‘I have always been very connected to the art scene. At the age of 20, I went to art school, then studied cinema, and my friends have always been artists. When I started collecting, I focused on what was happening in France. Some of the first artists whose work I bought were Philippe Ramette and Pierre Ardouvin. I love site-specific work and I asked Tadashi Kawamata to create an installation for my apartment. Quite quickly, I broadened my approach and started collecting African, Indian, and South American artists – and in particular, those from my home country of Brazil. Among the Brazilian artists, I have work by Paulo Nimer Pjota, Elian Almeida, Rodrigo Sassi, Ana Elisa Egreja, Maria Andrade Andrade, and Barrão.

‘From the beginning, Antoine de Galbert was a good example of someone who was totally committed. I have always admired his complete freedom and followed what he did with La Maison Rouge in Paris. In 2009, when I was setting up my own foundation, SAM Art Projects, I went to him for advice. The idea of a foundation came naturally to me, because I wanted to be able to follow projects from their conception to their realization.

‘SAM Art Projects supports artists and is a response to the lack of visibility for those from the Global South. Its activities are oriented towards institutions, through two programs in partnership with the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. One is the SAM Prize for Contemporary Art, awarded to an artist represented by a European gallery who is invited to carry out a project outside Europe and North America; the other is a residency in Paris that hosts artists from the Global South. For me, the connection between these two is linked to my perception of Paris as a hub, as in an airport – with the prize, artists leave, and through the residencies, they arrive. Our next resident will be the Brazilian artist Efe Godoy, who is already well-known in her own country but not in France.

‘I am constantly travelling. When I travel to an art fair, I take advantage of the opportunity to see museums, galleries, and artists’ studios. I’m particularly passionate about the emerging art scene. When I’m in Paris, I visit POUSH studios in Aubervilliers, Artagon in Pantin, or Le PRéàVIE in Pré-Saint-Gervais. When it comes to galleries, I often go to openings at Komunuma in Romainville. I follow In Situ – fabienne leclerc which represents the Iranian artists Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh, and Hesam Rahmanian, who I already collect and whose work I continue to follow.

‘Since 2019, I have been the president of the board of Villa Arson, the art school in Nice. This is another way of being in touch with the emerging art scene. As part of this, I created the SAM Villa Arson Prize, to be awarded to an artist in their fifth year of studies. In 2022, we chose the first winner, Claire Bouffay, who I think is an artist to watch. Among young artists, I really like the work of Juliette Minchin, who is represented by Galerie Anne-Sarah Bénichou, who makes wax skins that she peels off. I am also interested in Dimitri Milbrun, and Bryce Delplanque, another Villa Arson graduate who plunges into the nostalgia of something that we haven’t yet experienced.

‘You have to buy art with your heart and not with your ears, and avoid paying too much attention to reputation. It’s important to dare yourself to leave your comfort zone in order to feel, react, and fall in love. I find that there’s always the chance of a great discovery and the possibility of a purchase at the Emerging Galleries sector at Paris+ par Art Basel. And I would give the same advice to an artist: You have to make art because you can’t help it, because art has to above all be visceral.

‘At home, I’ve got art everywhere. There are pieces on the ceiling, sitting on the floor, by the doors. Every artwork is important to me because together they create a jigsaw puzzle, and this puzzle is my story. A few days ago, I acquired two paintings by the Danish artist Peter Martensen, who is represented by Galerie Maria Lund. And 10 days before that, an artwork by the duo Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel, which I bought from Galerie Loevenbruck. Other works are being sent now – the whole thing is in constant movement. My dream would be to have a house completely given over to installations: There could be an entire room transformed by Hans Op de Beeck, or another taken over by Elmgreen & Dragset.’

Ingrid Luquet-Gad is an art critic and PhD candidate based in Paris. She is the arts editor of Les Inrockuptibles, a contributing editor at Spike art magazine, and a writer for Flash Art.

English translation: Catherine Bennett.

Published on August 21, 2023.

Captions for full-bleed images, from top to bottom: 1. Detail of an artwork by Elmgreen & Dragset, presented by Kukje Gallery, Massimo De Carlo, and Perrotin at Art Basel Hong Kong 2019. 2. Installation view of an artwork by Hans Op de Beeck, presented by Galerie Krinzinger, Galleria Continua, and Marianne Boesky Gallery in the Unlimited sector at Art Basel in Basel 2016. 3. Installation view of an artwork by Daniel Dewar and Grégory Gicquel in the Jan Kaps booth in the Statements sector at Art Basel in Basel 2018.