Independent Collectors

Charles Riva

The Charles Riva Collection is a carefully curated gathering of contemporary art, mostly by American artists, located in Brussels, Belgium.

Portrait of Charles Riva © Charles Riva Collection
Portrait of Charles Riva © Charles Riva Collection

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.

Roy Lichtenstein Brushstroke, 1965 Framed print on plexi vitrine (76,2 x 10,2 x 61 cm) © Charles Riva Collection
Roy Lichtenstein Brushstroke, 1965 Framed print on plexi vitrine (76,2 x 10,2 x 61 cm) © Charles Riva Collection

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.

Installation view, Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Installation view, Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Christopher Wool Untitled, 2008-2011 Painting silkscreen ink, enamel, on paper (182 x 140.3 cm) Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Christopher Wool Untitled, 2008-2011 Painting silkscreen ink, enamel, on paper (182 x 140.3 cm) Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Frank Stella Lunna Wola II, 1973 Mixed media collage (246 x 271,8 x 12,7 cm) Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Frank Stella Lunna Wola II, 1973 Mixed media collage (246 x 271,8 x 12,7 cm) Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Sterling Ruby SP 149, 2010 Spray paint on canvas (254 x 365,8 x 5,08 cm) Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Sterling Ruby SP 149, 2010 Spray paint on canvas (254 x 365,8 x 5,08 cm) Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Daniel Richter Die entspannten Lebern, 2022 Oil on canvas (220 x 165 cm) © Charles Riva Collection
Daniel Richter Die entspannten Lebern, 2022 Oil on canvas (220 x 165 cm) © Charles Riva Collection
Ed Ruscha Texas, 1962 Oil and printed paper, collage on paper (33 x 34 cm) Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Ed Ruscha Texas, 1962 Oil and printed paper, collage on paper (33 x 34 cm) Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Paul McCarthy Moeko Bling, 2009 Nickel plating on fiber glass (66 x 35,6 x 38,1 cm) Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Paul McCarthy Moeko Bling, 2009 Nickel plating on fiber glass (66 x 35,6 x 38,1 cm) Photo : Hugard & Vanoverschelde © Charles Riva Collection
Danh Vo Untitled, 2013 Ink drawing and goldleaf on cardboard Evian box (27 x 78 x 47 cm) © Charles Riva Collection
Danh Vo Untitled, 2013 Ink drawing and goldleaf on cardboard Evian box (27 x 78 x 47 cm) © Charles Riva Collection

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.

Belgium (27)

Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens

The industrialist couple Jules and Irma Dhondt-Dhaenens began collecting art in the 1920s

Vanhaerents Art Collection

Where the connection between building and collecting is more than metaphorical

Galila Barzilaï

Galila’s P.O.C presents itself as a contemporary curiosity cabinet.

AMEXICA @The Loft

The Family Servais Collection and The Loft present AMEXICA, an exhibition curated by Marisol Rodríguez

Schöne Sentimenten at the MDD

The Belgian Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, situated in the countryside at Deurle, presents an exhibition combining real artworks together with 'absent' ones.

Sun Women

"Sun Women" presents seven artists brought together from external private collections in Riva's exhibition space.

Servais Family Collection – Dérapages & Post-Bruises Imaginaries

The current hang of works from the Servais Family Collection, curated by Dragos Olea, offers a juxtaposition of concern versus hope

The Apartment

Charming presentation of contemporary art in the heart of Brussels.

Christophe Veys

An interview with the collector who owns the “invisible collection”.

Animals

An exhibition detailing the representation of the animal in contemporary art.

Remembering Mwene Mutapa – Exotic Mapping of a Collection

The Brussels-based contemporary art collection marked by a non-Western focus.

Polish Village

For the first time, the collection presents an exhibition entirely dedicated to the American artist Frank Stella.

Collection in Motion

“Our exhibition space does not aim to be an oasis."

Forever Young

The 2016 annual presentation organized by collector Alain Servais in his 900-square-meter loft in Brussels.

A from Animism, Atlas, Adrift[1]

A from Animism, Atlas, Adrift, Algorithmic, Apocryphal, Automatic, Ambiguous, Amnesia, Allegory, Above, Archive, Alien…

Transylvanian Visions

A fervent promoter and collector of Contemporary Romanian Art, with a special focus on the artistic phenomenon of the Cluj School.

Human Figure

Creating a dialogue between contemporary sculptures and works from Oceanic Art

The Power and The Glory

Opening on the eve of the now infamous 2016 US elections, “The Power and The Glory” set out to examine the tension between an artist’s desire to shine and their desire to exist.

Not Really Really

Removed from the material world and undergoing various transformations.

Walter Vanhaerents

A Story About An Island

Machinations at Verbeke

The Verbeke concept presents a private collection and lively program with an experimental spirit and devotion to nature.

Bewogen Beweging

Exhibition at the Verbeke Foundation.

Many Suns & Worlds

The Brussels based Vanhaerents Art Collection is hosting the first solo exhibition of Argentinian artist Tomás Saraceno.

From East to West

Located in an old grain factory on the banks of the Campine Canal in Herentals, the Art Center Hugo Voeten represents over 1 700 works that have been collected over a thirty year period.

Break Out!

In 1966, Alighiero Boetti created a trio of sculptures titled “Zig Zag”, consisting of the fabric of a beach chair woven in inside an aluminium cube.

Warhol & Subsequent Effects

Located in a charmingly remodelled former industrial building in the Dansaert district in the heart of Brussels, the Walter Vanhaerents contemporary art collection is presented in biannual exhibitions on three floors.