It’s a rare moment in a collector’s journey when, at long last, a collection comes full circle. That’s the position that Jen Rubio—co-founder and CEO of the buzzy luggage brand Away—and her husband Stewart Butterfield—co-founder and, until recently, CEO of Slack—found themselves in recently, when they purchased a large-scale work from Pop art titan Ed Ruscha. One of Rubio’s first acquisitions, given to her by Butterfield, was a Ruscha lithograph. “Coming full circle like this feels so incredible, so meaningful,” she coos.
Collecting with meaning could be Rubio’s motto. Since she first immersed herself in the art world, her collection has ballooned in size and scope—boasting contemporary stars like Simone Leigh, Joan Mitchell, Mickalene Thomas, Marina Perez Simão, Claire Tabouret, and Salman Toor.
The couple have doubled down on this commitment by selecting the New Mexico desert as the location for their future foundation, a vast sculpture park. It’s still early days, but the duo intends to commission objects that will “live in the massive open space in perpetuity, engaging with the geography over a very long time, hopefully well beyond us,” says Rubio.
Rubio has found another way to approach art with a sense of purpose. The youngest member of the Whitney Museum board, Rubio took the step—as one of her first actions following her appointment—of endowing an associate curator position focused on works by Latinx artists. She also spearheaded the Free Friday Nights initiative, enabling the museum to open its doors each week free of charge. In the year since the initiative’s inception, she says, the average visitor age has dropped. “They’re a more diverse group, too. My goal is to make the institution a vital part of growing up in New York. The barrier to entry is not just the cost—it’s making people feel welcome.”
For more from the 2024 Young Collectors list, read conversations with Daniel English, Noora Raj Brown, and Gwen Tilghman.
