Collecting With Intent: Why Building a Cohesive Collection Matters

by Sylvain Gaillard

Collecting With Intent: Why Building a Cohesive Collection Matters

25 Jul 2025

Adrián Navarro, Paraíso #7, 2024. Image: courtesy of Adrián Navarro

For many first-time collectors, the art world can feel like a maze of spontaneity: an impulse buy at a fair, a recommendation from a friend, a name trending on Instagram. Only later, perhaps years into the journey, does a more reflective question emerge: Does it all connect? And if not, should it?

Intentional collecting doesn’t mean stripping away spontaneity or dampening your emotional response to art. Quite the opposite. It is about refining your instinct, letting your perspective evolve, and shaping a collection that speaks coherently, confidently, and in your own voice. Whether you are building a legacy, investing long-term, or simply seeking beauty and meaning in your environment, a sense of cohesion can transform a group of works from a series of acquisitions into a living archive.

Here is why collecting with intent matters, and how to do it without losing the thrill of discovery.

From impulse to identity

Most of us begin collecting the way we build a playlist. One piece strikes a chord. Another catches us off guard. A third evokes something long buried in memory. Slowly, the wall fills up, corners of our homes take on meaning, and we find ourselves explaining to guests why one piece sits next to another. Sometimes there is a story. Sometimes just a shrug.

That isn’t inherently a problem. In fact, many of the world’s most fascinating collections begin with passion alone. But passion without structure risks becoming noise. Intent introduces rhythm. It helps us look back and see a narrative taking shape, like a memoir told in pigment and canvas.

The shift from impulse to identity doesn’t mean becoming academic about art. It simply means asking what kind of story you want your collection to tell. Are you tracking the rise of emerging artists from your region? Are you drawn to a specific material, mood, or motif? Is there a social, cultural or political lens you want to reflect? Once that question is asked, everything changes.

Pieter Obels, Feel what you want, 2025. Photo: Rene van der Hulst

What makes a collection cohesive?

Let’s clarify one thing: cohesive doesn’t mean repetitive. You don’t need 20 canvases in the same palette or five takes on the same subject. Cohesion isn’t about uniformity; it is about intention. A collection can stretch across genres, continents, decades, even mediums, and still feel complete. What unites it is a consistent point of view.

Think of it like this: just as a great museum exhibition can weave together seemingly unrelated works into a compelling narrative, a thoughtful private collection can do the same. The only difference is that you are the curator. A cohesive collection is one where each piece is in conversation with the next. Sometimes it is a whisper. Sometimes a debate. But always a dialogue.

Manolo Valdes, Pink Butterflies, 2025. Photo: Eva Herzog

Know yourself and your collector profile

Before building a cohesive collection, it helps to understand your own collecting mindset. Most collectors fall into one or more of the following profiles:

• The sentimentalist: Guided by emotion. Art must evoke joy, nostalgia, or personal reflection.

• The strategist: Seeks value appreciation, historical significance, and blue-chip potential.

• The storyteller: Drawn to meaning. Sees their collection as a way to document a cultural or personal narrative.

• The explorer: Driven by curiosity. Seeks diversity, experimentation, and the thrill of discovery.

There is no right or wrong profile, and most of us are a mix of several. But understanding which tendencies shape your decisions can help you build a collection that reflects not just your taste, but your values too. Think of your collection as a long-term project. The first step is setting some parameters, not to limit yourself, but to create a flexible structure that invites focus and depth.

Philippe Hiquily. L'instable I, 1960. Photo: Jimmy de Paris

Here are a few common frameworks collectors tend to follow:

• Medium-based: Works on paper, sculpture, or photography.

• Geographic: Artists from the Middle East, South Asia, or the African diaspora

• Thematic: Subjects like identity, displacement, futurism, or abstraction

• Chronological: Post-war, contemporary, or millennial-generation works

• Conceptual: Art that reflects a specific philosophy or worldview

These can absolutely overlap. The key is knowing the “why” behind each acquisition.

Manolo Valdes, Odalisca II, 2018. Photo: Eva Herzog

The joy of discovery

Collecting with intent doesn’t take the fun out of the process; it deepens it. Once your focus is clear, discovery becomes more meaningful. Instead of browsing aimlessly, you begin to search with curiosity and purpose. Visit fairs, attend gallery talks, and ask for context around an artist’s evolution. The journey becomes less about the transaction and more about an ongoing dialogue with the work, the artist, and yourself.

Pieter Obels, Forever on my mind, 2024. Photo: René Van der Hulst

Building a signature

With time, a focused collection develops its own signature. Friends start to recognise what feels like “your kind of work.” Gallerists think of you when something aligned comes in. Even artists may take interest in how their pieces sit alongside others in your space. That is when a collection moves beyond individual works and becomes a cultural artefact in its own right.

Adrián Navarro, Paraíso #25, 2024. Image: courtesy of Adrián Navarro

The role of community

Collecting is often seen as a solitary pursuit, but the strongest collections are shaped through conversation, with curators, gallerists, fellow collectors, and trusted advisors. Even the most experienced collectors benefit from an outside perspective. A thoughtful advisor can help keep your vision focused, steer you away from common missteps, and uncover overlooked gems.

But community isn’t just about expertise; it is also about energy. Join studio visits, attend under-the-radar group shows, and take part in collector forums. Immersing yourself in the ecosystem broadens your exposure and sharpens your point of view. It is like building your collecting vocabulary. The more you engage, the more fluent you become.

Xevi Sola, Neighbors, 2024. Image: courtesy of Xevi Sola

Evolving

Cohesion doesn’t mean standing still. Like anything personal, a collection should grow, shift, and surprise you. What matters is that evolution follows a clear arc. If you started with minimal abstraction but find yourself drawn to figurative surrealism, ask: Is there a through-line in emotion, tone, or politics? If yes, expand with intention. If not, consider starting a new strand within your collection, like a new chapter or a parallel narrative.

Collections can be messy, and that’s part of the process. But coherence is what turns a bookshelf into a library. Art collecting isn’t just about acquiring objects; it is about shaping meaning. And like any meaningful pursuit, it deepens with attention. Intent brings clarity. Clarity fosters connection. And connection is what makes collecting truly worthwhile.

So, ask yourself: What story are you telling? Who are you telling it to? And how will it read a decade from now? Collect with intent, and your collection will speak for itself.

by Sylvain Gaillard