Founding Collector
Erbil Arkın, who grew up in London as a child of a Cypriot family, attracted the attention of his teachers with his talent for art and drawing since his early years at school. As a 16-year-old young man he encountered Rodin’s monumental ‘The Kiss’ statue at the Tate Gallery, London, which he visited regularly and was fascinated and struck by the statue’s beauty, glory and workmanship. Later, he visited library where he came across many books of Rodin’s sculptures. After graduating from Fine Arts College, Erbil Arkın, who studied Industrial Design at De Montfort University, has a deep interest in art and his passion for Rodin continues to this day.
Erbil Arkın, the largest known Auguste Rodin collector in the Eastern Mediterranean, bought the first sculpture of Rodin in 2005. After than, he added 29 more works, each of them is considered a world heritage, and presents a total of 30 Rodin sculptures with audiences at the Rodin Collection Gallery. Arkın shares the story of owning this entire collection and the feelings that the works made him feel, with the following expressions;
‘‘As a young student, who was endeavouring to go to art college, I wouldn’t have dreamt of owning a Rodin sculpture, let alone many Rodin sculptures…but one should always aim to reach for the star; however, you may, when you look back
i realise that you have reached the peak of a mountain.’’
‘’I hope that this collection will allow people to realise the passion I hold for Auguste Rodin, to see what I see and feel what I feel in his works..his soul still lives in each and every one of them.’’
