Cindy and Howard Rachofsky

DALLAS, TEXAS–Besides their stellar contemporary collection, this high-profile couple is known for one of the country’s most significant art fundraisers, TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art. The annual sellout event has raised more than $100 million in 20+ years and famously takes place at The Rachofsky House, a notable work of architecture designed in 1996 by Pritzker Prize-winner Richard Meier. A portion of their collection is found at The Warehouse, a project initiated by the Rachofskys and the late Vernon Faulconer to make their collections available to scholars, curators, and students, and to foster a dialogue about postwar, modern, and contemporary art. Howard describes the couple’s aim as building “a historical collection focusing on two overarching ideas: global nonobjective minimalism and figurative works that deal with issues of identity.”

ART:

Maurizio Cattelan, Georg Baselitz, Judy Chicago, Gilbert & George, Wade Guyton, Eva Hesse, Donald Judd, Glenn Ligon, Laura Owens, Félix González-Torres, Lucio Fontana

CV:

A portion of their collection, which Howard describes as “a historical collection focusing on two overarching ideas: global nonobjective minimalism and figurative works that deal with issues of identity,” is found at The Warehouse, a project initiated by the couple and the late Vernon Faulconer to make their collections available to scholars, curators, and students, and to foster a dialogue about postwar, modern, and contemporary art.

Q&A:

PC: When did you start collecting and perhaps why?

Rachofsky [Howard]: Why is this question always the first? Been collecting since the 70’s. I met a friend in the art world and got the bug.

PC: How would you describe your collection?

Rachofsky: Historical collection consists of works primarily from two overarching ideas.  Global nonobjective minimalism and figurative works that deal with issues of identity.

PC: Has your collecting journey changed at all in the past few years? 

Rachofsky: Collection is always evolving but not necessarily with current fashion.

PC: Is there a piece or two or artist that you find particularly emblematic of your collection?

Rachofsky: Lucio Fontana’s la fine di Dio and Félix González-Torres
Untitled (Perfect Lovers).

PC: Are you supporting any arts nonprofits in Texas whose mission resonates with you?

Rachofsky: We have always supported the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center and opened The Warehouse in 2011 as a place to show our collection to the public. There you will find a regular exhibition program curated in house and by art scholars from around the world.