IDENTITY

COLLECTORS

DAVID LIU AND MICHAEL FOUNTAS FORGE DEEP RELATIONSHIPS WITH GALLERISTS AND ARTISTS.

BY NANCY COHEN ISRAEL PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN SMITH

At its best, art collecting is a journey of continuous discovery. For David Liu and Michael Fountas, this exploration is enriched by the relationships formed with galleries and artists. They credit the Dallas Art Fair as a significant entry point on this path. “It made buying art feel accessible. That opened some doors, making us feel confident talking to gallerists and artists,” Liu explains.

Ironically, the pandemic gave them additional opportunities to reach out. Fountas notes that as people craved connection, avenues such as social media provided the opportunity to engage with more artists. With the world now reconnecting physically, they have enjoyed spending part of their travels resuming studio visits to the artists they have met through the years.

Accessibility to this world was a major revelation as they began collecting. “We didn’t feel like we were supposed to be able to collect art. There was this perception that this isn’t for us,” Liu says. After beginning with a few acquisitions, largely based on aesthetics, their sizable collection now primarily explores issues of identity, with a particular focus on queer artists as well as artists of the Asian diaspora. They especially enjoy the constant learning that collecting offers.

The couple met when both lived in Washington, DC. Prior to returning to Liu’s hometown of Dallas, they lived in New York City and London, in much smaller domiciles. Now settled in a Dallas home, they have plenty of wall space for their growing collection. Notably, a large work on paper by Willehad Eilers makes a striking focal point in the breakfast room. It is among their earliest Dallas Art Fair acquisitions.

A formalist tondo by Sam Friedman is another early acquisition. Its ethereal meditation on the tonalities of red and yellow continues to inspire them. As Fountas posits, “We loved this in the round. Parts of it feel celestial or alien, or maybe it’s a sunset over Mars. It’s really beautiful.”

Currently, Liu says, “We gravitate more towards figurative work.” They have several small gems that engage through their intricacy and intimacy. A ballpoint figure drawing by Louis Fratino, for example, is exquisite in its simplicity of material and subject matter.

In a beautifully rendered work on paper by Timothy Lai, Liu is also drawn to the smudge marks left behind, evidence of the artist’s hand in the work. As with many of the artists in the collection, Lai lives a hyphenated, biracial identity. Born in Malaysia, his mother is Mexican American while his father is Chinese. Oscar yi Hou is a British-born, New York-based Chinese artist and writer whose work focuses on music and identity. Similarly, Lily Wong and Livien Yin use their work as a vehicle for exploring their Asian American identity. Drawing inspiration from old photographs of early Chinese Americans and Chinatown communities, Yin recontextualizes and reimagines the lives of immigrant women from Asia.

Immigrants, and most notably their children, often live between two cultures though can sometimes feel excluded from both. Several other artists in the collection, many from Africa, delve into this part of their story. For Ludovic Nkoth, who was born in Cameroon and moved to the United States as a young teenager, this dual identity is part of his narrative. With roots in Madagascar and France, Alexis Ralaivao explores issues of being a French artist of mixed ethnicity.

The work of Mozambican Cassi Namoda addresses post-colonialism in Africa.

The couple collects with an open mind and is willing to take chances, often acquiring work by rising artists or those telling a previously untold story. Jenna Gribbon, whose documentary work belies her vulnerability, is one such artist. Other artists in their collection include Louisville-based John Brooks. His larger-thanlife, up-close gaze of German expressionist painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner commands a corner in the primary bedroom. In the library, a mixed-media wall sculpture by Douglas Rieger, crafted in vinyl upholstery and wood, is a striking conversation piece.

Nontraditional materials, such as fabric, are the basis for work by others, including Lila de Magalhaes and Travis Boyer. North Texas native and New York–based Boyer uses crushed velvet to create textural lushness. His manipulation of this rich material, Fountas explains, gives the work its depth.

The couple also supports the local gallery scene. They have a special fondness for Gallery 12.26, from which they have acquired work by Algaé Bassens and Julia Maiuri.

The Dallas Art Fair offers them the opportunity to engage with like-minded attendees while also discovering new galleries. This year, they especially look forward to the programs at Grimm Gallery, Micki Meng, Lyles & King, 12.26, and Various Small Fires. As Liu shares, “We go on opening day, but we always end up going back. We’ve become friends with artists and galleries. These relationships are fun and rewarding. There is a community aspect to this fair that doesn’t happen at all fairs.” P