DETAILS

Join Art Saint Louis for the exciting launch of Couch Conversations, an event series designed to nurture and develop a deeper relationship with collecting original, ideally local art and the deeply generative implications, as well as meeting other collectors or artists and strengthening our community around collecting. For some, the idea of going into an art gallery, buying original art or calling yourself an art collector is intimidating or seems like an otherworldly kind of thing. For some, this is not a scary thing, but one that they just want to learn more about and better understand what it is that they are drawn to and how to connect with artists, galleries and invest in the best way for their own life situations. This series is designed as an access point and to break down barriers to entry into the honestly intriguing, exciting and world-expanding experience of connecting with original art and bringing it into your daily life and home. Of course, collecting and making art are not sinful, nor are they just for the elite. By aligning this first event with this provocative subject matter connecting to our current exhibit "Sin City", however, depicting or challenging sin and leveraging this concept in visual art from a wide spectrum of perspectives, as the exhibiting artists and McMullin do, we are providing an approachable entry point to why making and collecting art are universal human needs. De Cruz examines why/how humans engage in pursuits like art that seem remote from the immediate concerns of survival or reproduction. A synthesis of these overarching themes is her recent book Wonderstruck (Princeton University Press, 2024). So, pick up your complimentary hand-crafted coffee and sinfully decadent snack, and pull up a chair around the couch with Helen De Cruz and Aaron McMullin as we explore why we make and collect art, not as indulgent acts, but as ones central to the human condition. You might just learn something about yourself and your tastes.