Jen DeNike, Vampire (2005-2006) series. Details: Anat, 2006, C-print mounted on aluminum, 50" x 60", Edition of 3.
Anat Ebgi lives and works in Los Angeles and owns The Company gallery. She has a BA from the New School for Social Research, and an MA from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard.
How did you first get involved in contemporary art?
My father is an artist, and from as far back as I can remember he would tell me stories and gossip of the lives of dead artists like Cezanne, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Picasso. Their lives sounded so tragically cool, I became hooked on the idea of suffering for art and wanted to actually live it. So in 1999, when I was 19 years old, I moved with a couple of artist friends to a really sketchy part of Miami to plant the seed of what is now called the “Arts District.” At the same time I was working as a preparator nearby at the Miami Art Museum, so I would be installing art all day long, that’s when I started to really understand contemporary art, specifically conceptual art. My favorite installation I worked on was Baldessari’s The Cremation Project.
Do you live with any artwork at home?
I live with tons of artwork at home. Art that I either collected with my husband or was gifted by the amazing artists I have in my life. I feel super lucky to live with work by artists that I represent at the gallery: Jen DeNike, Sigrid Sandstrom, Jay Stuckey, Joe Reihsen, Alexa Gerrity, Jesse Fleming, and Elias Hansen. Additionally, I own work by Chris Jahncke, Hernan Bas, Mariah Robertson, Gareth Spor, Assume Vivid Astro Focus, and Samara Golden.
Best art trip you ever took?
To Spain to visit the Prado Museum — totally blew my mind. Eight hours went by in a flash; I seriously couldn’t get enough. When you read Art History books you see these masterpieces reproduced the size of a business card, so when you actually see them in person, you understand why they are in those books and still so relevant. And for another kind of “art trip” — Mike Kelley’s Day is Done exhibition in 2005 and Mike Nelson’s A Psychic Vacuum on Essex Street in 2007 are two standouts in my mind.
An upcoming show you are excited to see? I know it’s an art fair, but I am heading over to Switzerland next month for Art Basel for the first time ever. I am excited to see what it’s all about and hopefully find something new and inspiring.
Artist quotes or words to live by?
“Know the rules before you break them” – Picasso
