From the 60’s to the present day: The Rubell Family Collection

By Oscar García García

The Rubell Family Collection (RFC) is one of the biggest and most important private contemporary art collections in the world. The collection has been assembled over the last 44 years, beginning shortly after the marriage of Don and Mera Rubell in 1964, when both husband and wife had the idea of collecting contemporary art. Their son, Jason, and daughter, Jennifer, joined their parents in collecting the works of art at a relatively young age and recently Jason’s wife, Michelle, has also joined the team.

Installation View, Euro-Centric, Part 1, Rubell Family Collection, Miami.
Courtesy of the Rubell Family Collection.

Today the collection is made up of more than 6000 works –sculptures, paintings, installations, photography and videos, dating from the 1960’s to the present day. Although this might not be the largest collection there is, without doubt it forms the most representative, important and complete collection to be found in the USA. Far more significant than the number of pieces it holds is the character of the collection itself. This character has been created, firstly, by the extensive travels of the Rubell family throughout the world, collecting modern art from Europe, Africa, Central and Latin America, among other places. Added to this is the family’s wish to share their collection with humanity; the diffusion of the Rubell Foundation connects it to all the museums in the world, especially those dedicated to modern art such as the Tate Gallery, the Pompidou Centre and the Whitney Museum. Pieces from the Rubell Family Collection are to be found on loan in all the most important exhibitions around the globe. Due to the large number of works it contains, series can be composed thematically, regionally or by generations, and these travel from institution to institution for the pleasure of a wide-ranging public. It should also be mentioned that the foundation plays an important role in Art Basel, one of the most well known art fairs in Miami, where the collection is housed.

Installation View, Euro-Centric, Part 1, Rubell Family Collection, Miami.
Courtesy of the Rubell Family Collection.

Many years ago the Rubell Family Collection was moved to Wynwood in Miami, Florida, an area now known as the Art District and recognised as a centre for contemporary art, but in those days an unremarkable industrial and residential zone. The Rubell family were the first to move into the area, alongside a space which served as a form of artists’ studio. Within a short time many galleries, artists’ workshops and collectors were also to be found there, transforming the area into what it is today. The Art District is run by an association formed of 45 art institutions, among them museums, collectors, galleries and art studios, the majority of which focus on contemporary art. The Rubell Family Collection is housed and exhibited on 29th street, Miami, in the former Drug Enforcement Agency warehouse, now converted into more than 400,000 square metres which house 27 galleries, a research library of more than 30,000 volumes, a film and lecture theatre, a media room, a bookshop, gift shop and sculpture gardens.

The collection opened to the public in 1996, firstly through programmed tours twice or three times a week and later expanding the opening times and visits. Since the year 2000 Mark Coetzee has been director of the RFC. Coetzee was originally from Cape Town, South Africa, where he founded the Fine Art Cabinet, a non-profit making organisation for which he curated more than 60 exhibitions. He has also written extensively on the subject of art for publications such as the Mail, the Guardian, Revue Noire and the Sunday Independent. In 2004 he published ‘Not Afraid: Rubell Family Collection’, the first book to be written about the RFC. This is not a catalogue or an art history manual by any means; it is, rather, an awe-inspiring collection of images of contemporary art together with an introduction by Coetzee and including an interview with the Rubells.

The list of artists whose work can be found in the Rubell Family Collection is extensive and includes: Carl Andre, Janine Antoni, Keith Haring, Matthew Barney, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bernd & Hilla Becher, John Baldessari, Christian Boltanski, Maurizio Cattelan, Mike Kelley, Francesco Clemente, Gregory Crewdson, Rineke Dijkstra, Marlene Dumas, Dan Flavin, Gilbert & George, Robert Gober, Félix González-Torres, Peter Halley, Damien Hirst, Donald Judd, William Kentridge, Anselm Kiefer, Jeff Koons, Paul McCarthy, Takashi Murakami, Chris Ofili, Raymond Pettibon, Richard Prince, Charles Ray, Thomas Ruff, Anri Sala, David Salle, Wilhelm Sasnal, Cindy Sherman, Gregor Schneider, Haim Steinbach, Thomas Struth, Sarah Sze, Rosemarie Trockel, Julian Schnabel, Luc Tuymans, Andy Warhol, Christopher Wool, Catherine Opie, Lisa Yuskavage, Zhang Huan, Chris Burden, Neo Rauch, Doug Aitkin, Barbara Kruber and Jason Rhoades.

Oscar García García is Graduate in History of Art at Complutense University of Madrid.