The Thousands

Billionaire art collectors, right? Can’t live with ‘em (they usually have pretty good security); can’t read ARTFORUM‘s hilariously depressing Scene & Herd diaries without ‘em. Charles Saatchi is self-awarely hating on them and this guy with his fakes of work he really owns up on his walls coming to light is kinda, “Um…” But! White Rabbit founders the Neilson family are a Sydney instance of billionaire art collectors doing pretty good. Sure, the latest gallery newsletter did admit attendance at the super-crass (p)art(y)-fair Art Basel Miami Beach, but as is reflected in the current exhibition Beyond the Frame, their collection is anything but unreflective AND it gets a bunch of work not otherwise represented on our shores into the reach of the viewing public.

Because the exhibitions here are defined by personal taste, each rehang is kind of like a hangout, finding out what the White Rabbit Collection is up to and where it’s at. “What big, cramazing thing do you have up on the fourth floor this time, White Rabbit?” you might ask it, or “How freaked out exactly am I going to be by what is on in your screening room?” And because this is a spoken imaginary conversation you are having with the personification of an art collection, and there are (annoyingly) no hyperlinks in talking yet, it would say “Hey there’s a Peng Hung-Chih fountain sculpture that combines the head of a Mickey Mouse lookalike character Hamas uses to promote jihad with the body of Christ. I know, right?! It’s called Farfur the Martyr. And the film is Project Rrose, Love and Death and it’s by Wang Jun-Jieh, and it’s one of the best things ever.” In this spirit of getting-to-know-you, it is also worth mentioning that you should totally talk to the museum guides because they can tell you all kinds of value-adding anecdotes and tech-specs about the artists and works (and also they are nice).

The most important thing for you to know about Beyond the Frame, though, is that when you are in that screening room (and you totally should be because there is nudity and Duchamp and fire) if there is a girl in there seemingly watching video on repeat, do not be all giggling and chatty because I will shush you SO HARD. ’Kay?