Elizabeth Fazzare: How did you begin to build your own collection?
Erin Wasson: In 2002, I moved into an artist collective community in Dallas, Texas where artists, curators and makers were living and working amongst each other upstairs, while the downstairs were art gallery spaces. At the helm of this community was the great David Quadrini who owned Angstrom Gallery. It was there I was introduced to such artists as Mark Flood, Jeff Elrod, Susie Rosmarin and John Riepenhoff. I would help David hang shows as he would educate me and guide me into endless knowledge. It was then I began collecting and down the road David and I went into partnership together to open QED with Elizabeth Dee together in Los Angeles in 2005. We also went on to have a gallery in Venice and collaborated on two group shows during the Dallas Art Fair.
EF: What pieces inspired you to continue?
EW: Watching artists like Erick Swenson create work that seemed alive and curating immersive spaces in which to experience these otherworldly creatures inspired me. So did seeing Vivian Suter working with natural elements in the jungle. I saw that when I was only 20. I knew I was forever hooked.
EF: What designers/artists are inspiring you right now?
EW: Gary Oglander’s pieces bring me great joy. His paintings and especially his sculptures. I’m also very much obsessed with lighting as sculpture. I’m a huge fan of Kazuhide Takahama’s Nefer floor lamps for Sirrah. Lighting is such a fundamental part of living with art.
EF: Does the marketplace help your discovery process? Why or why not?
EW: I think my actual eye guides me. A lot of my collection aren’t even collector pieces, they’re things I’ve found that truly bring me joy or make me feel something. I don’t think I’ll ever be guided by the marketplace as I’m not that kind of collector.
EF: What is the next piece on your radar?
EW: David-Jeremiah is a Texas artist. I recently did a studio visit with him and I truly think he has a profound future.
EF: What is the one piece that got away?
EW: Nothing has gotten away. If anything, perhaps pieces are still waiting for me to discover them. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.
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