The Next-Gen Collectors: Joseph Clark

Joseph Clark was first introduced to me by a gallerist as the “youngest collector” they had ever met. Just 27 years old, Clark began buying modern and contemporary art shortly after teenagehood, and has since developed a portfolio of works encompassing Louise Bourgeois, Phyllida Barlow, Glenn Ligon, France-Lise McGurn, Sutapa Biswas and Dana Schutz. 

“Only as I’ve begun presenting my works formally as a collection in the last couple of years that I feel I’ve started to be taken seriously by the artworld,” Clark says.

Though it may come as a surprise for a collector of his age, Clark did not grow up in the artworld – in fact, beyond “visiting a few museums” close to his hometown of Derby, his artistic interests were entirely self-initiated. At seventeen, Clark began the digital production studio that he still spends half of his time running. It was while working with institutions and galleries such as Nottingham Contemporary and Hauser & Wirth through the business that his interest in acquiring artworks took hold.

Clark’s first acquisition took place in 2020, when he purchased a large, expressive oil painting depicting two nude women by the South African painter Mia Chaplin. “I was reading an article in the Financial Times’ How to Spend It,” he says. “It was about some interior designers rather than the artist, but I was just drawn in by the work in the background. So I looked her up and found her gallery.”

Mia Chaplin, Blue Lovers, 2020, oil on canvas, 89 x 79 cm © Mia Chaplin. Courtesy Joseph Clark

Clark still owns the piece, although it is not currently displayed on the walls of his London apartment. “I haven’t sold anything yet,” he says, “which has become a problem in its own right, because I have too much stuff. But it’s nice to look through my archive and be reminded of everything I’ve collected over the years, because I can pinpoint works to certain points in my life. The Mia Chaplin is one of my most figurative paintings; I think as I have become more confident in myself, the works have become less and less resolved.”

Collecting therefore acts for Clark as a record of his own growth and personal development. “As I began to understand myself, I began to understand what this collection means,” he says. Since he has no current plans to sell, he maintains that financial returns are not a motivator – although he also acknowledges that, in recent years, he has become more discerning of market dynamics. 

I ask whether Clark has had any negative experiences within the artworld, perhaps due to his youth. He acknowledges that the formal consolidation of his collection – through a website and catalogue – has occasionally impacted his reception. “Gallerists will always take you seriously if they might be able to sell you a work,” he laughs. “But when I bought a Glenn Ligon, someone told me that there aren’t any Glenn Ligon collectors under the age of sixty.”

Lucian Freud, Untitled (Joe), graphite on paper, 18.1 x 11.7 cm © The Lucian Freud Archive / Bridgeman Images. Courtesy Joseph Clark

Nowadays, Clark buys predominantly from galleries. While he believes there is still a place for art fairs, he avoids them. “I don’t like to buy under pressure,” he says. “I’d rather go away and do my research: Who was the artist taught by? What collections are they in? What institutions? Although I have bought at auction, which is a bit of a double standard since they are highly pressurised.”

When I ask who Clark’s role models are, he cites the New York collectors Herb and Dorothy Vogel, who amassed one of the most renowned bodies of 20th-century American art, encompassing over 40,000 works – bought entirely with their postal clerk and librarian salaries. “They’re really inspiring,” he says. “I don’t come from a particularly wealthy family and I haven’t stumbled into great heaps of cash – but a very high percentage of my income goes on acquiring artworks.”

Tai Shani, Haunted by a Million Small Suns (Cardinal), 2025, jesmonite, glass and electrics, 60 x 53 x 16 cm © Tai Shani. Courtesy Joseph Clark and Gathering, London

Clark’s most recent acquisitions include a Lucian Freud graphite drawing that depicts two sketchily drawn profiles and the name ‘JOE’ inscribed in loose capital letters. Clark is currently undertaking research into the background of the drawing, suggesting that it may relate to works associated with Freud’s visit to Loch Ness, Scotland, in 1943. He has also just purchased an undulating candlestick sculpture-cum-lamp by the British artist Tai Shani. “I had a studio visit with the artist recently,” he says. “I find it much more intriguing to operate on this personal level, which you don’t get with the auction houses.”

I ask Clark what advice he would give to other young people who would like to begin collecting art but perhaps do not have access to a large pool of money or a prior insider network. “There are practical aspects to collecting, but you don’t need huge amounts of money to begin,” he says. “I started from a modest budget, and, though I now own more expensive works, I’ve also bought works for as little as a few hundred pounds. Do your research and negotiate. And don’t be intimidated. The exclusivity is a facade anyway, isn’t it?”