an interview with Leyla Pekin
How did you come to be a collector of art? What was the process like? What was the first artwork you purchased?
I actually started pretty fast, but I didn’t consider myself a collector and I didn’t have a specific concept or trajectory in mind. I had time after retiring, and it just came to me naturally that if I liked something, I bought it. Even now, I don’t consider myself a collector. I believe a title like that implies something much more than what I consider myself to be, which is a person who simply likes art and who wants to help improve and support the art scene of my country. Today, I feel that purchasing an art piece and owning it doesn’t give me the same type of satisfaction as supporting the artists and the gallery system. Therefore, I mostly buy local artists and from local galleries. This may not make my collection so competitive internationally, however it makes me feel better. I have talked on many occasions about my first purchase and how it felt, but it is irrelevant to mention it at this point. The important thing is that I liked what I bought and still do. I couldn’t have bought it without the galleries’ support, which is something I appreciate a lot.