Edward Tyler Nahem On Collecting Art During A Pandemic
Art collector, gallerist and theatre producer Edward Tyler Nahem speaks to BAZAAR Art about dealing and collecting art during a pandemic, his love for Japanese culture and the evolution of collecting
I went into this conversation with Edward Tyler Nahem, one of New York’s most prominent collectors, gallerists and art industry professionals, wanting to speak about reimagining one’s collection in the time of a global pandemic, and came out with a conclusive outlook on what it means to witness the trajectory of an art scene come to fruition in the present moment, where things are truly unpredictable.
“I started collecting in the late 1970s – it began with an infatuation with Japanese prints, paintings and illustrated books from the 18th and 19th centuries,” reminisces Edward, on the beginnings of his collecting ventures during his late twenties. “I had a deep respect for Japanese culture and art.” Having never worked for anyone in the art business, Edward developed what he refers to as “a good eye” over the years, which was eventually coupled with great acumen and shrewd business sense, resulting in him thriving in the market as an art dealer.
Edward Tyler Nahem
“There wasn’t much of an art scene back then,” he recalls. “No ‘art world’ in the way that we know it today – collectors were nerdy academic types, some socialites here and there, but it wasn’t a glamorous field. But my character is such that when something grabs me, it’s hard not to get involved.” Edward’s collection is known to include an array of pieces by African American artists in particular. “What acted as a catalyst for this is Black culture in America, an undeniable influence since my childhood,” he says. “Music also played a big role. As I was able to start to afford to buy things, I went after art that was hard to resist.”
A great example in the collector’s home is a work by African American artist Kori Newkirk, depicting a baseball field using pony beads, which are used predominantly in Black culture to style hair. This is an artwork Edward cherishes dearly as a baseball enthusiast. “I was born in New York City, in the greatest borough in the world, Brooklyn,” he shares.
“It exposes you to so much diversity of life. All four of my grandparents were from Aleppo. We moved around a lot and it gave me perspective.” Edward’s rich collection includes works by El Anatsui, Theaster Gates, Julie Mehretu, Nick Cave and Beatriz Milhazes, to name just some. Another work of note in his collection is Saint Gregory of Palamas (2014) by Kehinde Wiley.
Edward Tyler Nahem – Living Room, Photo by Tria Giovan
Edward lived and ran his own gallery in Oslo, Norway, from 1977 to 1985, flying back and forth to New York until he finally opened the eponymous Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art gallery in Midtown, Manhattan in 1986. “I started in New York City during the nascent East Village art scene that gave rise to Basquiat, Haring, Schnabel and more, which resulted in a lot of galleries moving to SoHo and Tribeca,” he says.
“There was a social life, intellectual life, nightlife in those days. We’d go to the Palladium, where you’d find artists and entertainers. We would be at Studio 54 and so on, but the main observation is that art and art-making went hand-in-hand with that social scene. They were, in many ways, intertwined. It’s always funny when you draw a timeline on these things, it’s like when you talk aboutmusic and you casually drop that you were at Woodstock. We all were. It wasn’t considered some seminal, historical, life-changing event at the time,” He shrugs, “It was cool, but it was also just the place to be.”
The evolution of collecting gave way to a shift in the way the industry operated. Edward has noted that collecting has become much more commercialised. “The commerce of art has really taken on a huge – almost too big of a bite – out of the art world. Over the years, particularly the past 15 years or so, there’s been such commodification of art,” he observes. “People think in terms of money and investment – is it worth it?”
Edward Tyler Nahem – Master Bedroom, Photo by Tria Giovan
Collecting offers Edward a refuge from dealing art. Keeping his collecting interests and dealing interests separate allows for both worlds to overlap, without colliding. He believes in the passion and enthusiasm of art collection. The ability for art to act as a form of salvation, a place where we can go to escape the mundanities of day-to-day life. “For the most part, I keep my collecting interests and dealing interests very separate,” he explains.
“Collecting offers me a refuge from what I do every day as an art dealer. If I see something I like, I don’t care about who’s collecting that artist; whether or not they’ll have a show at MoMA, or if the piece has a future. It’s fueled by a passion for something.”
A few prominent artworks in Edward’s collection include Cause and Effect (2008) by Do Ho Suh, a whimsical piece by Tanya Minhas and May Flowers from May Days Long Forgotten (2002) by Carrie Mae Weems, to name a few. “There’s been the opposite effect of rearranging everything actually, with all that’s gone on with the pandemic, maybe there’s a sense of wanting to cling onto something that has been there, that has a certain consistency to it, that has a certain stability to it because nothing else in life does these days,” sighs Edward. The discourse around buying and selling art during COVID- 19 has been quite polarised. The Edward Tyler Nahem gallery moved their exhibition online two months after the pandemic started, consciously taking the time to process and adjust to such a pivotal moment in history.
“The real question was, how do you get someone who used to spend $25,000 on a piece online and has the ability to spend over $1 million, to do so without seeing it in person,” says Edward. “We’ve succeeded in doing this through the process of better documentation, photography, archiving and relied greatly on personal relationships with collectors to trust you to give them the right advice.”
Seeing art in person, we agreed, produces an irreplaceable feeling. Edward has noted the effect of the pandemic on slowing down sales in the art market. “I think being fast to adapt wasn’t a priority. Around mid-March, there was a certain level of panic going on – virtual shows, art at home, people reaching in every direction,” he says.
Earlier this year, the Edward Tyler Nahem gallery launched a solo show by American painter Kenneth V. Young, which abruptly moved online after the gallery’s temporary closure due to COVID-19. “We’re all a little numb from what we’re experiencing all around us and art, more so than Netflix, should ideally be a place to go to in times like these.” Edwards’ Hamptons home was designed with his brother,
interior designer Joe Nahem. “We’ll come here and take a walk by the ocean, come back, sit by the fire, read, watch a movie, listen to music, eat, drink,” he smiles.
“The home, even more so now since the pandemic, plays such an integral role in soothing on a daily basis. Watching the garden every day for months, there’s no big difference between admiring the beauty and intricacy of a great tree and that of a great work of art.”
Edward Tyler Nahem – Dining Room, Photo by Tria Giovan
Edward is currently focusing on the online streaming of one of his movie productions entitled All Rise, a film based on a book by the same name written by the late African American writer, Walter Dean Myers. The book has been used in high school curriculum around the USA, and is a true reflection of our times, a story of culture, race, diversity and resilience. The film features Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison, Jeffrey Wright and ASAP Rocky.
“The repercussions of the coronavirus are still rippling through the art industry, however, devastating as this pandemic has been, it’s given us healthy moments for pause and pondering and looking beyond what we’re used to having in our immediate periphery.” edwardtylernahemfineart.com
IMAGES COURTESY OF EDWARD TYLER NAHEM
From the Autumn 2020 Issue of Harper’s Bazaar Art