Canadian designers and life partners George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg met in design school. Years passed before they ran into each other again, by chance, when they were each looking for a studio. After discovering common interests in philosophy and aesthetics, they decided to share a workspace. This led to the founding of Yabu Pushelberg, a design firm with offices in Toronto and Tribeca.
Since that fateful day in the early 1980s, the two have worked with some of the biggest names in hospitality and luxury, including Four Seasons, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. and Barneys. While they focus on interiors, their team of 125 also designs landscapes, lighting and graphics – and they push towards experience design. In addition, they are the author of several furniture collections – up to six – for a variety of manufacturers and present them every year at the mega design fair, the Salone del Mobile in Milan.
Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu with Anish Kapoor’s Lacquered Circular Dish (Black) (2004). Courtesy of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.
Throughout this time, the couple have indulged in a passion for art collecting, starting with photography – works by Diane Arbus, Nobuyoshi Araki, Robert Mapplethorpe, Thomas Ruff and Philip-Lorca diCorcia line the staircase of their Toronto home (they also own homes in Miami, Manhattan and Amagansett, Long Island). The collection has grown to include several major works, including that of Yayoi Kusama my heart 2013– one of the artist’s last personal commissions, they said – followed by one of his pumpkin carvings in 2016.
Works by Yoshitomo Nara, Julian Opie, Anish Kapoor and Dutch artist Eelco Brand have been added over time, and they dream of acquiring a sculpture by Constantin Brancusi. At the moment they focus on indigenous and aboriginal artists.
We caught up with the dynamic duo to see how they merge art and design in their professional and private lives.
Yoshitomo Nara, Pee (2001) and Pee “Dead of Night” (2001). Courtesy of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.
What was your first purchase?
generalist: Many years ago we met Tomio from Tomio Kamaya Gallery in Tokyo. And he was showing us this lovely artist called Yoshitomo Nara, and we bought two “living” paintings called Pee And Pee “Death of Night” and two drawings of him. Many years later, of course, Nara has become super famous.
GY: What was unusual about these paintings is that he rarely used the medium of acrylic paint on canvas, so they are very rare.
Nobuyoshi Araki, Kaori (2004). Courtesy of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.
What was your last purchase?
generalist: We were in Mexico City over the holidays, and we went to the Kurimanzutto Gallery and bought a bunch of work by young artists, mostly Mexican and Cuban. We also purchased a Nobuyoshi Araki, marking our third photograph of Araki, a Japanese artist who delves into bondage. We are fascinated by his work.
Sho Fan, two pines. Courtesy of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.
Tell us about a favorite work from your collection.
generalist: It’s like asking who your favorite child is when you have children, they’re all wonderful in their own way. If we had to choose one, it would be two pinesby Shou Fan.
GY: What is marvelous in the great web of two pines it looks like the two pines are shaking from a very big storm. This creates the illusion that the trees are vibrating due to the impact, the difference in atmospheric pressure, signaling an impending storm. It’s quite beautiful.
generalist: Although figurative, it has an emotional depth that we appreciate.
GY: With two pines, as Glenn said, it can also be abstract. You really have to look for the pins in this composition.
A work of AA Bronson. Courtesy of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.
What works or artists do you hope to add to your collection this year?
For us, collecting art is very personal. It’s not about investing or a strategy around a related collection, it’s just artists we love. Recently, we purchased a piece from AA Bronson, part of the three-person collective General Idea. We always wanted a piece of their work. But we are also attracted to new and emerging artists. Last year, we discovered the work of an emerging Canadian Indigenous artist, Ooloosie Saila; we bought his work because we found it beautiful and poetic.
A Yayoi Kusama pumpkin carving. Courtesy of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.
What is the most valuable work of art you own?
generalist: It depends on the day you ask us! I think one of our most cheerful pieces that people tend to admire is a Kusama pumpkin, which lives in our Toronto studio. How he got there is a fun story. Once, George attended a sit-down dinner honoring Yayoi Kusama…
GY: I met her and we had a connection. We bought a painting the next day and then asked her for the pumpkin. It took her six months to decide that yes, she would create one for us, and it was one of her last personal commissions.
Two sculptures by Sachi Hasegawa. Courtesy of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.
Where do you most often buy art?
generalist: On the road. We were in Japan a few months ago and went to the galleries on a Saturday and bought these two quirky looking sculptures by a young Japanese artist, Sachi Hasegawa. One is a granite sculpture resembling a tree trunk and the other is made of glass and stone. It can only be described as looking like a “volcanic cauliflower”.
GY: Both are whimsical and unusual, which is the beauty of Japanese craftsmanship. They know how to work with this very difficult and challenging hard material.
Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu with Gao Brothers Miss Mao No. 1 (2006). Courtesy of Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu.
Is there a work you regret buying?
generalist: Years ago we purchased a collection of works by this artist/videographer.
GY: We find it very interesting but we found the works a little on the edge of societal standards and horrifying; we have it in a drawer.
What work have you hung above your couch? And in your bathroom?
generalist: In our beach house we have a water color painting by an unknown artist, which is the counterpoint to looking at the ocean from the other side. There is a nice balance between reality and surrealism.
Painting by Zhang Enli. Courtesy of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.
GY: In New York, we have a painting by Chinese artist Zhang Enli above our couch. It was in our studio, but we realized it was the perfect centerpiece for our living room at home. It’s a powerful painting about social justice in the era of the Maoist regime, depicting striking workers, but it has incredible energy and emotion. In our third residence in Toronto, we have a sofa with the backdrop of this beautiful view of the ravine forest in the middle of downtown Toronto. We also have a work by an indigenous artist we cherish who lives in our Toronto bathroom.
What’s the least practical piece of art you own?
GY: Art is a pure form of expression, so nothing is practical or impractical.
generalist: We have a piece of Jim Campbell video art in the entryway of our New York home, which is inconvenient because it breaks, but it’s an ethereal soothing introduction to being welcomed home . He designed this LED keyboard behind six inches of transparent resin.
Video illustration by Jim Campbell. Courtesy of George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.
What work would you have liked to buy when you had the opportunity?
generalist: We were at the Center Pompidou in Paris. Last year there was a Cy Twombly exhibition, and we fell in love with his great paintings.
GY: We could have bought one 15 years ago, but this was one of those “could’ve, should’ve, should’ve” times. We were focused on elevating our career paths and the mood of the paintings, which were very joyful, did not match what we were experiencing at the time. Although we regret not having bought it now.
generalist: We have learned not to invest but to buy what we like.
If you could steal one piece of art without getting caught, what would it be?
GP and GY: A beautiful art sculpture by Brancusi.
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