Barbican Art Gallery Magnificent Obsessions: The Artist As Collector Catalogue

Exploring the personal collections of 14 contemporary artists, this unique and revealing book probes the aesthetic and psychological dimensions of collecting and shows how objects can influence and reflect artists’ work.

Featured artists include Arman, Peter Blake, Hanne Darboven, Edmund de Waal, Damien Hirst, Howard Hodgkin, Dr Lakra, Sol LeWitt, Martin Parr, Jim Shaw, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Andy Warhol, Pae White, Martin Wong and Danh Vo. 

Their collections are diverse and surprising, ranging from African masks to Soviet space dog memorabilia, Victorian taxidermy to ancient fossils. Each collection is extensively illustrated with photographs of the objects as well as the artists’ homes and studios. Presented alongside key examples of their work, these objects provide insight into the inspirations, influences, motives and obsessions of their owners.

A lead essay by curator Lydia Yee examines why artists collect, considering the relationship between collecting and art. The personal significance of the individual collections is further explored in a range of texts, including interviews and original writing by the artists themselves.

Read an extract

from the catalogue featuring a Q&A between artist Jim Shaw and curator Lydia Yee.

Hard back
272 pages
ISBN 978-3-7913-8152-
Published with Prestel