‘My collection is like a weird diary’: the acclaimed fashion designer on the artists he loves and why art belongs in the home

Why I Collect: Jonathan Anderson

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‘My grandfather was a ceramics collector. His knowledge was huge, and I was really impressed by it as a child. So when I began collecting I almost naturally turned to British ceramicists such as John Ward and Lucie Rie, and modern British artists including Keith Vaughan and Paul Nash. I don’t really specialize in a genre, though – some people focus on works on paper, for instance. For me, collecting is a creative process, it’s about working out how things enter into a dialogue with each other – how do you make an artwork from artworks?‘I’ve been really influenced by the British collector Jim Ede and the way he lived with art in a domestic setting, at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge. I didn’t know anything about it when I first went to his house, which is now a museum, about 10 years ago, during a long weekend in the city. But I loved everything – the brick floor, the paintings at eye level, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/9213/Joan-Mir%C3%B3" target="_blank">Miró</a> with a decanter. This visit fundamentally informed the way I think about collecting. For me, art has to be in the home. I hate the idea of dumping it all in storage. Whether it’s a Greek mug or a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7596/Helen-Marten" target="_blank">Helen Marten</a> wall piece&nbsp;– and no matter how in-your-face the work is – I have to be able to live with it.

‘I’ve just finished renovating my house in North London. I wanted to be able to display everything that I have. There are different moments throughout the house, from very intense to stripped back. One of my favorite areas is the bedroom, which is normally quite a difficult space for living with art. There, I have a large selection of works by Jennifer Lee, a ceramicist whose vases look like organic landscapes, displayed together with Lucie Rie bowls. This pairing is a reference to a really amazing exhibition staged by Issey Miyake [in 2009] that put those two artists together. I also have two quite extreme <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8424/Peter-Hujar">Peter Hujar</a> photographs of a guy naked on a chair – works I’d wanted for 10 years – as well as a line piece by <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7098/Richard-Tuttle">Richard Tuttle</a>, latex-covered blankets by the Canadian artist <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/11509/Liz-Magor">Liz Magor</a>, ceramics by <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/6996/Lynda-Benglis">Lynda Benglis</a>, paintings by <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8077/Paul-Thek">Paul Thek</a>, and drawings by <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7765/Naum-Gabo">Naum Gabo</a> and <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/23654/Isamu-Noguchi">Isamu Noguchi</a>. It sounds like a lot, but each thing changes your perception. The relationships harmonize. The whole is actually quite a relaxing selection to live with.‘My collection is like a weird diary. The pieces remind me of the moods I was in at specific times. I always seek a balance between the old and the new. I also like things that bridge craft and contemporary art. There’s so much scope for that in ceramics, which people underestimated for so long. Now that’s changed, of course. It’s interesting, because pieces I collected when they were completely inexpensive have recently become unaffordable. But these changes in the market force you to look outside the box, at newer people, and not to get caught up in nostalgia. I like meeting up-and-coming artists to understand their work and build relationships with them. It’s easy to go for things that are already tried and tested, but way more exciting to go beyond that. For instance, I think the work of the ceramicist Sara Flynn is so important at the moment. She’s young and her pieces really stand on their own.

‘There’s a strong connection between my lives as a fashion designer and as a collector. In my job, I’ve done many collaborations with artists, such as <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/43555/Anthea-Hamilton">Anthea Hamilton</a>, <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/11853/Gilbert-George">Gilbert &amp; George</a>, and the Estate of <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8434/David-Wojnarowicz">David Wojnarowicz</a>. During Art Basel Miami Beach, I’ll be staging a two-person show with the artist <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/18251/Hilary-Lloyd">Hilary Lloyd</a> and ceramicist Ewen Henderson. I learn through the process [of putting on an exhibition] and it’s important for me to let people do what they want to do. But it has to be those people where you feel, ‘If only I could wake up and do that!’ Art offers really good escapism from fashion, but at the same time, I like to work with people who have a fascination for fashion. They have to be intrigued by the idea. That’s when I get most satisfaction. When I work with and support an artist, it opens up my mind and allows me not to feel trapped in a cycle.‘Gender fluidity has been an important theme in my work for a long time, and I’ve always been moved in particular by Wojnarowicz, Hujar, and Thek. I really respect the aesthetic they built and I collect their work assiduously. It’s a very emotional thing for me, too. George Dureau is another of my favorites – you couldn’t have had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7733/Robert-Mapplethorpe" target="_blank">Robert Mapplethorpe</a> without him, he was a real precursor. I also love the way Lynda Benglis explored feminist ideas, with a unique twist on girlishness that I find so disruptive. I have some of her works with paper that are incredibly vaginal but could also be Christmas decorations. These are some of the things that give me the most joy. There is something about the experiments of the 1970s – the liberation, friction, and violence – that I’m always drawn to. I think there has to be a tension. I’m not afraid of things that are forceful.’&nbsp;

Jonathan Anderson is the founder of JW Anderson and&nbsp;the Creative Director of LOEWE.&nbsp;&nbsp;Skye Sherwin is an art writer based in Rochester, UK. She contributes regularly to The Guardian and numerous art publications.

Top image: Jonathan Anderson, photographed by Manuel Braun.

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