{"id":806388,"date":"2026-07-17T16:01:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T16:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/806388\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T16:01:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T16:01:13","slug":"what-do-basketball-stars-talk-about-in-the-locker-room-fine-art-according-to-kevin-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/806388\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do Basketball Stars Talk About in the Locker Room? Fine Art, According to Kevin Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\"KevinKevin Love with Rashid Johnson\u2019s Untitled Anxious Red, 2020. All photography by Kris Tamburello and courtesy of the collector.<\/p>\n

Between Olympic medals and offensive rebounds, Utah Jazz power forward Kevin Love<\/a> has found time for a lesser-known pursuit: amassing an enviable art collection. The trove features a roster of all-star artists of the last century, from Ed Ruscha and George Condo<\/a> to Rashid Johnson<\/a>. Discovering that fellow NBA stars Carmelo Anthony<\/a> and LeBron James were also in the game may have set Love on the path, but advisor Jane Suitor and dealer Vito Schnabel have helped him carve out a niche all his own.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an off-court passion much like the player\u2019s Kevin Love Fund<\/a>, begun after a panic attack during a 2017 game, developed to raise awareness and encourage others to pursue the activities that bolster their emotional well-being. For Love, it\u2019s puzzling through his own anxieties through the work of another. Here, he discusses the origins of this practice, the Cindy Sherman that got away, and how building an art portfolio can require just as much maneuvering as a full-court press.<\/p>\n

Where does the story of your personal collection begin?<\/p>\n

It probably began before I knew I was collecting. I grew up around music, film, and a very specific kind of West Coast\/Pacific Northwest visual language. I was always drawn to mood, atmosphere, and storytelling. But in terms of collecting seriously, I would say it started in my late 20s, when I realized art could be more than something I admired from a distance. It could become part of my daily life and a way to understand myself better.<\/p>\n

The first contemporary piece I bought was Ed Ruscha\u2019s The End. That felt like an entry point that made sense to me. There was text, film, humor, ambiguity, and a kind of American mythology all wrapped into one. From there, I started educating myself, asking questions, going to galleries and fairs, visiting studios, and I realized how much I didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\"GeorgeFrom left to right: George Condo, Untitled, 2017; Ed Ruscha, The End, 2021.<\/p>\n

How would you characterize your collection today? What themes or qualities tend to pull you in?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s personal, and probably more autobiographical than I realized at first. I\u2019m drawn to artists who can hold tension\u2014beauty and discomfort, humor and sadness, control and chaos. There\u2019s a lot of language in the collection, a lot of works that reference film, the body, memory, anxiety, and American identity. I like when a work has an immediate visual pull, but then keeps revealing itself over time. Ruscha does that for me. Rashid Johnson does that. Gordon Parks, Nan Goldin, and Tracey Emin. Those are artists who make you feel the human story behind the image. I\u2019m interested in work that has presence, but also vulnerability.<\/p>\n

Which work in your home sparks the most conversation when teammates, friends, or family come over?<\/p>\n

Doug Aitken\u2019s EXIT always gets people talking. It\u2019s bold, it\u2019s reflective, it has this cinematic quality, and the word itself is loaded. People see it and immediately bring their own interpretation to it. Is it funny? Is it ominous? Is it about leaving, starting over, escaping, ending something? That\u2019s what I love about it.<\/p>\n

The Tracey Emin neon also stops people in their tracks. It says \u201cAn Insane Desire For You.\u201d There\u2019s something very direct and emotional about it. It\u2019s intimate, but because it\u2019s in neon, it also has this public-facing quality, almost like a confession in lights.<\/p>\n

Mental health advocacy has become such an important part of your public life. Has that perspective influenced the kinds of artists or stories you\u2019re drawn to collecting?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think I can separate the two. Once I became more open about my own mental health, I started recognizing certain emotional frequencies in art more clearly. I\u2019m drawn to artists who are willing to sit with anxiety, vulnerability, identity, pain, or contradiction without trying to clean it up too much. Rashid Johnson\u2019s work has been especially important to me in that way. There\u2019s an intensity and unease in some of his pieces that feels very honest. George Condo, too. There\u2019s beauty, but also distortion and psychological complexity. Art can give form to things we don\u2019t always have language for. That\u2019s also what I try to do through my mental health work: create space for people to name what they\u2019re feeling.<\/p>\n

\"AnthonyAntony Gormley, SMALL LOOK V, 2015.<\/p>\n

What work in your home have you spent the most time staring at?<\/p>\n

Probably one of the Ruscha \u201cThe End\u201d works. I never get tired of the ambiguity. In sports, endings are always present. End of a game, end of a season, end of a chapter, end of a version of yourself. But \u201cthe end\u201d can also be funny, cinematic, or even freeing. I\u2019ve also spent a lot of time with the Antony Gormley sculpture. As an athlete, I\u2019m always thinking about the body\u2014how it moves, how it breaks down, how it carries pressure. Gormley\u2019s work has this quiet force. It feels physical and psychological at the same time.<\/p>\n

Is there one piece that got away, or that you still think about?<\/p>\n

One that comes to mind is Cindy Sherman\u2019s Untitled Film Still #21. I remember seeing it and immediately thinking about Hitchcock, suspense, New York, identity, performance\u2014all these things I\u2019m already drawn to. It had that cinematic quality I love, but also this deeper question about who we become when we\u2019re being looked at. Sometimes the ones that get away are important because they sharpen your eye. They teach you what you really respond to.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve developed relationships across sports, fashion, entertainment, and art. What\u2019s the most unexpected introduction that\u2019s led to a meaningful acquisition?<\/p>\n

Some of the most meaningful art conversations started in basketball spaces. Talking with Melo [Carmelo Anthony] during the 2012 Olympics, talking with LeBron, realizing that guys I knew through the game were also thinking seriously about art\u2026 that opened a door for me. Then, through people like my art advisor Jane Suitor and Vito Schnabel, those conversations became more focused and educational. I\u2019ve been lucky to have people around me who pushed me to look more closely, ask better questions, and not just chase names. The unexpected part is that the path into art wasn\u2019t linear. It came through locker rooms, dinners, friendships, studio visits, and a lot of curiosity.<\/p>\n

\"KevinRashid Johnson, Untitled Anxious, 2018.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re considering a new acquisition, what ultimately tips you from admiration into commitment?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s usually a combination of instinct and time. I have to feel something immediately, but I also want to know that the feeling isn\u2019t temporary. If I keep thinking about the work after I\u2019ve left the room, that\u2019s usually a sign. Then I want to understand the context: the artist\u2019s practice, where the piece sits within their work, why it matters, and whether it adds something meaningful to the collection. I don\u2019t want to acquire something just because it\u2019s available. It has to feel like it belongs in the conversation I\u2019m building.<\/p>\n

Does collecting feel similar to building a team, or is it a completely different instinct?<\/p>\n

There are similarities. You\u2019re thinking about chemistry, balance, and how one piece changes the energy of the whole room. A collection can\u2019t just be all \u201cstars.\u201d Sometimes a quieter work is what gives the bigger pieces space to breathe. But collecting is also very different because it\u2019s more internal. Basketball is about performance and outcome. Collecting is more about attention. It\u2019s about slowing down, listening to your instincts, and letting the collection evolve as you evolve.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a rookie collector mistake you made early on that you\u2019d never make today?<\/p>\n

Trying to know everything too quickly. Early on, you can feel pressure to have an opinion or to understand the market, the history, the language. But the best thing you can do is admit what you don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve learned to be patient. See the work in person when possible. Ask questions. Read. Listen to people who know more than you. And don\u2019t buy something just because you feel like you\u2019re supposed to like it. Your eye has to be educated, but it also has to be honest.<\/p>\n

\"JonasJonas Wood, Floating Balls on Wood Grain, 2021.<\/p>\n

Which artist are you currently most excited about, and what makes their work resonate with you right now?<\/p>\n

I return to Ed Ruscha\u2019s work time and time again and was lucky enough to acquire a beautiful work on paper, Woman on Fire. I try to follow what the emerging artists are up to but my interest seems to be drawn to more established artists like Gormley and his work\u2014artists who are already part of the canon of art history. Not only has contemporary art enhanced my living environment but the narrative has added a greater dimension to my life.<\/p>\n

What book changed the way you think about art?<\/p>\n

Early in my collecting journey, Jane Suitor gave me a copy of Why Your Five Year Old Could Not Have Done That: Modern Art Explained. It helped me realize that contemporary art isn\u2019t about having all the answers, it\u2019s about curiosity. That mindset has stayed with me. The more I\u2019ve learned about art, the more comfortable I\u2019ve become asking questions and sitting with ambiguity.<\/p>\n

Do you have an art-fair or museum-going uniform?<\/p>\n

Usually a good jacket, relaxed trousers, something simple underneath, and shoes I can put miles on. I like clothes with some texture or history to them\u2014vintage, workwear, tailoring, pieces that feel lived-in. I don\u2019t want to look overthought, but I do want it to feel intentional. In a way, it\u2019s similar to collecting. I\u2019m drawn to things that have character, but don\u2019t have to announce themselves too loudly.<\/p>\n

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