If you could live with just one work of art, what would it be?
Watteau’s L’Enseigne de Gersaint (1720-21), an advertising sign painted to hang outside a Paris art dealer’s shop! It’s beautiful and manages to fold in art, society, gender, culture and the art world itself. It’s a work that continues to intrigue me.
Which cultural experience changed the way you see the world?
As a high school senior, I worked at Devin Borden Hiram Butler Gallery in Houston. I had an interest in art but no knowledge of the contemporary art world. Devin and Hiram were genuinely passionate about art. They knew most of Houston’s curators, so I gained early access to institutional figures, which led to an internship at the Menil Collection and, with Hiram’s support, a Master’s at Williams College. What mattered most was seeing these people I really admired making their way in life with art, beauty, design and research at its centre and recognising their lives were a model for what mine could look like.
Which writer do you return to most?
Olivia Laing. Her non-fiction draws together people, events and art objects from entirely different fields and times, weaving them into something cohesive, personal and beautifully told.
What are you listening to?
I’m working on a show of Tracey Rose’s drawing and video works, and I read that she loves Amapiano, a South African dance music genre. I like gaining insights about artists through interests beyond their work.
What are you watching, listening to, or following that you would recommend?
Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl Jung. Our founder, Linda Pace, was deeply engaged with dream analysis. Ruby City came about because she dreamed of the building, sketched it and contacted David Adjaye in 2007 to make it real. The more I explore the subject, the more artists I find who share that investment, so this reading is also feeding my curatorial thinking in unexpected ways.
What is art for?
Pleasure. The visual and conceptual stimulation it offers awards us with knowledge, awareness of others’ experiences and genuine human connection.