Foundation Member Profile

MEMBER PROFILE

Advice for ArtsThrive Collectors

ALEX HAUGER’S LOVE OF ART HAS

BEEN INGRAINED IN HIM since he was young. His parents are art collectors, Museum Foundation donors, and ArtsThrive supporters and attendees. When he was 16, the family traveled to Rome and the Vatican, and Hauger points to seeing Rafael’s School of Athens as the moment he became truly interested in art. He pursued an art history degree at University of Colorado, Boulder, and then completed a Masters in Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York. He worked in Aspen, Colorado, at Galleries Maximillian, where he became enamored with prints and printmaking. “The gallery in Aspen sold fine prints from modern masters to contemporary, and working there about I got excited about prints,” he says. “I was interested in dispelling the common misunderstandings about printing—that’s it’s just a photo print-out. I really tried to help people understand [the printing process], such as lithography and etching and photogravure.”

Hauger’s involvement with the Museum Foundation began about five years ago when he returned to Albuquerque and joined the Shaken Not Stirred organizing committee. From there, he became more involved in the Foundation, and a year ago he was asked to join the Board of Directors.

“My parents have been involved with the Museum. … They are avid collectors. One of the cool things growing up was that my parents own some works by the same artists who are in the permanent exhibition.” Standout exhibitions for Hauger include the When Modern Was Contemporary exhibition, which played into his sensibility as an avid collector himself. His tastes trend toward Young British Artists (YBAs), who, according to the Tate Museum, began to exhibit together in 1988. Damien Hirst, who emerged on the art scene in the 1980s, is considered the ringleader, curating a pop-up exhibition in an empty warehouse. Hauger also likes the minimalists works of Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, and the conceptual works of artists such as Lawrence Weiner.

With ArtsThrive opening in October, Hauger offers advice to would-be collectors on purchasing art. He says there are two schools of thought: One is to consider the staying power and collectability of works by looking into an artist’s resumé. Where have they shown? How long have they been around? Are they doing something really new? The second way to collect is simpler— buy what appeals, and know that your purchase is going to a great cause. “When you are looking at a piece, do you really like it? Also keep in mind that ArtsThrive is really for pure art lovers as much as its for collectors. If something makes you say, ‘wow! I want to look at the object every day,’ then you should buy it. ArtsThrive is really the essence of art collecting: buy it because you love it, and you’re supporting the Museum.” Hauger also advises would-be collectors not to pigeon-hole themselves into a theme, a place, or a type of artist, but instead let the art you purchase drive your theme. He says, “It will develop organically.”

Alex and Nadine Hauger