Artist Arlene Shechet discusses her dual role as creator and collector in an interview with The Art Newspaper ahead of Art Basel. She is installing her welded aluminum sculpture *Midnight* (2024) in the fair's Unlimited section, a work originally commissioned for her show at Storm King Art Center. Shechet reveals that she uses a portion of her sales to buy works by other artists, citing pieces by Fred Sandback, Barry Le Va, Joan Jonas, Kinke Kooi, and Marlon Mullen in her collection. She also mentions a regret over not purchasing a Louise Bourgeois drawing for $5,000 and names a medieval Book of Hours as her dream museum acquisition.
The interview matters because it offers an intimate glimpse into the collecting habits and creative instincts of a major contemporary sculptor, highlighting how artists support one another through trades and purchases. Shechet's presence at Art Basel's Unlimited section underscores the growing prominence of large-scale sculpture at art fairs, while her candid remarks about trusting her eyes and instincts—slowed only by her bank account—resonate with broader conversations about the intersection of artistic practice and market participation.