Kusama and Beyond: A Conversation with Collectors JK Brown and Eric Diefenbach

Join collectors of modern and contemporary art JK Brown and Eric Diefenbach in a lively conversation with Ackland Director Katie Ziglar and Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs Peter Nisbet. Brown and Diefenbach are currently lending works from their personal collection by internationally-renowned contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama to the Ackland’s exhibition Yayoi Kusama: Open the Shape Called Love (on view through March 27). We’ll discuss how Brown and Diefenbach got into the world of collecting, how their extensive collection developed, how they live with their art, and what appeals in particular about the work of Kusama. Participants will have the opportunity to pose their own questions.

This virtual conversation is free and open to the public. A link to the Zoom webinar is provided with your ticket, which you can register for below.

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JK Brown and Eric Diefenbach have been longtime friends of the Ackland. Over the past twenty years, they have lent almost 100 works from their collection to various Ackland exhibitions, decisively enriching such shows as Counterlives (2010-11), Carolina Collects: 150 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art from Alumni Collections (2011), and Toriawase: A Special Installation of Modern Japanese Art and Ceramics (2020). Their collection of German art was featured in De-Natured: German Art from Joseph Beuys to Martin Kippenberger (2011). Brown is a UNC alum (’84) and has served on numerous boards and committees at Carolina, including the Ackland’s National Advisory Board.