Lester Marks shares his guidelines for collecting art

Community Artists’ Collective’s Board Member Lester Marks—recognized as one of the top 100 art collectors in the United States and one of the outstanding members of the global arts community—shared his benchmarks for collecting art at the Texas Contemporary Art Fair in October. Marks, who was named The Collective’s “Patron of the Year” in 2014 in recognition of his lifetime of contributions to artists and their communities, defines the similarities found in all great art.

“Great art, like life itself, is great art because it has passion. It should be difficult, demanding, mysterious and awe-inspiring. It should be liberating, seductive and sublime.

“Whether it produced by young Texas artists or contemporary masters, there are five motifs that guide what I acquire. I like to collect artists:

• who are able to turn the simple into the sublime • the ordinary into the extraordinary • the weird into the wonderful.