The Art Collector

Lio Malca had an auspicious start in art.

His father, owner of a chain of stores in Colombia, sent him to study finance and economics in Miami and Boston. Upon graduation, Lio did not want to move back to Colombia, so he visited a relative in New York City who had worked with his father back in the 1950’s in the textile industry in Colombia. That relative was none other than Jose Mugrabi, the world’s most prolific collector of Warhol, among other major 60s artists. Lio’s father and Mugrabi spoke, and decided they would create an Italian fast food business for their kids to own and manage together. Mugrabi’s kids were away in college at the moment.

Instead of working on the fast food joint venture project his father had expected him to, young Lio focused his attention on following Mugrabi around galleries.

<<I got bitten by the art bug, but I also understood that art is a big business>>

Serendipity is wasted on those who are risk-averse, but risk-taking is worthless if you don’t have the eye and intuition for what represents value, and the guts to follow it.

Malca is a self-described risk-taker, living by the phrase “if you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space”. He consistently picked artists who were either under the radar, or established artists who “hadn’t yet had their historical moment”.

The risk paid off when this historical moment came for the kind of art and artists that were relevant to him – and to his generation in the 80s: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, George Condo.

Mugrabi was, at the time, dealing in original works by artists mainly from the Pop Art movement like: Warhol, Wesselmann, and Lichtenstein, among others, which Malca could not afford. So he started to seek and buy the originals from the 80’s that he really liked and could afford.

Establishing a coherent and cohesive collection was not, however, a strategy, or even a thought during those early years – it was the business aspect of building an inventory and trading up in order to buy better works that appealed to him.

When the art market had a hiccup in the early 90s, Malca merely took a breath and saw this as an opportunity.

<<The hiccup was a pivotal moment. To me, it was equally important that I liked what I was doing>>

He bought his first Basquiat at that time, from the Mario Diacono Gallery in Boston – and carried on buying.

<<Every time I had an opportunity to acquire an artwork that resonated with me, I went with that gut feeling. I would sell some works, borrow funds from banks and hedge funds, or generally figure out how to make it happen. I knew time would validate my choices >>

To Malca, having faith and following the intuition in one’s judgement is especially critical when it comes to dealing in contemporary art.

Malca makes no bones about being both a collector and a dealer.

<<Art is an investment. In the last 30-40 years, it has metamorphosed into an asset class, which is not wrong considering the valuations for established art. But art needs to be shared and appreciated by many; not stored in vaults for speculation.>>

Art Patronage

Malca was a frequent visitor of Burning Man for about 7 years. He then decided to create and build his own camp, hosting friends from all over the world who had some connection to Ibiza,  hence the name “The Ibiza Camp”. In Burning Man 2012, he met some friends from Mexico who persuaded him to go to Tulum. He’d never heard of Tulum, but when he did go, during the last year of the Mayan calendar, he had an instant emotional attachment to the place.

<< It was like the first time I saw Basquiat’s works – a magical feeling>>

He promptly shelved investment projects in Cartagena and switched to Tulum.

He bought a run-down beach front property and transformed it into an art destination in its own right.

Casa Malca is a 71-room hotel, housing a portion of Malca’s art collection. Original works are kept indoor under glass and under temperature control conditions, whereas sculptures are outdoors where they can develop a patina.

In addition to housing part of Malca’s private collection, the hotel showcases works by artists who are keen to exhibit there.

Malca says for now he has no intentions to replicate the model elsewhere, because

<<Casa Malca is an extension of my home and lifestyle: its identity is unique and special>>

The Ibiza art project

<<I’ve been going to Ibiza for 20 years, another magical place.  I wanted to do something for the island that wasn’t just another bar, restaurant or nightclub…>>

Serendipity would have it – again – that Malca was offered an old building, a former salt house, which he promptly transformed into another art space, La Nave, with its first exhibition taking place in 2015, showing the works of Brooklyn artist KAWS.

La Nave Salinas is today a foundation and a cultural hub that defines the art scene on the island, hosting regular events.

Keith Haring at Fundacion La Nave Salinas

60 White

Malca’s most recent endeavour is an art space in Tribeca, NYC.

Rafa Macarron at 60 White

What he envisioned was…

<< A multi-disciplinary space where you can experience and immerse yourself in the art at a museum level. I wanted to create the same vibe and a similar concept as La Nave>>

Kenny Scharf at 60 White

60 White is not just an art gallery. It is a cultural hub and a sanctuary for up-and-coming artists whose careers Malca hopes to help evolve. Selling some of the works releases funds that go back into the art eco-system, furthering his mission.

Kenny Scharf at 60 White

60 White acts as a stepping stone for artists who go on to having solo exhibitions at museums. Malca is instrumental in facilitating museum art shows, helping those whose budgets are tight.

<< We showed Eva Beresin’s work in 2022 and paved the way to her solo exhibition at the Albertina Museum. We are currently working with a few museums that are staging shows of Kenny Scharf’s work, which I have been collecting for 30 years.

And whenever there is a Basquiat show in a museum, I make myself available and like to be involved in lending or in a curatorial capacity>>

Malca’s Legacy

The heir apparent of Lio Malca’s art collection is his nephew, Isaac Malca, who has a formal art education and has been shadowing Lio for the last 15 years.

Lio credits him with “opening my horizon without losing focus” – because being around art constantly changes one’s perspective.

Malca’s legacy is not just in the value of his collection, but in his perspective:

<<Buy the art that you like, because you need to live with it – don’t buy it just because of its perceived or projected market value.  I collected a number of artists in the early 90s that have disappeared from the map, but I still like them, and their works are in my homes and hotel.

<<My eclectic collection represents a combination of personal taste and an eye for investment; blue chip and up and coming artists. Some of the works are in storage – their time will come, because it’s only a matter of time>>

<< Isaac will decide the future of collection.  He has complete freedom, within limits>>