The Wall Street Journal offers a look at Dakis Joannou’s career as an art collector:

The pivotal moment in what would become a lifelong passion began nearly three decades ago. “I started collecting in 1985, when I came across Jeff Koons’ ‘One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank,'” Mr. Joannou recalls of the Neo-Pop Art sculpture depicting a basketball suspended in a water tank.

MOCA’s Mr. Deitch was beside him that day. “Dakis was just stunned by Jeff’s art. He realized that by getting involved with Jeff’s work and the community of artists in New York at this time, he could create this anthology of contemporary culture, through art collecting.”

Mr. Joannou vividly remembers that epiphany. “From then on, it was about meeting artists, developing personal relationships and collecting their work. It all started organically; there was not a moment of ‘Now, I will start collecting.'”

Dakis Joannou Turns Art On Its Head (Wall Street Journal)