Advice to an Aspiring Collector: Rafaela Seppälä

How did you get involved in art collecting? Was there an experience or meeting that played a particularly important role for you?

I have a varied background in the art world. My first job after finishing journalism school was to write arts coverage – interviewing artists and writing about big art events for an American news agency. Additionally, my first husband was a French artist, as was my father-in-law, so I lived in Paris and experienced the artworld through those who were creating it.

My second husband was a Finnish gallerist, so with him I lived the gallery life of meeting and spending time with artists, attending art fairs around the world, and organising events. Finally, I was a founding member of the Foundation for the Helsinki's contemporary art museum Kiasma, later a member of the Finnish National Gallery Board and now Chairman of my own Tiftö Foundation, supporting and promoting Finnish artists internationally.

Art has always been part of my life. I was always aware how very important it is for artists’ livelihoods to sell their art so when I had the means I began to purchase art. It is, in my mind, the best way to support art.

Could you take me through your first experience of purchasing an artwork?

In Paris my walls were filled with my husband’s art. Later, when I moved to Finland, I felt the need to be surrounded by my own art. The first artwork I bought was a light sculpture by Merja Vainio and then a drawing by A.R. Penck. I came across both by going to galleries.

What is a piece of advice you would give your younger self when you started collecting?

The best way to get started is first to look. Visit galleries, art fairs as well as museums. Educate yourself in art history – it is fascinating and fun. Figure out what makes your heart beat faster and what stays with you. Learn the story behind the work – what inspired it and how it fits with the artist’s other works.

Fall in love! Buy what you can reasonably afford. Galleries might allow you to pay in instalments. Art is a way of life that can keep you going for a very long time - it is also a way to meet wonderful and interesting people.

How do you collect today? Do you have a certain method, approach, or style that influences your choices?

I listen to my heart. I am self taught in matters of contemporary art and would say my eye has trained itself over the years. I read about artists and their aims - I have no “whisperer” but when I was involved in gallery life, artworks and artists were discussed continuously by everyone.

I started by looking at and taking an interest in contemporary art and the great painters of the 1980’s. This evolved into more than 25 years of collecting. Now I am very interested in the Light and Space movement that originated in the West Coast of the United States and spread from there. James Turrell is magnificent as well as Mary Corse and Robert Irwin. I enjoy the innovative use of unusual media, be it Nam June Paik’s televisions and radios, Keith Sonnier’s neon, Tatsuo Miyajima’s number panels or the great installations of Charles Sandison.

What trends do you see characterising the contemporary art scene right now and how do you relate to them? Do you follow trends, or do you actively resist that?

I look at trends - but they do not always touch me or motivate me to buy. I therefore don't need to resist. Great work is to be found everywhere - in Madrid I have seen interesting work from South America and the Caribbean.

The internet is playing an increasing role in today's art market - in your view, how has digitalisation changed the art collecting scene? Has it changed the way you collect?

The internet feeds us collectors with a flood of information about trends and shows around the world. It allows us to follow certain artists. I like to follow artists on Instagram - however I want to see the work “in real life”.

Nothing replaces the personal experience of viewing an artwork. Art Fairs are excellent for this and the previews or viewing rooms sent by galleries are very interesting although I believe there are too many of them. The Internet has made art accessible to all, yet the volume of content makes it difficult for anyone to truly comprehend or absorb it all. Art gives you a very personal, intellectual, and physical encounter that is meant to be experienced directly, face-to-face, in person, as intended by the artist.