S otheby’s is pleased to present the fourth iteration of The Hoarder, a grouping of nearly 150 works from the vast personal collection of artist, curator, collector, art dealer and professor Kenny Schachter. The sale is live December 12-20 with an accompanying highlights exhibition in our first floor New York galleries.
In philosopher G.W. Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit entitled ‘A. INDEPENDENCE AND DEPENDENCE OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS: LORDSHIP AND BONDAGE’ (Hegel, G.W.F (1977) Phenomenology of Spirit, trans. By A.V. Miller, p111), begins with the statement that ‘Self- consciousness exists in and for itself when, and by the fact that, it so exists for another; that is, it exists only in being acknowledged’ (Hegel 1977 p111). With regard to collecting, I’d modify this notion that our consciousness exists not only via our acknowledgement by and interrelations with others; but, in addition, through our interactions with objects—namely, art. And being bound to it. Well, me at least.
I equate the impetus for art—making, living with and thinking about—with sustenance, a push as primal as eating, drinking or going to the bathroom. I have been coexisting with a collection in one form or another for more than 3 decades. Recent clinical studies have shown that art serves to reduce anxiety and lower blood pressure and is even prescribed to patients for medicinal purposes. I consider myself materialistic yes, but contradictorily also as ascetic inasmuch as I don’t get attached to particular works per se, as long as there is something to replace them with, should they end up in a given Hoarder sale.
When it comes to obtaining art, I find it hard to pinpoint the reasoning behind a particular purchase, rather, like the functionality of onboard computers in a modern car, a million calculations are made simultaneously and instantaneously, coupled with a raw, intuitive impulse, like a spasm (defined as a sudden, violent involuntary muscular convulsive movement). Can accumulating art be viewed as a fleeting fix for an emotional void or sublimation of an unfulfilled desire? Perhaps, but it’s also the equivalent of reading a good book that rouses the mind.
Part of the problem, if it could be viewed as such, is that buying art, unlike just about anything else, requires nothing more than a nod, yet a handshake or signature. You don’t even need a wallet—digital or otherwise, unlike acquiring an NFT or pint of milk. Or, for that matter money! The best collectors I find are those that take the plunge on a leap of faith that the funds will be conjured by sheer will if necessary—I’m still paying off the last painting. So, if necessary, put reason on hold, trust your compulsions and take a chance on bidding for a work in the 4th, biggest and best (to date) no reserve Hoarder sale. For these history spanning, extraordinary lots, it’s now or never.
