Driven by a pursuit of awe, wonder, and authentic connection, artist Lottie Consalvo and her partner James Drinkwater, approach contemporary art not as an exercise in speculative acquisition but as a rich layer of everyday meaning and substance. For them, a collection is a living record of intuitive choices – where a chance encounter with a new work or a spontaneous exchange with a fellow maker carries as much weight as the art itself, serving to fill their lives with warmth, pleasure, and genuine intrigue.
Ahead of Sydney Contemporary, we spoke with Lottie and James about the humble, excuse-driven origins of their first art purchase, how trusting intuition over market value shapes their evolving collection, and why the Fair offers the perfect landscape for both seasoned and aspiring collectors to discover what truly speaks to them.
Nicholas John Wilkins
What first sparked your interest in collecting contemporary art?
It began at the exhibition Melbourne Now in 2013, an exhibition of Melbourne artists held by the NGV at the Ian Potter Centre. We saw paintings on paper by the artist Patrick Francis and were taken aback by them. We had not heard of the artist before and we went on to find out more. We were sent a catalogue of his work by Arts Projects Australia and they were $500 each. It was our son’s 2nd birthday coming up, we lived in a granny flat and had just started to feel like we were making a little bit of money from our art, so we decided as an excuse to buy one of Francis’ pieces, we would say it was for our son’s birthday. However, we couldn’t decide on one so we chose two. That was the beginning, we continued to make excuses to buy art from there on.
Photo: Nicholas John Wilkins
When encountering a new work, what qualities or ideas tend to draw you in?
We look for something we haven’t seen before, to encounter a newness steeped in the old.
Has your approach to collecting evolved over time? If so, how?
Not really, we don’t hunt things down or scroll through gallery catalogues to discover an artist. It just sort of happens. We often like to buy something after our own exhibitions. For instance, we were at a bar after James’ exhibition a couple of years back, and we were chatting with an artist Tara Macintosh who needed more money to get to Paris for a residency. She showed us her work on her phone and we genuinely loved it, so we bought one then and there. We seem to like a lot of the same things, but sometimes not. We do have a loose approach now where if one really wants it then the other trusts thier judgement. James has started enjoying photography so I think that will become more of a focus for us moving forward. We also finally just bought an Italian religious icon painting from the renaissance period which has been a dream of ours and I think it might be the beginning of something.
Photo: Nicholas John Wilkins
What role does living with artworks play in your everyday life?
It wraps our lives in a layer of substance, meaning, warmth and pleasure. We have a space in the bush we are building where we feel art is not necessary because the natural world is all around us, and the landscape does for us what art does in a city. We feel art is somewhat of the same thing as nature. It comes from a place that intrigues us, fills us with awe and wonder in our everyday life and we are all about chasing those moments.
Photo: Nicholas John Wilkins
As artists living closely with art both personally and professionally, how does your approach to collecting differ from more traditional ideas of collecting, and what tends to draw you towards a work?
Some collectors think about what they ‘should’ be buying. What will grow in value, the longevity of the artist. We look for an artist who we feel is really committed to their practice, who is genuine and doing it for the right reasons, and who simply collect things we are drawn to. Even if we love everything about the artist we still need to love what they make to buy it. We also swap art with artists, so we end up with things we could never have imagined. Like we have these amazing flags hanging in the centre of our living room made by Lauren Brincat which we never would have imagined in my wildest dreams of having.
Photo: Nicholas John Wilkins
Sydney Contemporary brings together a wide range of artists and galleries each year. What do you most look forward to discovering at the Fair?
Discovering new artists or seeing what artists are making now, how a practice evolves, where they are pushing into.
What advice would you give to someone beginning their journey as a collector?
Ultimately, buy what you like and if you don’t know what you like yet then Sydney Contemporary is a great place to start. You can see so many different artists works and start to gauge what you like. Maybe you find that you are really drawn to ceramics or thick oil painting, abstraction or figuration. Taste in art is like anything else; it comes from a life of being us. It can shift over time, mature. Talk to the gallerists, talk to the artists, start to get a feel for it and buy your first piece and treasure it and then watch how it becomes a special part of your everyday. We all seek meaning in one way or another and art is a beautiful place to find it.
Nanda\Hobbs Gallery represents Lottie and James, Lottie will be exhibiting at this year’s edition of Sydney Contemporary.
Sydney Contemporary returns to Carriageworks from 3 – 6 September. Tickets are on sale now.
