Beth Rudin DeWoody has, over the years, amassed what is arguably one of the most extensive and eclectic collections of contemporary art, both in scale and scope. Known for her discerning eye and steadfast support of emerging talent, DeWoody has long embraced new aesthetics, experimental media and the evolving ways art mirrors the world around us. Her trove spans contemporary art, iconic design and esoteric curios—much of it made accessible to the public since 2017 through a private exhibition space available by appointment. That year, The Bunker Artspace opened in a renovated 1920s Art Deco building in West Palm Beach that had once served as both a toy factory and a munitions armory. Since then, it has helped transform the city into a cultural destination, particularly with the unveiling of its year-long exhibitions timed to coincide with New Wave Art Wknd, just after Art Basel Miami Beach.
Observer spoke with DeWoody—an assiduous and visionary collector—about her collecting journey and how her boundless curiosity and unapologetic taste have shaped her holdings into a living, breathing portrait of contemporary creativity across geographies and media.
DeWoody began collecting as a child, starting with Beatles memorabilia before moving to art. “Even from childhood, collecting was a part of my creative outlet,” she says. Her first serious acquisition came at age 17: a line drawing by artist and civil rights activist Benny Andrews titled Genealogy – (I Am the Darker Brother), 1967, purchased while she was attending a summer drawing program at the New School, where Andrews taught. “Thelma Golden and Anne Pasternak included that work in one of our Bunker exhibitions,” she adds. “I’ve since acquired three more Andrews pieces, including one just recently from Craig Starr Gallery—it was nice to return to that place. Craig Starr always has incredible, historical material.”
Over time, DeWoody built a reputation for spotting talent early—often acquiring artists at the start of their careers who later rose in both institutional stature and market value. When asked what constitutes the “x factor” she looks for before acquiring work by a new artist, DeWoody explains that her collecting is driven primarily by instinct and personal response. “An X-factor is not really something I ever think about. I just respond to the artwork, whether that be a painting or sculpture, a work on paper, or a video,” she says. “In many cases, I’ve never heard of the artist before. My mind is open. If I like it, I’ll buy it.”
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Rather than treating her holdings as trophies, DeWoody sees her collection as a continuously circulating ecosystem: a lending collection in constant motion, positioned to respond to the different needs and opportunities that arise, rather than being left idle in storage far from the audiences it could engage. At any given time, several hundred works may be out on loan. “My focus from the beginning, and still to this day, is to get artworks out of storage so that they can be seen,” she explains. “Maynard Monrow, one of my curators, likes to say, ‘Art wilts in the crate and shines on the wall.’ We truly believe that.”
For over two decades, DeWoody has invited one or more guest curators each year to organize rotating exhibitions, always offering new readings of the collection. “With these exhibitions, I can showcase a wide range of artists and combine the works of emerging, mid-career, and well-known artists, presenting them in tandem,” she explains. For DeWoody, The Bunker became the natural next step. “I think people love to see personal collections and how the artworks are displayed and relate to one another.”
Timed with the sixth edition of New Wave Art Wknd, The Bunker Artspace debuted “A Wing and a Prayer”—an exhibition conceived by guest curators Zoe Lukov and Kyle DeWoody, showcasing more than 140 works drawn from both the BRD Collection and Kyle DeWoody’s personal trove. At the heart of the show are two central questions: how can we maintain hope and faith in turbulent times, and how might art function as a tool for spiritual resistance and resilience? Featuring an expansive mix of established and emerging artists, the exhibition unfolds across The Bunker’s two floors in a fluid sequence of ancestral symbolism, folk traditions and abstract compositions that evoke transcendence, meditation and otherworldly reflection.
Since The Bunker’s opening in 2017, DeWoody has entrusted resident curators Laura Dvorkin and Maynard Monrow to help realize her vision and oversee the evolving collection. “They have each been working with me and the collection for over fifteen years, and they know it well. We all align with a non-hierarchical way of exhibiting art,” she says, underscoring a curatorial ethos rooted not just in elevating emerging talent but in recognizing overlooked voices and helping expand the canon.
One of this year’s exhibitions spotlights a room of 1960s paintings, with a deliberate focus on under-recognized artists. “There is an expectation that artists like Stella, Kelly or Johns will be included in an exhibition like this,” DeWoody says. “We still appreciate those artists. I own and have shown works by all of them. But in this case, we enjoyed flipping the script. It’s also how we make progress and add to the canon.” Meanwhile, another show currently on view tackles the urgent theme of surveillance, foregrounding works by two pioneering figures in the field, Gretchen Bender and Julia Scher.
While DeWoody’s extensive—and at times almost omnivorous—collection may defy a single thematic focus, she says she’s often drawn to challenging works that many collectors might avoid, particularly when it comes to displaying them in a domestic setting. Still, there’s plenty of room for humor here. Several pieces are playful, hyper-realistic representations of everyday objects, pushing the boundary between reality and art. “Laura and I still laugh about the time, several years ago, when she almost threw away a Susan Collis,” DeWoody recalls. “My team also once recovered a Jonathan Seliger matchbook out of a (very real) trash can.”
Although the art world has shifted significantly since DeWoody began collecting—becoming larger, more global and increasingly financialized—her commitment to supporting artists at critical early moments in their careers remains unchanged. “That has always interested me. I’m sometimes later priced out of works by these same artists, but I’m happy for them to find success in their careers. I cherish the works I do have,” she adds. “These earlier pieces often offer a glimpse into what the work and the artist will become.”
