Ian Rowan got bitten by the art collecting bug in his early teens - leading to two art collections, one of early Irish modernist paintings, the other a roll-call of contemporary big names. 'I buy what I like,' he tells Aidan Dunne
Dr Ian Rowan bought his first painting when he was in his early teens. "For my 13th or 14th birthday, I got £20. I used to get the bus home from school each day in Donegal Square in Belfast, and one day I went into Magee's there and bought a painting by Maurice Wilks." His interest was sparked by his mother. She had taken evening classes in art history, "and there were always art books lying around at home". From then on, collecting art has been an integral part of his life. When he married, during his fourth year at medical school, he and his wife, Hazel, went to Donegal for a weekend break. There, he spent a significant proportion of their modest capital on a watercolour. Hazel was and continues to be, he emphasises, very supportive of his passion for collecting, while not quite sharing it.
That passion has seen him through the building of two art collections. The first, taking its cue from that original Wilks, was an exploration of early Irish modernist painting.
"I had works by all the major names - Yeats, le Brocquy, Henry . . ." But these artists have given way to a younger generation. "Approximately five years ago, partly because I was travelling more widely, coming into contact with more and more work, my taste changed. I found myself drawn to more contemporary works. This isn't to say that this work is in any way superior to the paintings I collected before - it isn't. But your taste evolves."
This evolution of taste now sees him with a substantial collection of contemporary Irish and British art, including works by a veritable roll-call of the best-known names among the ranks of the once notorious (and for that matter once young) Young British Artists, the YBAs.
At IMMA, you can see one of Damien Hirst's colour dot paintings, two of Sam Taylor-Wood's staged photographs, fine examples of Gary Hume's enamel paintings, works by Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and even the so-called godfather of the YBAs, Michael Craig-Martin.
It is by no means all YBAs, however. Rowan has bought a great deal of work by Irish artists and the only thing he's currently thinking of buying, he says, is a work by a young Irish artist. Perhaps, when he acknowledges that "there is a slight imbalance on the British side of things", he is alert to the possibility of being criticised for buying British rather than Irish art, but there is no reason why an Irish collector should restrict himself to Irish art. And there is always the fact, as he rightly observes, "we could bring in people like Sean Scully and Michael Craig-Martin under the Irish umbrella".
He follows his own inclinations in buying. "I buy what I like. But I don't mean I just like the look of something and buy it. It's an academic process as well as a visual one. For me, it's about looking, reading and learning. Everything I buy is carefully thought about beforehand. Having said that, the visual aspect is the most important, because we live with these works every day. I could have bought something by Jake and Dinos Chapman, for example, but I wouldn't like to live with it, it's just not right for me. I don't want to buy something and lock it away in a vault."
That he is a careful, thoughtful buyer is confirmed by the exhibition. Time after time he has found not some minor example of work by a big name, but an outstanding, even key piece by a big name. No mean feat when he's up against people with considerably bigger bucks at their disposal.
That's partly because his research is thorough - "the Internet is a great way of initially checking out what galleries have" - partly because he knows exactly what he wants and would rather wait than compromise, and partly because he has built firm contacts with the galleries he buys from.
"I've developed a good relationship with White Cube, for example." White Cube, run by Jay Jopling, is the key YBA gallery, with a client list that is the envy of almost every other commercial space in London.
"I know they are generally portrayed as being more interested in the glamorous side of the business, in their celebrity clients. But, in fact, they keep me very well informed of what's going on, and they've put very good works my way."
His most recent acquisition is a piece from Sam Taylor-Wood's last exhibition. There is a brave, bleak humour to the title of her photographic Self-Portrait in a Single-Breasted Suit, in which the artist is depicted holding a hare - a reference, presumably, to Joseph Beuys' landmark performance piece, How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare.
"Her's was the best solo show I saw last year. Coming from a medical background, I found it touching that she made this work having suffered so much illness. She had a mastectomy, hence the reference to the single-breasted suit. I found it a very moving show."
One of Rowan's priorities is to find work that is small enough to suit a domestic scale without sacrificing quality. "Most modern art tends to be too big to hang in ordinary homes, so that can be difficult." He has done extremely well on that score, finding pieces that are in no sense diminished by their relatively small scale, including a terrific Sean Scully, an unusual Gary Hume composite, a nice Barry Flanagan hare sculpture and a strong Mark Francis - though the latter was, he says, a commission.
Some of the younger Irish artists may not have the celebrity status of their British counterparts, but their work holds up in this company. Felim Egan, Elizabeth Magill, Paul Seawright and Sean Shanahan are among those who acquit themselves well. "Sean probably wouldn't like to hear it, but his painting usually hangs in the kitchen. That may sound bad, but in fact I do my paperwork on the kitchen table every evening, so I see that painting more than any other, and I do love it."
He is keen that people take advantage of the chance to see the work, but anxious not to seem egotistical about it. "I'm not saying I'm smarter or more perceptive than anyone else, or that I want anyone to admire my good taste . . . all I'm saying is, come and have a look, try to keep an open mind. If you don't like it, you don't like it, it doesn't bother me." In sounding this cautious note he is referring to the difficulty many people have with the YBAs, whose work can be deliberately provocative and alienating. Yet Rowan's collection is visually very strong, very colourful and extremely accessible. It is a friendly show, and as good an introduction to contemporary Irish and British art as you could ask for.
The Rowan Collection of Contemporary British and Irish Art is at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, until June 2nd.