COURTESY OF RUBELL FAMILY COLLECTION, MIAMI

Basic Training 4, Noah Davis, 2008, oil and acrylic on canvas.

an internship program, ongoing
lecture series, a public research
library and an art bookstore in
addition to special exhibits.
As the couple scout artworks
through galleries, studios and fes-
tivals, they do not look for pieces
by specific categories of artists.
“Sometimes, we see things
compelling at the moment,” she
says. “Artists can recommend
artists, and galleries recommend
artists. We visit a lot of studios.
We enter the world open-minded,
and we try to collect art that is
about itself. We look for original,
creative ideas.
“We learn something from
every single artist. They not only
teach us, but they also change our
lives. Art has a way of communi-
cating profoundly personal, mean-
ingful, challenging and provoca-
tive emotions. It’s always different,

and you never know what’s going
to compel or engage you.”
The Rubells do not decorate
their home with art. They prefer
looking at what they have placed
in their public space and the pub-
lic and private spaces of others.
When they were in Detroit in
connection with 30 Americans,
they visited as many local art cen-
ters as possible.
“After looking at art in a
museum, I find it falls short in our
private home,” she says.
The Rubells, who have collected
art by Jewish artists and loaned
art to Israel, observe Judaism with
membership at a Florida temple
and have celebrated the bar and
bat mitzvahs of their son, Jason,
and daughter, Jennifer, now in
their 40s. The coming-of-age cel-
ebration moves on through their
grandchildren.

“We have some amazing Israeli
artists in our collection and sent
our video exhibition ‘Memorials of
Identity’ for a showing at the Haifa
Museum of Art,” Rubell says.
While their son has teamed
with his parents in collecting and
holding business responsibili-
ties, their daughter has become
an installation artist focusing on
food.
“Most collectors do not have
children who become artists, and I
think that’s because children know
how critical collector parents can
be,” Rubell says. “I’m very proud
of being the mother of an artist,
and I’m proud she feels free to be
an artist even with parents who
are collectors.
“Hopefully, it reflects on our
open-mindedness to appreciate
people’s talents [in a way] that
extends to our daughter.”

*

COURTESY OF RUBELL FAMILY COLLECTION, MIAMI

tunity for younger artists to dia-
logue in an exhibition with the
artists they’ve been looking up
to,” Rubell says. “It always makes
for an interesting exhibition when
younger artists have an oppor-
tunity to show with older artists
who influenced them.”
The RFC was established in
1964 in New York City shortly
after the Rubells were married
and decided to set aside money
each week to buy contemporary
art. They moved their base to
Miami in 1993.
The couple, at the helm of
Rubell Hotels and also using
funds inherited from Donald’s
late brother (Studio 54 co-creator
Steve Rubell), have built one of
the world’s largest privately owned
contemporary art collections.
In its space of 45,000 square
feet, the foundation maintains

COURTESY OF RUBELL FAMILY COLLECTION, MIAMI

LEC

TIO

N, M
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“There’s a broad spectrum of
works, and directly and indirectly,
they deal with the history of black
people in America.
“I personally love the work, and
[the exhibit has] traveled to nine
venues across America. Any time
you have the opportunity to dig
into subject matter more deeply
— not only the history but also
the emotional history of places
and things — it’s very powerful.”
Among the artists who are rep-
resented are Barkley Hendricks,
Kerry James Marshall, Carrie Mae
Weems, Lorna Simpson and the
late Jean-Michel Basquiat and
Robert Colescott. Their influence
on a younger generation can be
seen in the works of artists such
as Kenhinde Wiley, Nick Cave,
Mickalene Thomas and Kara
Walker.
“It’s been an interesting oppor-

COURTESY OF RUBELL FAMILY COLLECTION, MIAMI

Bird on Money, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1981, acrylic and oil on canvas.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Branded Head, Hank Willis Thomas, 2003, digital C-print, Ed. AP. THIS PAGE, ABOVE LEFT: Equestrian Portrait of the Count Duke Olivares, Kehinde Wiley, 2005, oil on
canvas. ABOVE, CENTER: I Who Have Nothing, Rashid Johnson, 2008, wax, soap, shea butter and mixed media on fiberboard. ABOVE, RIGHT: The New Negro Escapist Social and Athletic
Club (Thurgood), Rashid Johnson, 2008, lambda print, Ed. 2/5.

January 14 • 2016

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