"Collecting art is more than a hobby or a diversion to get your mind off things - for me, it's part of who I am."- Craig Robins

“Space” and “place” emerged in the 1990s as key concepts and concerns for both cultural researchers and property developers. Since then, the rise of creative industries and the evolving of the urban assett have interlaced more than ever. New centers have been created in once over-looked and pheriperal contexts; these latter ones have fostered new ways of producing, experiencing and spreading creativity. Miami is one of the most successfull of these examples. Naturally attractive, Miami has “fanciful pastel buildings, with porthole windows, ship-like railings, sleek curves, glass blocks, shiny chrome, and gleaming terrazzo floors that are prime eye candy.” It is no chance occurence that the radical transformation of the city of Miami from being a postcard destination to an internationally-recognized cultural hub took place in the the formerly forgotten Design District, with its open air collection of art deco structures.

Miami Design District

Craig Robins is the driving force behind this transformation: he is the real estate developer who helped to turn Miami into a global destination for art and design. Founder of the real estate development firm DACRA, Robins has made a strong case for himself as the author of Miami’s future: he contributed to engineer the launch of Art Basel–Miami Beach and co-created the satellite fair Design Miami; he also revitalized the once-derelict Design District which by 2015 will become home to a who’s who of high-end fashion retail brands like Louis Vuitton, Armani and Valentino. His pioneering vision for the Design District, comprising about a dozen square blocks, is extremely ambitious: a pedestrian-friendly streetscape framed by artworks by Marc Newson and John Baldessari and graceful architecture by the likes of Sou Fujimoto. Craig Robins’ contribution to Miami’s cultural life goes far beyond the public realm and the world of real estate: he has assembled one of the city’s most multi-faceted and vibrant art collections which is hosted on the premises of his firm DACRA.

A portrait of Craig Robins in front of one of the pieces he owns. Courtesy of Craig Robins Collection.

The collection, which is open to the public, rotates its content every year and proliferates works throughout other DACRA properties; it is a body of work that evolves, accelerates and even teaches the practice of contemporary art collecting to all of its numerous visitors. The collection includes works that span all types of media; some of the artists featured are: Richard Tuttle, Marlene Dumas, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley, Kai Althoff, Cosima von Bonin, Huang Yongping, Joseph Beuys and Paulina Olowska.  Design objects by leading designers such as Gio Ponti, Jean Prouvé, Zaha Hadid, the Campana Brothers, Ron Arad and Maarten Baas are also part of the Robins’ collection and are on display in DACRA offices, too. In addition to showcasing the Craig Robins Collection, site specific permanent public art and design works are a hallmark of DACRA developments. Works have been created by Zaha Hadid, Marc Newson, Richard Tuttle and Guillermo Kuitca. This mixture of art, design and architecture not just makes Robins’ vision unique but also makes Robins himself a trend-setting entrepreneur. “Integrating art, design and cultural experiences has been a central part of my real estate development strategy in general” Robins says. “Fashion is a big part of that. Sometimes it happens directly, as with the collaborations [in 2011] of Dior with German artist Anselm Reyle[German artist Anselm Reyle created a collection of accessories that included handbags, clutches, shoes, scarves, polish sets, etc.], and Pringle with Liam Gillick [a capsule collection of cashmere sweaters and leather accessories by Pringle of Scotland incorporating Gillick’s signature modernist color-block designs and retro color palette]. In other instances, it can be as simple as having the different creative disciplines in the same neighborhood. We focus on cultural programming in many ways, including an exhibitions program and a public art and design program.”

In Robins’ office, Ron Arad’s work co-exists with John Baldessari’s. Courtesy of Craig Robins Collection.

View of Robins’ working space with iconic works by Ron Arad, John Baldessari, Stuart Haygarth. Courtesy of Craig Robins Collection.

Detail of Stuart Haygarth’s Tide Chandelier made of debris washed up on the shores of the Kent coastline. Courtesy of Craig Robins Collection.

Born in Miami Beach to parents who were interested in art but did not collect extensively (his father, Gerry, was a successful New York City real estate broker who decamped to Miami in the 1950s to breed horses), Robins graduated from the University of Miami law school in 1987, the same year he started DACRA. The genesis of Robins’ interest for art and design goes back to his youth: “As a child, I liked to draw. So I became interested in art by learning a little bit about making art. I was never very good at it, but I liked it.” The days spent abroad also contributed to shape his artistic vision and nurtured his passion: “It started very early for me, during my college days in Barcelona, where I discovered the urban design and monuments by Antonio Gaudí and fell in love with the work of this master of early modernism. I was equally mesmerized by his buildings and the furniture he designed. Gaudí’s presence in Barcelona is so powerful and stimulating because his groundbreaking vision is expressed and can be seen everywhere you go. When I graduated from college, I went to law school in Miami and immediately after that began developing real estate properties in South Beach, where I had a chance to apply this passion for architecture and preservation. This is also when I began collecting design.”

Recalling the very first step that led to the shaping of his art and design collections, he affirms: “I bought a sketch by Dalí. It wasn't really significant and I didn't really know the difference, but it was nice to own something by him. And then, as I was graduating from college, I began to collect very modestly. I didn't have a tremendous understanding of what collecting was all about or what it entailed, didn't have a lot of knowledge as to what was happening all around the world. But I had become very knowledgeable about the art scene in Barcelona and started collecting art that was made there. As I came back to Miami, and I was in law school at the University of Miami, I started to become aware also of the art scene in Miami. And on occasion — my resources at the time were of course modest — on occasion I would actually be able to make some kind of acquisition.”

The genesis of his design collection dates back to the 1980s: “Collecting design meant, I think, something different than it does today. It wasn't that expensive at the time, and contemporary design was not perceived to be collectible because it was all being mass-produced. It was really just one part of the industrial design world. My visits to Salone got me aware of companies that I thought were on the edge of design like Kartell, Capellini, Edra, Vitra. These were companies that were finding more creative ways to engage. I first discovered the Campana brothers and began to collect a lot of their things, a lot of their work, which was being made by Edra, and that ultimately, along with Art Basel, led to a partnership that I formed with the owner of Art Basel to found Design Miami.”

Craig Robin's office featuring Jean Prouvé desk, Gio Ponti armchairs, Marteen Baas clay fan, Campana Brothers cardboard sofa, Prouvé standard chair, Marteen Baas "Where There's Smoke." Courtesy of Craig Robins Collection.

Robins, who has ammassed one of Miami’s most dynamic collections, is well- aware of the semantic difference that gives art and design their specific role within the cultural system: “Art and design are different. A chair is different from a building. A building is different from a piece of art. Some people have a business, and that business is just that, business, and then they make separate contributions to philanthropy and culture. I’m lucky because it actually happens that my work and my ability to make a contribution are one. It is the combination of art and design that really defines my collection. When you collect art, it is wonderful, but when you combine it with design, then you can really transform your life experience.” And goes on: “I look to buy examples of artistic expression that I think are important. Usually I focus on what’s making a contribution to this moment. I am passionate about good contemporary design, but only what I personally consider as important historically. I collect pieces by Marc Newson, Zaha Hadid, Ron Arad, Martin Szekely, the Campana brothers, and the Bouroullec brothers, in addition to work by young, under-discovered designers and objects designed by architects.
Yet, contemporary design alone does not satisfy my curiosity. It must be combined with examples of twentieth-century design. I collect work by such masters as Jean Prouvé, Gino Sarfatti, Maria Pergay, Charlotte Perriand, and early Ettore Sottsass. When I collect work by a certain designer, I enjoy collecting in depth.”

Collecting in depht seems to be a leitmotif of Robins’ ethos: “I like to find artists that I'm interested in, buy something by them, experience it, and then see if that makes me want to continue to collect them and to collect more, and the longer that lasts, the better. The [work I collect by] John Baldessari and Richard Tuttle goes back to the sixties [through] the present, and it's a wonderful experience to continue to fill in and watch them evolve and see how artists continue to produce incredible work. But it's not necessary to do it that way — it's just a way I collect. Also, these artists sometimes get extremely hyped up and it becomes difficult to acquire their work, or the price has changed radically because there's a lot of speculation around them. I think that also interferes with being a real collector, so even if I like the artist, that could be a reason why I'll back off for a while and see how things develop before I try to accumulate.”

Views of the collection of Craig Robins with works by John Baldessari, and Paul McCarthy among others. Courtesy of Craig Robins Collection.

The collected pieces are hosted in Robins’ home as well as in the different branches of his firm; all art forms interact with each other, create an infinite chain of musings, and add a surplus value to the already-inspiring architecture of the city of Miami that he contributed to restore, preserve and re-design. "We had the largest collection of historical Art Deco structures in the same place in the world," he says of South Beach. "It was very rundown: it had become a retirement village for an elderly population that was dying off and there was a crack epidemic. There were a lot of people that thought the buildings should be torn down." He continues: "There was a group of us that thought that, not only should they be preserved, but that they could really become this incredible legacy that Miami could offer to the world. So I began my career figuring out how to adaptively reuse these great historical structures."

Robins’ interest for the new is reflected in the expanding nature of his collection: “My collection continues to grow, although I don’t generally comment on acquisitions. It is an intensely personal endeavor for me and I’ve really enjoyed seeing how Rirkrit Tiravanija has curated the presentation of my collection in 2011. I do continue to focus on artists that I can collect in depth.”

A David Hammons flag installed by artist Rirkrit Tiravanija for the Craig Robins Collection, Miami. Courtesy of Craig Robins Collection.

Robins is also the Founder and Chairman of the Anaphiel Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting arts education, exploration and expression in all its forms. Robins is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Miami Art Museum. Robins’ long-term commitment to design earned him the 2006 Design Patron Award from the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. The award recognizes an individual’s patronage of design within the business and civic sectors.

Richard Tuttle, Village II, No. II, 2003. Courtesy of Craig Robins Collection.