LIVING WITH ART: THE TULLMAN COLLECTION
Last Saturday I had the great opportunity to visit the Tullman Collection at Flashpoint Academy. Howard Tullman gave a personalized tour to artists from the Motion to Stillness exhibition currently on view at the Zhou B Art Center. Some of the attending artists were already part of his impressive collection of more than 1500 works. Distributed along the two floors of the college, the Tullman collection is expansive and reflective of Howard’s own visionary eye. His interest in strong, well crafted figurative realism gives his collection an interesting thread of continuity. However, the collection is not strictly figurative as one encounters wonderful surprises along the way. Howard’s own office is a small crowded space surrounded by photographs of the many public personalities Howard has been in contact with over the years and a selection of artworks.
What I find compelling about the collection is Howard’s vision to make his collection available on a daily basis to the students at Flashpoint. Not only they have the best education but also access to an impressive display of talent and inspiration.
Buying original work by contemporary artists is more than writing a fat check, it’s about living with art. It’s making a choice of surrounded yourself with the history of our time. At every turn, art reminds us of our humanity, our struggles and our triumphs.
