Manhattan-based collector Steve Shane is completely in love with art. Fuelled by a passion for collecting what he admires, Shane has gone on to collect over 1 000 pieces of contemporary art including sculpture, painting, drawings, photography, and prints. Covering almost every wall and surface in his home, the collection mirrors his unpretentious attitude to buying and living with art.

IC

You have often said that a collector should “have fun with art” – why do you find this so important to ones relationship with art?

STEVE SHANE

Art keeps one young. Art also heals. Looking at art, talking about art, reading about art, watching artist documentaries, going to art fairs and museums, discovering art, showing my art collection are my reasons for being alive. It is my passion. It makes me smile. I am very serious about art, but at the same time I like to learn from art and have fun with it. The last excellent documentaries I saw and loved were on Eva Hesse, Elizabeth Murray, Carmen Herrera, and David Hockney. So uplifting.

IC

The walls in your home are completely covered with art from many decades and many different mediums. Is there a process behind hanging the works?

STEVE SHANE

I am completely out of room to hang any more art! I donate art yearly to make room for more. I like to live with art and not put art in storage. I studied art history at the University of Michigan – I consider myself an art historian, more so than a collector – and when I first came to NYC, after studying art history when I was eighteen years old, I found myself buying reproduction posters and hanging them “Paris salon style” in my apartments of my college years. I intuitively needed to live with art, starting when I was still a teenager.

IC

How does living with art influence your life on a day-to-day basis?

STEVE SHANE

Artists teach me how to “see”, and they teach me how to really see the world. An example of this is the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher – I feel I can transfer the artists’ vision into my own mind. The art I live with inspires me to really live life. I have become friends with many of the artists in my collection and gazing upon their work in my home makes me smile!

IC

What type of art really catches your attention?

STEVE SHANE

Artists that I have never heard of before, from a gallery that I never visited before. I am very progressive and I am constantly looking for the new. I like meeting new art dealers and like art that repulses me whilst at the same time seduces me, and especially excites me. Art that refers to or comments on art history. Also art that makes me laugh. Strong color attracts me. One of the best works of art I have seen lately is the multi-screen film installation written, produced and directed by the genius Julian Rosefeldt, called “Manifesto” and features Cate Blanchett. This really moved me – I will never forget it! A true masterpiece.

Looking at art, talking about art, reading about art, watching artist documentaries, going to art fairs and museums, discovering art, showing my art collection are my reasons for being alive.

STEVE SHANE

IC

How long have you been collecting?

STEVE SHANE

I started out when I was nineteen years old by advising my parents to purchase fine prints by artists that I learned about in art history class at the University of Michigan. Artists like Karel Appel, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Victor Vasarely, and Alexander Calder. My first piece I bought was a “cut-out” by Alex Katz that I bought from my friend Susanne Hilberry in Birmingham, Michigan when I was twenty-five years old. She sadly passed away in 2015. I cherish my friendships with art dealers.

IC

Do you have a favorite piece from the collection?

STEVE SHANE

My favorite piece is always changing, because it’s always the latest work I acquired. I am so excited by every acquisition and I cannot wait to receive them and hang them. Installing the work fast is very important to me. The latest acquisitions are Michael Berryhill and Christian Tedeschi. That being said, I especially treasure my Andy Warhol of Diana Ross (a gift to me from my parents), my Jean Dubuffet, and my Roy Lichtenstein.

IC

Do you have any recurring themes running through your collection?

STEVE SHANE

Yes “Seduction Meets Repulsion”, “Sense of Humor”, ”Art About Art (art history), “Photography of Invention”, “Down and dirty painting” (the paint brush in all its glory), “Painting without Paint”, “Dysfunctional family”, “Bad Boy Bad Girl”, “Here’s looking at you” (eyes staring at the audience),”Process”, “Celebrity”, “Sense of Place” to name a few.

IC

How do you stay up-to-date with artists?

STEVE SHANE

I am continuously being invited to artists’ studios and I go to art galleries, art fairs, museums, lectures all the time. Facebook is also a great way to keep up with artists. Facebook for me is all about art – you won’t see a photo of the last hamburger I ate on my timeline! Also, I keep up to date via the emails I receive from galleries and artists. Another great way is by reading art magazines.

IC

I read that you prefer to be called an “Art Lover” rather than an art collector. What is the difference for you?

STEVE SHANE

Nowadays, anyone with a wallet can be a “collector.” There are all sorts of collectors out there. I truly love art and art history and I do not use an art advisor – my collection is a side effect of my passion. My collection is also about my art adventures and I find myself through my collection.

I also love to have art salons in my home, where I invite small groups of people to come see and talk about my collection. I feel I am channeling Gertrude Stein! I also enjoy having classes from art schools come over as field trips to see my collection. This is very fulfilling for me. Tip: wear comfortable shoes!

What’s important about Steve’s collecting practice is that he is one of the collectors who really takes risks on the unknowns. The “blue-chip” artists in his collection were all purchased long before they became household names and, for a fair like VOLTA which is about discovery, collectors like Steve are so incredibly important. It’s easy to buy an established artists (expensive, perhaps, but not risky!) but Steve really collects with an intense passion and enthusiasm that is born from love and commitment. His generosity of spirit is amazing, in how he donates work regularly once his home is too full, as he strongly believes art should be lived with and enjoyed.

AMANDA COULSON, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF VOLTA, SPEAKING ABOUT STEVE SHANE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF HIS APPROACH TO COLLECTING.