Independent Collectors

We Still Have Wild Birds Here

Overlooked American artist Gene Beery (b. 1937), declared and depicted reflections in his paintings with a relevant truth and irony that is no less today.

GENE BEERY, We Still Have Wild Birds Here, c. 1990. Collection of Wayne Gonzales, New York
GENE BEERY, We Still Have Wild Birds Here, c. 1990. Collection of Wayne Gonzales, New York

Iconic minimalist artist, Sol LeWitt, took a particular liking to Beery’s works and stepped in as the artist as collector and acquired (through purchase and gifting) many. The works otherwise were nearly discarded and therefore thanks to Sol’s saving, a pertinence has been preserved.

Bringing this to public view at the Fri Art Kunsthalle in Fribourg, Switzerland, 40 works spanning from 1960 – 2016, are currently exhibited as the first Gene Beery retrospective. The works range from early anti-art paintings (1960-1963), figurative works (1965-1975), the artist-book series (1976-1985) and the burgeoning contemporary period (1986-2016). Many of the works have never been shown before, or at least since the early 60’s.

Many of the works are on loan from The LeWitt Collection, also marking a friendship between Sol and Beery. Like his peers, Beery developed a strong Abstract Expressionist fatigue and his paintings held a truly anti-painting stance. Beery is one of the first artists to use words and text to form visual artworks, reducing the art form to a written idea, which he coined the “Paintogram.” In the early 1990s, he painted “We Still Have Wild Birds Here,” reflecting his concerns about global warming and the preservation of our natural habitat.

Following below recounts the moment that Beery left New York, empty handed of his paintings, which were then saved by Sol:

“For his solo at Lola’s gallery in 1963 Beery showed some fifteen works produced between 1958 and 1963, including eight to ten text paintings. The statements written on these paintings were not necessarily agreeable to artists and art professionals, since they mocked art and art circles. That is probably why professionals, artists and curators did not respond favorably to his work. Nonetheless, the exhibition led some figures in the art world to visit his studio at 117 Hester Street. Beery recalls a meeting with Tinguely and Saint Phalle: ‘Niki and Jean came to the studio. But they didn’t understand my paintings fully. They missed – or avoided – the humor, the deadpan wit. Humor, which is so important for me, was not acknowledged. So I left’.

LeWitt discovered that the landlord was about to clear Beery’s loft and salvaged paintings that otherwise would have gone to the landfill site on Staten Island. These paintings became part of LeWitt and his wife Carol Androccio’s collection. LeWitt and Beery maintained contact through phone calls and postcards. They met whenever the occasion arose. Beery described ‘how an uncannily timely postcard or phone call or art buy by Sol rescued [him] innumerable times from the ex-artist dump. LeWitt’s support of Beery and numerous artists is best known through the collection he built up beginning in the 1960s. Several of these artists had lived in and around Hester Street, including Hannah Darboven, Eva Hesse and Adrian Piper.”

(Jo Melvin and Balthazar Lovay – From the publication Gene Beery, Fri Art, Mousse Publishing, 2019)

Here in this Online Exhibition, we share a selection of works from The LeWitt Collection, as well as a number of works brought together for the purpose of the exhibition, “Gene Beery“.

GENE BEERY, Between the Eyes Art (also known as Planning for the Endless Aesthetic Visualization), 1969. Courtesy Vancouver Art Gallery
GENE BEERY, Between the Eyes Art (also known as Planning for the Endless Aesthetic Visualization), 1969. Courtesy Vancouver Art Gallery
GENE BEERY, The Power Lines, 1966. Courtesy of the artist and Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, The Power Lines, 1966. Courtesy of the artist and Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, With Sol LeWitt in Mind or Unauthorized Biography of Sol LeWitt, 1986. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BEERY, With Sol LeWitt in Mind or Unauthorized Biography of Sol LeWitt, 1986. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BEERY, This is my Last Serious Painting, 1960. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BEERY, This is my Last Serious Painting, 1960. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BEERY, Counter clockwise compass demonstrating the truth of worth, 1965. Courtesy the artist and Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, Counter clockwise compass demonstrating the truth of worth, 1965. Courtesy the artist and Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, Poem, 2009. Private Collection L.A
GENE BEERY, Poem, 2009. Private Collection L.A
GENE BEERY, Clouds, 1965. Photo: Mareike Tocha, Courtesy the artist and Jan Kaps, Cologne
GENE BEERY, Clouds, 1965. Photo: Mareike Tocha, Courtesy the artist and Jan Kaps, Cologne
GENE BEERY, Intellectual Painting No. 2, 1965. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BEERY, Intellectual Painting No. 2, 1965. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BEERY, Looking for visual thrills, 2010. Photo: Mareike Tocha, Courtesy the artist and Jan Kaps, Cologne
GENE BEERY, Looking for visual thrills, 2010. Photo: Mareike Tocha, Courtesy the artist and Jan Kaps, Cologne
GENE BEERY, I love you, 1965. Courtesy of the artist and Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, I love you, 1965. Courtesy of the artist and Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, Life Stars, 2016. Photo: Mareike Tocha, Courtesy the artist and Jan Kaps, Cologne
GENE BEERY, Life Stars, 2016. Photo: Mareike Tocha, Courtesy the artist and Jan Kaps, Cologne
GENE BEERY, Timeless TRA NUP, 1993. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BEERY, Timeless TRA NUP, 1993. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BERRY, Howdy Podners !..., 1960. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BERRY, Howdy Podners !..., 1960. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BEERY, Experiment in Time, 1972
GENE BEERY, Experiment in Time, 1972
GENE BEERY, This Painting is Permanently In Style, 2007. Courtesy of the artist and Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, This Painting is Permanently In Style, 2007. Courtesy of the artist and Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, Just a Good Painting, 1970. Private Collection
GENE BEERY, Just a Good Painting, 1970. Private Collection
GENE BEERY, Lemon Job, 1969. Collection of Amy Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, Lemon Job, 1969. Collection of Amy Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, Out of Order, c.1960-1964. Courtesy of Charles LeDray
GENE BEERY, Out of Order, c.1960-1964. Courtesy of Charles LeDray
GENE BEERY, Watch this Canvas, 1960. LeWitt Collection, Chester
GENE BEERY, Watch this Canvas, 1960. LeWitt Collection, Chester
GENE BEERY, Special Event, 1969. Courtesy of the artist and Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, Special Event, 1969. Courtesy of the artist and Greenspon, New York
GENE BEERY, Vibrastrope, 1993. Photo: Mareike Tocha, Courtesy the artist and Jan Kaps, Cologne
GENE BEERY, Vibrastrope, 1993. Photo: Mareike Tocha, Courtesy the artist and Jan Kaps, Cologne
GENE BEERY, Still Life, 2016. Photo: Mareike Tocha, Courtesy the artist and Jan Kaps, Cologne
GENE BEERY, Still Life, 2016. Photo: Mareike Tocha, Courtesy the artist and Jan Kaps, Cologne
GENE BEERY, Extraordinary Message Tee, 2002. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA
GENE BEERY, Extraordinary Message Tee, 2002. LeWitt Collection, Chester, Connecticut, USA

USA (55)

West Collection

Since 1996, Al & Paige West have been building an impressive collection, including works by artists such as Donald Judd, Martin Boyce, and Candice Breitz.

Valeria Napoleone

The Italian-born collector actively seeks out under­represented positions and therefore only acquires works by women artists.

Christine and Andrew Hall

Interview with the collectors behind Hall Art Foundation

Gary Yeh

IC talks to Gary Yeh.

de la Cruz Collection

Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz, the co-founders of the renowned collection that bears their name, are always quick to highlight the importance of education when discussing the role the De La Cruz Collection plays in the Miami community.

The Broad Collection

Walking down the Grand Avenue in Los Angeles, right by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), you can’t help but be struck by the angular construction of The Broad and its bright white honeycomb exterior.

Marciano Art Foundation

Maurice and Paul Marciano, founders of the GUESS jeans brand, in their five-thousand-square-meter exhibition space

The Mallin Collection

Nestled on 15 acres in the scenic town of Pound Ridge, New York, Buckhorn Sculpture Park features gardens, woodlands, a lake and an orchard.

Transformer Station

Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell’s transformation of an electrical power station in Cleveland

The Goss-Michael Foundation

A place that grew out of a romantic connection between Kenny Goss and the late pop music legend, George Michael

Franks-Suss Collection

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

Mera & Donald Rubell

Five quick questions, five short answers by the famous couple behind the Rubell Family Collection

Thoma Foundation

Two intimate art spaces in Chicago and Santa Fe encourage dialogue between work and viewer

Martin Margulies

Interview with the collector behind the Margulies Collection

Seth Stolbun

The Houston native collector almost exclusively acquires works from artists that he has a personal relationship with

The Donum Collection

Wine tasting and Crouching Spider by Louise Bourgeois

March 8th 2022

The Stolbun Collection presents “March 8th 2022”, likely the only exhibition at Ferndale–Seth Stolbun’s rental home, as captured by his iPhone

Rubell Family Collection

Curator Joey Lico teams up with artist Alexis Diaz to visit the mighty Rubell Museum in Miami

Saint Georgina Slays The Dragon

A new collection on IC, see inside The Bennett Collection, which is focused on figurative realism, specifically the realistic, painted depiction of women by women.

Flippin The Script with Armand-Paul Family Collection

In “Flippin The Script” we warmly welcome the Armand-Paul Family Collection in New York to IC, with its focus on the African and Latin diasporas, and interest in performance.

Donna Huanca – Obsidian Ladder

Skin painting artist Donna Huanca participates in the current MAF project series, exploring gender and sexuality in contemporary life.

Life Cycle

The Marciano Art Foundation hosted Ai Weiwei for the third MAF Project in their Theatre Gallery.

The Wig Museum

LA's MAF was inaugurated in 2017 with a solo show of Jim Shaw, curated by Philipp Kaiser.

Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation

Delve into the digital art of the collection exhibited across two spaces.

Art Now, Art Forever: Damon Zucconi

As collectors dedicated to following artist careers in depth and breadth, Clayton Press and Gregory Linn describe their on-going relationship to the work of Damon Zucconi, whose works are frequently accessible online.

www.Simco Web Works

In context of exposing art digitally and exposing digital art, we wanted to present artworks that have only and always existed on the web, as URLs, here in the collection of Stefan Simchowitz.

Responding to Nature

Tucked away in the vineyard’s of San Francisco you’ll find the secret sculpture park of Nancy and Steve Oliver.

Go Figure / Alec Soth

This summer, the Pizzuti Collection will feature two exhibitions featuring works taken from the private collection of Ron and Ann Pizzuti.

John Morrissey

Discover is a keyword for the American attorney and art collector John Morrissey, who directs his focus towards emerging contemporary artists.

Roberto Toscano

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Stefan Simchowitz Collection

L.A.’s most controversial art collector opens up his private collection of contemporary painting.

Carole Server

The New York-based collectors with an enthusiasm for patronage and education.

Force and Form

The private collection studying contemporary visual culture.

Elayne & Marvin Mordes

The sun has just risen over the eaves when we meet on Park Avenue one peaceful January morning and Marvin and Elayne Mordes seem just the way we’d had hoped – warm, open and sympathetic.

Buckhorn Sculpture Park

Located in the scenic town of Pound Ridge, New York, you’ll find the private home of collector couple Sherry and Joel Mallin and their Buckhorn Sculpture Park.

Visions From India

The exhibition “Transforming Vision” includes some of the most prominent Indian artists working today, with all forty works coming from the Pizzuti Collection.

Clayton Press & Gregory Linn

Since 1980, Clayton Press and Gregory Linn – New Jersey collectors – have evolved from being energetic art aficionados to art market specialists.

Steve Shane

Manhattan-based collector Steve Shane is completely in love with art.

Soul Of A Nation: Art In The Age Of Black Power 1963-1983

HEAR this Online Exhibition, exclusively put together with an abundance of images, to view whilst listening to a curated playlist by Quincy Jones.

The Broad Survey Of Shirin Neshat

Downtown L.A.’s The Broad presents Shirin Neshat in an immersive survey.

PHANTASMAGORIA

Exhibition at the Stolen Collection

The Herskovic Collection

A fanatic collector of Abstract Expressionist Painting.

The Dikeou Collection — Part III

A variety of artworks by both established and emerging artists.

The Dikeou Collection — Part IV

A variety of artworks by both established and emerging artists.

The Dikeou Collection – Part II

Artworks by both established and emerging artists, ranging from installations, sculpture, photographs, videos, drawings, to painting.s.

The Dikeou Collection – Part I

Founded in 1998 by the siblings Pany and Devon Dikeou, the Dikeou Collection is located in downtown Denver.

Times of Change

New York-based collector Gregory Vinitsky has been dedicated to collecting contemporary since the 1970s.

Working Hard for Art

An art consultant and curator by day, the Brooklyn-based Collector is a self proclaimed “gutsy newcomer”, working with emerging artists to help her push her collection further.

Chaotic Contemporary

Chicago based collector Troy Klyber, is a contemporary art collector that loves to engage in a bit of chaos.

No Man’s Land

Just in time for the opening of Art Basel Miami Beach 2015, the Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation has opened its new exhibition, “NO MAN’S LAND: Women Artists from the Rubell Family Collection”.

Letters to Pia

Having been given the chance to acquire intimate images of Morrisroe’s muse, Pia Howard, Boston-based collector Adam Larson speaks to IC about his relationship with the following photographs, and of course about Pia.

Select Works from the Stolbun Collection

The Stolbun Collection has turned its attention to featuring younger American artists

R F Jefferies – Don’t Postpone Joy

A look inside the collection of San Diego-based collector R F Jefferies.

THE OJIKUTU COLLECTION

Exquisite showcase of treasures of African art, culture, and history