Charles Riva's passion began with Roy Lichtenstein, the Master of American pop art. He made his first acquisition at the age of 19. It's a reproduction of Roy Lichtenstein's paintbrush. A legendary piece that made the cover of the great catalog raisonné; The Prints Of Roy Lichtenstein.

How has collecting changed your approach to art?

When you start collecting, you try to understand the markets. What you have to do is go to at least four/five art fairs a year, to auction houses, to understand what primary price and secondary market price target and at least one biennial, and you'll understand without making any mistakes.

How has the attitude to collecting changed since you began?

Less is more, now I collect less but I try to collect more historical artists or more related to art history.

Do you approach collecting art in an emotional or rational way? And what are your emotional/rational parameters for collecting?

Collecting always starts emotionally, but then I check if the artist produces too much, if the exhibitions he does are always the same similar paintings with a change of colors, if it's like that I would never collect, I only collect artists who make unique paintings and if you go to see one of his exhibitions, every painting has to be different. I don't like repetition in art because he's no longer a painter but a graphic designer.

Do you have a favourite art work in your collection?

I don’t have a favorite work. I like the new George Condo that I just purchased last month! And the drawing from Christopher Wool (red / black) that I bought 6 month ago.

Also, I like the Philip Guston painting lamp! I am looking to purchase more works by Christopher Wool and Ed Ruscha. I also pay close attention to Francis Bacon, Magritte and Picasso. In regard of contemporary art, I like George Rouy new paintings.

What advice do you have for starting a collection?

My advice: read art history books and stop believing the hype.

Charles Riva opened his first gallery in New York at the age of 23, followed by two in London, and two in Paris, called Sutton Lane. Not being satisfied with the gallery business model, Charles Riva finally decided to close all of his galleries, whilst building his collection. The collection became increasingly important, hence he decided to open it to the public in 2008 in Brussels with an average of two exhibitions per year.