Independent Collectors

Franks-Suss Collection

Initially focused on China, collectors Simon Franks and Robert Suss soon widened their purview

Jose Davila, "Topologies of Light I (DF)", 2012
Jose Davila, "Topologies of Light I (DF)", 2012

The Franks-Suss Collection was founded in 2001 to discover and support a new generation of artists from emerging economies.

Initially focused on China, collectors Simon Franks and Robert Suss soon widened their purview, with the help of curators Eli Zagury and Tamar Arnon. Nearly 1000 works now fill the collection’s outposts in London, New York, and Hong Kong. Those include established names like Jonas Wood and Zeng Fanzhi, who Simon Franks and Robert Suss began collecting long before either made it big. More recent acquisitions include works by Hannah Perry, Diana Al-Hadid, and Zhai Liang. Despite their prescient track record, the two have collected in direct opposition to the art-as-an-asset-class trend, working closely with the artists on shows, at their residences, like the 2009 exhibition of highlights at Franks’s Hampstead home, or at institutional spaces like the Saatchi Gallery.

Alexander Forbes is a New York based art writer and critic, currently serving as Artsy’s Deputy Editor. Prior to relocating to New York, Alexander was based in Berlin as the European Editor for artnet and German Bureau Chief for Louise Blouin Media.

The Suss home. Photo: Simone Suss
The Suss home. Photo: Simone Suss
Ruud van Empel, "World no 19", 2006
Ruud van Empel, "World no 19", 2006
Bae Joonsung, "The Costume of Painter - Vermeer 050330", 2006
Bae Joonsung, "The Costume of Painter - Vermeer 050330", 2006
Nadav Kandar, " Yangtze, The Long River: Chongqing VI (Sunday Afternoon), Chongqing Municipality", 2006
Nadav Kandar, " Yangtze, The Long River: Chongqing VI (Sunday Afternoon), Chongqing Municipality", 2006
The Suss home. Photo: Simone Suss
The Suss home. Photo: Simone Suss
Toyin Ojih Odutola, "LTS III", 2014. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Copyright Toyin Ojih Odutola
Toyin Ojih Odutola, "LTS III", 2014. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Copyright Toyin Ojih Odutola
The Suss home. Photo: Simone Suss
The Suss home. Photo: Simone Suss
Yonamine, "Once you go black you never go back", 2013
Yonamine, "Once you go black you never go back", 2013
Steve Bishop, "Her", 2007/2008
Steve Bishop, "Her", 2007/2008

All images courtesy of the Franks-Suss Collection.

London (18)

Roberts Institute of Art

A living organism to underpin research and debate

Newport Street Gallery

The Newport Street Gallery is not easy to find, but then hard to miss: it takes over almost a whole street.

Anita Zabludowicz

An interview with the London-based collector who places young positions at the centre of her collection

The Needle and the Larynx

We are proud to present “The Needle and the Larynx” (2016) by Marianna Simnett, as our 13th selection for AT HOME WITH IC.

When I’ll Die, I Want To Turn Into Marble

We are pleased to welcome Marine Tanguy to IC, as an ambitious, philanthropic art world woman, creating her own systems to get business done.

Mark Hicks Collection

The collection grown from a curiosity of editions from the streets.

Known Unknowns

A peek inside the exhibition that looks at the status of an artist in the mainstream art world.

Irmina Nazar & Artur Trawinski

The Polish collectors raising awareness on Eastern European Art.

Niloufar Bakhtiar Bakhtiari

In collaboration with Marina Ribera Iñigo, director and consultant at IñigoArt, we present the new video series "Collectors at Home".

You Are Looking at Something That Never Occurred

London’s Zabludowicz Collection showcases their recent presentation of the collection featuring works by Sara Cwynar, Elad Lassry, Natalie Czech, Richard Prince and Cindy Sherman.

Hot With Excess

With a dynamic and experimental season of live events, “Hot With Excess” explores the collision of contemporary art and opera.

Luigi Mazzoleni

Interview about how it was to grow up with collector parents.

Feminist Spirituality With Shana Moulton

The Zabludowicz Collection presents the immersive and off-kilter solo exhibition by American artist Shana Moulton.

The David Bowie Collection

After the auction house Sotheby’s unveiled Bowie’s art collection to the public the title “art collector” is another one long overdue.

The Radical Eye

Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection.

Emotional Supply Chains

The construction of identity in the digital age.

Zabludowicz – 20 Years of Collecting

Anita Zabludowicz first began collecting in 1994. The collection initially featured artists such as Michael Landy, Keith Tyson, Gillian Wearing as well as others from the 1990s YBA generation when they were still at the beginning of their careers.