What drives the next generation of art collectors? In this series, we explore how NextGen collectors are reshaping the landscape of collecting through instinct, access, relationships, and lived experience - from their first encounters with art to the values that shape what, how, and why they collect today.
In this article, meet Jeppe Bruun Fals and Rita Rosa Prates, whose approach to collecting is personal, intuitive, and deeply connected to community. For them, relationships with artists and the stories surrounding a work often hold as much value as the objects themselves.
Image of Rita Rosa Prates and Jeppe Bruun Fals in their home
Courtesy of Rita Rosa Prates and Jeppe Bruun Fals. Photo by Peter Dalsgaard
When and how did you start collecting art?
I bought my first original painting about ten years ago. I saw it in a large group exhibition, and it immediately spoke to me. At the time, I was freelancing, and had very little money, but bought it anyway. I spent the following months figuring out how to cover the cost.
I was definitely influenced by my partner Jeppe. Our first shared purchase was a work by a Catalan artist while we were living in Barcelona. At the time, it felt huge for me. It happened just before we decided to move to Denmark. Even though it wasn’t the most expensive piece or the one I visually love the most, it’s a purchase I will never forget as it marks a moment in our lives and the start of my own personal collecting journey.
Did you grow up with art and has this influenced your approach to collecting?
My parents have always had a deep admiration for art, but they never collected in the traditional sense. Still, art was always present. I never started collecting in order to “own” something. I collect to surround myself and my family with creativity, images and narratives that make you pause and wonder.
I grew up in the Azores, where nature is outstanding but the access to culture was and is very limited. My exposure to art came mostly through travel. So rather than coming from a background of collecting, my approach is shaped by curiosity, and the experience of discovering art over time.
Where do you discover new artists or works? Is it through galleries, art fairs, social media, or other channels?
In the beginning, I relied heavily on the internet to discover new artists. Over time, as I started spending more time with artists and I realised that some of the best recommendations come directly from them. I often ask artists whose work they admire and who I should pay attention to.
Most of the artists I discover don’t necessarily come from social media. Galleries are where I usually find new voices. We have a tradition of monthly gallery tours where we visit our favourite galleries in Copenhagen.
Image of Jeppe Bruun Fals and Rita Rosa Prates' home. Works by Igor Moritz and Dominic Dispirito
Courtesy of Jeppe Bruun Fals and Rita Rosa Prates
Image of Jeppe Bruun Fals and Rita Rosa Prates' home. Work by Cecilia Fiona and Troels Carlsen
Courtesy of Jeppe Bruun Fals and Rita Rosa Prates
How do social values and a sense of community influence your decision to purchase work from a particular artist or gallery?
Often, a work enters the collection after a long relationship has already begun: visiting studios, having conversations, following an artist’s practice over years. It is important for me to understand the person behind the work, and to feel connected to the context it comes from. I would have a hard time living with a work by someone I didn’t particularly like. Luckily, we haven’t had to test that yet.
We don’t buy art just for the work itself or the artist’s name. We purchase because of the connection we feel with a specific piece, a friendship with the artist, or the way a work captures a special moment in our lives. The social values and sense of community around the work are just as important as the work itself, and is what make collecting meaningful for us.
Do you think you are more open to collecting different media than older generations?
Not really. I am actually quite a conservative collector. I mainly collect paintings and sculptures. These disciplines have existed for hundreds of years, and for me they still feel endlessly relevant.
Painting is the medium we collect the most, but we’ve been trying to broaden that tendency by exploring other media. We have a few sculptures, one by Martha Hviid and one by Davide Hjort Di Fabio, and a vitral by Andrea Villalón. In the future, we’d love to collect more sculptures, but only when it feels right for our space and life. With a two year old child, our home is meant to be lived in, not treated like a museum, so paintings are often easier to live with.
How do you prioritise spending on art compared to other goods or experiences?
For many years, I prioritised art above everything else. I bought artworks I could not afford and lived on oatmeal for long stretches. Today, things are different. I am a father now, and priorities shift. I see the impact it has on my partner and daughter, and that has added an entirely new dimension to collecting.
Most purchases are carefully considered and reflected on, particularly by me, while Jeppe is a bit more spontaneous. At the end of my maternity leave, we visited an exhibition by Jon Erik Nyholm. We were drained by months of sleepless nights and needed a little spark to keep going. On impulse, we bought a work. It was not something I normally do, but that moment felt necessary, and I have never regretted it. It’s a purchase that carries a memory as much as it carries a piece of art.
If you could change or innovate one thing about the art world, what would it be?
I would change the pressure for young artists to achieve commercial success too early in their careers. Too much attention too early can be damaging to a developing practice, and social media has amplified the problem. When artists begin shaping their work to meet commercial demand or algorithmic expectations, it can interfere with their long-term development and the evaluation of their craft.
I would probably say transparency and education. Not in a way that removes mystery, but in a way that makes the field easier to enter and understand. More openness around pricing, processes, and career paths would help both artists and new collectors build more sustainable relationships.
How do you see your generation influencing the art market in the coming years?
I see both positive and negative developments. I am concerned about the power of social media and the pace it imposes on the art world. When algorithms decide what gets visibility, it can shape what gets made. On the positive side, the internet has given artists more independence.
I think the art market will become more flexible, personal, and open, shaped by people who see art as part of their lifestyle rather than something separate from it. There’s a stronger focus on personal connection rather than investment, and more interest in living with art in a real, everyday way. Also supporting emerging artists and building relationships with them over time, rather than just following traditional paths.
Where is your collection headed - do you have an artist you wish to own a work of, or do you have a specific collecting strategy looking ahead?
Our collection is definitely entering a more mature phase, and we are buying less but more deliberately. Rita and I have never sold a work. Our philosophy is to live with the artworks for as long as we are here, and hopefully share them with others.
At the same time, curiosity is still very much alive. We spend a lot of time discovering new artists and looking for works that give us the same feeling we had when we first started collecting.
I have a few names on my wishlist, some will always remain dreams, while others feel more realistic, such as Emily Gernild, Sonya Derviz or Katrine Bobek. Being in our thirties also gives us time, and over the last eight years we’ve already noticed that our taste has been shifting from a very figurative focus toward a more abstract direction.
Image of Jeppe Bruun Fals and Rita Rosa Prates' home. Works by Stevie Dix (left, below), Tomas Leth (top), Florence Hutchings (right)
Courtesy of Jeppe Bruun Fals and Rita Rosa Prates
“We collect to surround ourselves and our family with creativity, images and narratives that make you pause and wonder."
Art collectors
Jeppe Bruun Fals (b. 1992) is a Danish art collector based in Copenhagen. He is also co-owner of a Danish fashion company, and in 2019 he founded Originalpaperworks, a platform dedicated to supporting emerging collectors and making original works on paper more accessible to a wider audience.
@jbfals
Rita Rosa Prates (b. 1995) São Miguel, Azores, Portugal, is a Copenhagen-based graphic designer and art director. She works at Georg Jensen and takes on freelance projects for Danish and international brands. Alongside her design practice, she collaborates with Originalpaperworks, supporting the founder across visual and graphic development. Rita is also an art collector, building a collection together with her partner, Jeppe Bruun Fals.
Photo by Peter Dalsgaard
@ritarprates
