries or collectors. So I thought I´d connect them with artists. But then it occurred that these people are in general very busy, or they’re less concerned with the art world, or not as passionate as I do. They just want the artworks! This is how the project was born.

How does it work?
AURARTE is a project meant to facilitate the decision making of collecting art. The project aims to encourage the creation of new collections and give more opportunities and visibility for exponents artists.

It works like this: you buy 3 different works done by 3 different artists at once. We produce and sell a package of 3 different grand-scale artworks together, at a price much less than at a gallery (almost 40% less). If you aren’t yet a collector, you can become one. Artists can participate just once, one edition. The edition is of 10. It is not a multiple but one selected piece, produced in an edition of 10 identical pieces. Then offer to 10 collectors. One time opportunity.

You are the perfect client to galleries…
It’s a win-win situation. We pay for the production of artworks, then we sell to collector friends. I don’t gain anything, just commission for maintaining art production and re-investment in the project. The gallery is not getting paid, it’ll only be more valuable since we’re selling to different wannabe collectors. What is happening is that artists who have already presented their works at biennales want to participate in AURARTE.

Do you have a benchmark?
I haven’t seen anything with this structure. Let me know if you know of something!

There’re many people talking about the new breed of collectors, who are young, busy and dynamic. You’re actively engaged in education, institutions and artist prizes and rewards, almost every aspect of the art world. Do you feel very socially engaged?
Yes and it gives me a lot of pleasure. I have many scheduled activities and sometimes this can be a problem, but it’s more of a pleasure considering how much I can contribute to the art world. I spare out time to do all of these and this is my passion. Whenever I have free time, I enjoy socially engaging!

Fabio’s selection of artists:
● Eduardo Berliner
● Jarbas Lopes
● Nazareth Pacheco
● Mariana Palma
● Reginaldo Pereira