My name is Rajni Jacques, and I collect art and I make art. By trade, I am a fashion director and a creative lead. I am also a painter.
My parents are from Haiti, and our house always had art in it, but it was always Haitian artists. And so, I probably found my groove by seeing them collect art and seeing our household with all these beautiful pieces strewn around.
Collecting for me — everything I collect has an emotional grab. It has to have that thing where I feel I’m a part of it or it’s calling me.
One of my favorite things in my collection is a painting by this artist from Newark, New Jersey. His name is Jerry Gant. Some of his paintings are about inner-city living, what black people go through. And I saw this painting on the wall, and I was just like, I need this. The painting itself is just so beautiful and just so vibrant. There’s something when you look at it, it makes you think.
The reason why I’ve always painted is it’s always given me a feeling of freedom. It allows me to relax, and it allows me to be me without having any noise.
I collect pieces thinking and knowing that my kids will love them. And hopefully, how my mom and my dad were able to instill this love of art being around you 24/7, I’m hoping that I can pass that down to them.
We all collect something. Do you know what I mean? Every person that walks this Earth, we all collect something. And I think that emotional pull to that is honestly what gives us joy, or what gives most people joy when they’re collecting!
