Meet the Collectors: Carl Gambino and Sarah Ivory Refuse to Play the Market Game

<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-1609258 size-full-width" src="https://observer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/GK__057.jpg?quality=80&w=970" alt="A woman stands beside a large landscape painting while a man sits on a staircase in a modern interior decorated with holiday greenery." width="970" height="1293" data-caption='Carl Gambino and Sarah Ivory at home, where collecting is inseparable from daily life. <span class=”media-credit”>Painting by Sholto Blissett | Photo: Gloria Kilbourne</span>’>

The art world can be challenging to navigate for non-insiders, and even more so for a young couple entirely new to the world of collecting. Yet research suggests that humans are instinctively driven to collect objects, images and other aesthetic traces that come to reflect a life, its movements and its memories. Carl Gambino and Sarah Ivory’s collecting journey began organically, as they brought back artworks from their travels—souvenirs not only of places, but also of human encounters, as they often sought out local artists. That early, unformed approach to collecting eventually evolved into something more deliberate and ultimately became intertwined with their professional lives and their growing family.

Observer met Gambino, who’s in real estate, and Ivory, who’s in interior design, in their two-floor riverfront home in Brooklyn Heights. Both are in their early forties, and they moved into the property with their two kids just a year ago. Even so, everything about their home feels not only highly curated in terms of the dialogue between art and furniture but also carefully calibrated and seamlessly integrated into the lived rhythm of a family home.

“We already had an existing collection to place, but I tend to move very fast when it comes to design in general,” Ivory, who curated the interior, said. “I also know that the art we bring in is almost always very colorful, so I try to keep the surrounding palette fairly neutral. That way, the color can really come from the work itself.”

Vibrant palettes and lively compositions dominate many of the works on view, punctuating the clean, minimal interior with vivid notes. The architecture favors neutral tones and warm materials, allowing the art to take center stage. “Sarah always loved incredibly colorful art. I was on a very colorful-art kick for many years, too, though lately I’ve found myself drawn to darker work,” Gambino reflected.

Much of this chromatic energy emanates from contemplative landscapes, lush forests and harmonious floral compositions—sometimes figurative, sometimes abstract—that engage in a quiet dialogue with the park’s greenery outside, coming alive as they are bathed in natural light.

A lyrical work by Tianyue Zhong, characterized by harmonious layers of nature-inspired abstract brushstrokes, is elegantly encased within a custom-made library. The structure also accommodates smaller artworks and design objects. “I wanted to create something special for Carl’s favorite piece,” Ivory explains, noting how the setup also facilitates frequent rotation, since smaller works can simply rest within the structure without the need for drilling. Still, works have already rotated multiple times throughout the house, as they try to display all that they’ve collected over the years at one point or another.

Carl Gambino grew up in New Jersey in an Italian American family, while Sarah Ivory was raised in Miami by a Colombian mother and an American father—both environments offering limited exposure to wild, expansive nature beyond the tropical coastlines. That untamed natural world is something they’ve both longed for. “I think we both love Europe, and we love being there. And I think we’re drawn to that feeling of nature in the work,” Ivory notes.

If contemplation of nature recurs across the collection, another equally present thread is found in intimate moments and fragments of daily life, often centered around domestic settings—a tablecloth, a corner of a room, an unguarded gesture. One of the artists the Gambinos have collected extensively is Claudia Keep, whose painterly practice—often focused on small formats—reveals the quiet complexity of quotidian moments.

Their collecting process is largely shared, though acquisitions often arrive with a sense of urgency—particularly on Gambino’s side—as he constantly scans for new talent and takes steps to secure works before an artist’s trajectory takes off. That pressure sometimes clashes with the pace of everyday life, but it’s a dynamic embedded in the market—and one that, for Gambino, makes discovery not only exciting but also timely.

Since he began collecting, Gambino has demonstrated not only a keen eye but also the tenacity to pursue his intuition relentlessly, activating every possible channel to secure works he believes in. He recalls calling, texting, and emailing repeatedly to obtain a piece by Alejandro Piñero Bello from the artist’s first gallery, KDR, just as his career was beginning to take off.

This, despite having actually discovered him much earlier—during a trip to Cuba that coincided with the Havana Biennial. “We were collecting very instinctively. If we went to Colombia, Cuba or other places, we would simply observe, try to meet some local artists and purchase a variety of works,” Gambino recalls. “In 2014, we went to Cuba during the Havana Biennial and visited what used to be a country club that had been converted into a massive art school, where Alejandro and many other Cuban artists studied. We ended up buying several pieces directly from students there.”

Recalling that time, the couple admits they knew very little about the system—the broader machinery of the art world. Ivory’s father was an artist, but not a commercially successful one. He understood the art world, yet never truly attempted to participate in it as a market. “I grew up around artists, but not the glamorous side of art,” Ivory recalls, describing a childhood shaped by precarity—by the tension between her father’s creative conviction and the necessities of everyday survival. Gambino’s experience was even further removed. “I was born in the city but grew up in New Jersey, in an Italian American family with absolutely no art education. The art in our house was more like home décor—things that literally said, ‘Your house is a home,’” he shares. “But for as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to art. I still feel that it makes life better, that it adds something essential.”

Their entry point was through key relationships that helped them find their footing in the art world. Early on, Gambino met Kim Hastreiter, co-founder of Paper magazine, who describes herself as an “obsessive collector.” She opened her collection to him and played a pivotal role in shaping his journey as a collector. Through her, he was introduced to Marsea Goldberg, founder of New Image in Los Angeles, a small gallery with an outsized impact, known for nurturing artists early while guiding new collectors. For Gambino, as for many young collectors, these early relationships proved foundational. “They taught me to buy only what I love,” he says.

Drawing on the soft skills developed through his real estate career, Gambino quickly learned that relationship-building was just as essential in the art world—not only for access, but also for timing, insight and, ultimately, negotiation.

From New Image, Gambino acquired one of their earliest contemporary works: a painting by Jeffrey Cheung. Though Cheung’s market never spiked dramatically, his colorful, playful and absurdist compositions—with figures multiplying as if to suggest the many dimensions of the self—continue to fascinate the couple. Over time, they acquired multiple works by him, as they did with other artists they deeply believe in, including Claudia Keep and Alejandro Piñero Bello.

For the couple, collecting multiples is both a way to support an artist’s trajectory and to assemble a meaningful group of works that truly reflects a practice. “Over time, and from other collectors, we picked up this idea that when you really believe in an artist, you try to live with more than one work. Two or three, if possible,” Gambino said. “That’s something we’ve carried through the collection—we own multiples of almost everyone we love.”

In just ten years, the pair’s collection has grown to over 100 works. What began as spontaneous passion gradually turned into something closer to obsession—particularly for Gambino. New works arrive almost every month, although they have attempted to establish a monthly budget, and Ivory diligently tries to archive everything digitally, keeping pace with Gambino’s rhythm proves challenging, as his acquisitions remain guided primarily by instinct, eye and emotion before any ratio. “There were periods this year when things just kept arriving—sometimes not small things at all. Like that huge wooden crate,” Ivory said. “I loved it. It almost turned into an obsession,” Gambino added.

Yet, the connection with both the work and its creator remains an essential part of the couple’s collection, which is why the focus stays firmly on emerging artists rather than celebrity names. That path, Gambino explains, is far more exciting and meaningful: it allows for collecting with intention, often with tangible impact on an artist’s career and, frequently, the formation of genuine relationships.

“I like the idea of supporting what’s new,” Gambino explained, noting how some of his collector friends—those more financially driven—question why he doesn’t concentrate on acquiring single works by established names. “I’d rather buy many works that I genuinely love and support the artists making them,” he said. “Art isn’t how I make money. I make money in real estate. If I want a safe return, I can put three hundred thousand into a property and know it’ll perform. With art, it’s different. It’s about the pleasure of living with it—wanting the work around you, every day, as part of your life.”

The sole blue-chip work in the collection is a David Hockney iPad drawing. But Gambino loves to be actively involved, supporting artists early and witnessing their ascent to blue-chip status, as has already occurred with artists like Pinero Belo and Marco Pariani. Then there’s British artist Rex Southwick, whom Gambino connected with through Instagram, and that connection became an ongoing exchange: Gambino would send Southwick photos of the villas he sold, Southwick would reinterpret them in his signature kaleidoscopically vibrant palette, and Gambino would gift the paintings to the homes’ new owners. As a result, Southwick’s work has since entered the collections of major celebrities and prominent families on both coasts.

On multiple occasions, Gambino has taken an active role in supporting artists beyond collecting—helping to place works, encouraging friends to buy and offering financial support when artists reach institutional milestones, such as LaKela Brown’s recent exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

But when it comes to introducing others to the art world, Gambino acknowledged that barriers remain. Friends with limited budgets often feel excluded, prompting him to encourage small beginnings—school shows, emerging artists, direct purchases. Friends with significant means face different risks—primarily being taken advantage of. “In both cases, I try to bring them with me, introduce trusted people, help them understand how it works,” he said. “The art world is a business, whether you like it or not. I don’t treat it like a business—it’s a passion—but relationships matter. That’s true in every industry. I just happened to spend years building them here, and fortunately, it intersects naturally with my work.”

Much has changed—both positively and negatively—within the ultra-contemporary segment where Gambino focuses. There is more work circulating now and greater accessibility, but also more filtering and increased difficulty in identifying who will endure. What feels genuinely encouraging, Gambino notes, is the growing recognition by major galleries of the importance of emerging spaces, and the shift toward collaboration rather than competition. “You see partnerships now—like Pace working with KDR—and I think that’s actually wonderful. That didn’t really happen before.”

They agree the ecosystem feels more approachable today than when they first started. “Galleries are quicker to show work, more open to access and less guarded. Some of the old games still exist—the pressure, the implied expectations—but we see far less of it now, especially as more work becomes available digitally,” Gambino reflected.

Many purchases now occur remotely, sometimes without the opportunity to see the work in person. “For certain works, if you don’t buy online, you simply won’t get them unless you’re willing to fly around the world constantly,” he said. “Sometimes I’ve seen other works by the artist before, sometimes it’s intuition and sometimes it’s trust in the gallery. That’s why relationships still matter.” He recognizes that this may be a generational aspect. Growing up digitally means being comfortable experiencing the world through screens, making younger buyers more comfortable with this particular structural reality of contemporary collecting.

Still, art fairs remain a central part of Gambino’s passion—and something he really enjoys. Despite becoming more selective about travel due to time and work constraints, the excitement hasn’t faded. “If I could, I’d go to every fair on the planet. Basel, Armory Week—that’s my favorite time of year,” he said. “I love real estate, I love my job, I’m grateful for it, but if I could spend most of my time just looking at art, I would.”

Gambino and Ivory’s relationship to collecting differs, yet it’s clear they complement one another. For him, the passion borders on obsession—returning to fairs day after day, rewalking aisles endlessly. For Ivory, one pass is enough. “We’re very different that way. He will go back to a fair every single day. I’ll walk through once, see what I like, and that’s it. I hit saturation faster,” Ivory acknowledged. But the balance works. One researches; the other responds instinctively. The final decision is always made together, and most often comes down to a simple question: do we want to live with this?

If Gambino and Ivory’s collecting began as an instinctive extension of travel and curiosity, long before they understood the art world’s complex machinations, a decade later, their Brooklyn Heights home tells the story of a collection shaped by relationships, intuition and a desire to live closely with art rather than speculate on it.

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