Chicago-based artists and collectors Scott Mossman and Raul Ortiz show their sprawling collection, and discuss the secondary market, de-acquisitions, and how auctions can affect an artist’s career.
“When people were saying ‘Oh, you’ve got to buy a house or a condo’ back around 2006 or 2007, when the real estate market plummeted and the art market too, we started collecting art instead…. We think we made a good choice.”
Scott Mossman and Raul Ortiz are artists and collectors based in Chicago. Mossman was born in Omaha. He attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha for a BA in Journalism and Art History, and for a BFA in Painting and Sculpture. After graduating he moved to Chicago, where he earned an MFA in Painting and Sculpture from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Mossman has exhibited at such venues as Nancy Lurie Gallery, Chicago; the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago; the Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin; and Gallery 72, Omaha.
Ortiz was born in Mexico, and he came to the United States with his family when he was 5. He holds a BFA in Painting and Sculpture from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Ortiz has exhibited at such venues as the Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; the University Club of Chicago, Chicago; the Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, Illinois; and the Wright Museum of Art, Beloit, Wisconsin. He has also been an artist in residence at The Cliff Dwellers. Mossman and Ortiz currently have a collection of approximately 900 pieces of artwork.