JOHN WIELAND SHARES HIS PASSION FOR FINE ART AND HIS PLANS FOR HIS COLLECTION’S FUTURE.
John Wieland emerges from the “Staff Only” door at The Warehouse wearing a broad smile. His eyes sparkle as he extends his hand. The founder and former chairman of John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods is a legend in Atlanta and beyond and has built more than 30,000 homes in his career. In addition to amassing a respected portfolio of residential architecture, Wieland has acquired an impressive collection of over 400 pieces of art by nearly 300 national and international artists. Works range from sculptures and ceramics to video and photography as well as fabric and paint. The collection is housed in The Warehouse, a 39,000-square-foot building on the Westside, now open to the public for free by reservation on the second Saturday of each month. Walking through the space, Wieland describes each piece with incredible precision. When asked how he remembers such detail, he chuckles. “Someone once told me it’s because I make space in my mind for what’s important to me.”
Do you remember the first piece that you bought?
The first piece we bought is no longer with us, but one of the early pieces is called Bad Dream House #2 by Vito Acconci. It was fabricated for a one man show at MoMA in 1988. We bought it from the show. It sat outside of our office for about 30 years
What are you most proud of with this space?
My main focus is how do I leave a legacy? I think the 30,000 homes that we’ve built over 50 years counts a bit, but this is something that we can endow financially, in perpetuity, and hopefully, it will stay here. We actually have more contemporary art on permanent view than the High Museum of Art. We have some major pieces and some minor pieces, but we’re creating something that’s going to live on, and that’s very special.
What is the most unusual piece in the collection?
We have [an entire] home that belonged to a gentleman named Ferdinand Cooper. He served in the Second World War, and when he came back, he had what we now call traumatic stress disorder and wasn’t able to hold a job. He built this home on his parents’ property in Sanford, Florida and lived in it for 30 years. He had no electricity and no water, but he knew what a home ought to have, so he carved it or fabricated it. For example, he knew that a home should have a television, but he didn’t have electricity. He made a television antenna out of scrap materials, so anybody coming to see him would know that he had a television. It is really one of the most important self-taught art pieces in America because of the size and uniqueness of it.
What advice would you give someone who wants to start collecting art?
Buy what you can afford and what you love. Anybody who buys because they are going to make money is on a fool’s errand. Hang around galleries and museums and familiarize yourself with artists and prices. There are wonderful stories of people who ended up with great collections just because they spent time at it. They were discerning, and they bought pieces that fit with what they were doing. That’s what I think we’ve done.
What do you want people to know about The Warehouse?
We’d like to have people know that we’re here, and we’re available, and we hope you will come see us. The more you live with art, the more you understand it and appreciate it. We want people to come and enjoy it.
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