Conversations on Collecting: At Home with Collectors: Wil Aballe

Conversations on Collecting: At Home with Collectors: this series will bring us into dialogue with contemporary collectors to discuss the works they are living with as we go through this period of self-isolation at home. We consider which works speak uniquely now, works that resonate over time and contemplation and how the relationship with collecting and collections impacts how we live, and are in dialogue with art works during this unprecedented time. Presented in collaboration with the Contemporary Art Society Vancouver.

This week Wil Aballe, in day 35 of self-isolation, takes us through a tour of the work in his collection residing in his dining room and workspace during this time. Aballe reflects upon the work of the many artists in the room and delves into Neil Campbell's "Fluo" painting, from 1993, its optical and retinal effects and the ultimate phenomenological experience Campbell creates and how it brings the considerations of why we look at work, its temporal aspects, immediacy and how it captivates us over time. Aballe also examines how digital communities can be paralleled and created through our new digital spaces and skills-sets during self-isolation, and also the challenges that persist in doing so.

Wil Aballe is known as the owner and director of Vancouver-based, Wil Aballe Art Projects | WAAP, founded in 2013. He has been collecting contemporary art since 2006. There is an intersection between his interests from a collector’s perspective and curatorially, primarily the emerging generation of West Coast artists. In parallel, the gallery has given dozens of artists their first presentations in a gallery setting, as well as nationally and internationally. Aballe has given collecting talks in various settings, including at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Richmond Art Gallery, and Surrey Art Gallery. In addition to the gallery, Aballe can operate in an advisory capacity to help collectors manage and develop their collections.