Marios Ngassam - The Interview

Marios Djamo Ngassam is the founder of Maison Marios, a Berlin-based art consultancy and advisory house established in 2021. His work focuses on connecting collectors with contemporary art and helping them build collections that reflect their individual sensibilities, personal narratives, and long-term aspirations.

Through Maison Marios, Ngassam approaches collecting as something deeply personal: not simply the acquisition of artworks, but a way of creating meaningful connections between art, artists, collectors, and everyday life.

In this conversation, we explore the origins of his relationship with art, the evolution of his personal taste, the works that hold particular significance for him, and the artists currently capturing his attention. We also look towards the future of his collection and his vision of what it means to be a contemporary collector today.

SR Can you take us back to the beginning of your relationship with art? What was the first moment, encounter, or artwork that made you realise that collecting could become an important part of your life?

MN My name is Marios Ngassam, a Berlin–Cape Town based art consultant.

I am originally from Cameroon and come from a more basic, traditional background.

Growing up, I was always very passionate about beauty and aesthetics. I also had a heavy fascination with women’s appearance, and I think this was built through the fact that my mother was running a fashion business.

Spending a lot of time with her, I had the chance to meet different types of women and different stereotypes of beauty. I was fascinated by spending time around women who were not only beautifully dressed, but also so colorful, tropical and alive.

In Central Africa, and particularly Cameroon, fashion is art. It is all about matching colors, patterns, textures and making everything work together.

This obsession with beauty led me naturally to art, interiors and also flowers.

I love making flower arrangements. The idea of putting different layers, colors and textures together is amazing to me. I love seeing where it leads in the end.

Putting flowers together teaches you taste. It teaches you how things can evolve and how different elements can coexist. From interiors to architecture, it also teaches you to see beauty and intellect differently.

This connection eventually led me not only to love art, but also to encourage other people to love art through acquisition and, more importantly, living with it.

SR As your collection has evolved over the years, how would you describe your artistic taste today? Are there recurring themes, materials, aesthetics, or ideas that consistently draw you towards a particular work?

MN To be honest, acquiring art was always about how I want to live and what I want to connect with when I am home.

My collection is quite diverse because I like different things. I connect with works depending on the location, the space and how I imagine they will appear in my home.

Art for me is more aesthetic than anything else.

Because I am living with it and seeing it every day, it is very important to me how a work looks and how it appears in my space.

After all, art for me is life and love.

The way a work looks, feels and coexists with everything else in my space is extremely important to me.

SR Every collector has a work they feel particularly connected to. Is there a piece in your collection that you are especially proud of owning, and what makes it so meaningful to you beyond its artistic value?

MN I do love and have a strong attachment to all the works in my collection.

But I am particularly grateful to have the opportunity to live with the work of artists like Boluwatife Oyediran, a Nigerian artist based in New York.

Bolu’s work is fascinating to me.

He is very intellectual, and his work connects with African history and many different ideologies. From the transatlantic slave trade, to questioning the power of religion, to reflecting on the difficulties of being Black and gay in the diaspora, or the reality of immigration and people leaving for America to live a dream and then confronting a completely different reality.

But what is even more fascinating to me is his skill.

He has the ability to take these very complex subjects and create something that is incredibly skilled, powerful and aesthetically beautiful.

I love Boluwatife Oyediran.

SR To what extent do you think a collection ultimately becomes a portrait of its collector? Do you see the works you choose to surround yourself with as a reflection of your personality, experiences, and the different stages of your life?

MN Yes, I think the works I collect reflect who I am and what I think.

It is actually one of the reasons art is so important to me.

And I think living with art is the ultimate luxury.

It is a luxury because you move inside your space and at every angle you encounter something created by another human being. Someone’s imagination, hands, ideas and vision are there with you.

Having that inside your home is an incredible luxury.

And ultimately, the art you choose to live with reflects you, your taste and your understanding of life.

SR When you encounter a new artist or a work that immediately captures your attention, what makes you move from simply appreciating it to deciding to acquire it? Is your decision primarily emotional, intellectual, instinctive, or a combination of all three?

MN When I see a work, I am first attracted by the beauty of what I see, and then I learn the other things.

My decision is much more about the emotion and the beauty of the work.

I never approach art intellectually first. To be honest, I find it boring to do so.

Sitting in front of a canvas and discussing for hours what an abstract painting means is simply not my way.

I think the artist has already made the intellectual effort to create something and give us the chance to appreciate it, question it and love it.

And as people who value creativity, bringing the work home is one of the best ways to support that intellectual effort and the ideas behind it.

SR What are you hoping to acquire in the future? Are there particular artists, movements, mediums, or types of works that you feel are still missing from your collection and that you would particularly like to discover?

MN To be honest, there are many artists I would love to acquire and wish I had the opportunity to live with.

The names are many.

Better not start.

SR Which emerging artists do you believe deserve more attention today? Are there any artists you would personally recommend to a new collector who wants to discover exciting contemporary practices before they receive wider recognition?

MN There are some great artists I particularly love and believe have great potential.

Artists like Spanish artist Daniel Roibal, Nigerian artist Boluwatife Oyediran, South African artist Reggie Khumalo, Singaporean artist Claudia Koh, Mia Chaplin, and Joseph Aina.

These are artists whose work I genuinely love.

For me, that always comes first.

SR Looking at the contemporary art world today, how do you think the role of the collector is changing? And what advice would you give to someone who is just beginning to build their collection and wants to develop a personal, meaningful, and lasting relationship with art?

MN When I look at the art world, I sometimes realize that people do not understand what true luxury is. I am calling everyone out there to buy art and live with it.

Art is life. And for me, living with art is one of the greatest forms of quality of life.

And you don’t have to be rich to do it.

One of my favorite works in my collection cost $200.

Also, don’t intellectualize art too much.

Because sometimes when you intellectualize everything, you close your eyes to things you could simply love.

Buy art. Live with art. Enjoy it.

@All images courtesy of Marios Ngassam