Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/749295
culturedmag.com 139 PHOTO BY LINDA NYLIND Next fall, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans will exhibit highlights from the Joyner/Giuffrida Collection, whose works include Leonardo Drew's Number 51S, 2015, above. "Being cultured was very much a part of my upbringing. It was one of the ways that my parents imbued me with the notion that I faced absolutely no limitations." —Pamela Joyner investment business. "Business brought us together," says Joyner. "Both of us think that group and committee decisions are generally not the most effective ones. If you look at buildings or any endeavors designed by committees, they're usually pretty mediocre and unattractive." While Joyner drives the collection, Giuffrida weighs in on budgetary matters and asks key questions about enduring value and iconicity. The couple relishes their complementarity. "Pam is a consummate entrepreneur. She starts things that I would never take on because they seem too monumental," explains Giuffrida. "I'm more of a manager. Entrepreneurs sometimes leave wakes in their path. I help by managing some of that." One of many business insights that Joyner has brought with her to the art world is that people and relationships matter. As a result, their collecting operates alongside deep museum involvement. Likewise, their new book, "Four Generations: The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection of Abstract Art," edited by Courtney J. Martin, an assistant professor of the history of art and architecture at Brown University, is written by a who's who of dynamic, well-connected curators. "That group of authors is by and large Pam's network for information writ large, which comes from so many institutions and so many different vantage points," explains Giuffrida. "Pam has always been good at convening and building these relationships." The New York launch of "Four Generations" was a formal dinner for 200 held in the penthouse of Midtown Manhattan's Hearst Tower. "I wanted it to be a love letter to the artists who enrich our lives," says Joyner. "The black tie invitation was meant to signal a serious event and give me an excuse to wear the dresses that are already in my closet," she adds with a laugh. Joyner was also knowingly bringing together a village of curators, dealers, museum directors and art historians who have the power to endorse these artists in a way no single collector could ever do on her own. The event was also dotted with fellow collectors. "We are having the time of our lives," admits Joyner. "We want to encourage other people to find an underrepresented story and tell it." An exhibition of the highlights of the Joyner/Giuffrida Collection will open at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans in October 2017.