Recently I visited the WaterFire Arts Center with a Rhode Island PBS crew to document an expansive exhibition featuring the works of more than 100 local artists. The artworks were wildly diverse, yet many shared a common thread: they were created by struggling artists who had come to the attention of Dr. Joseph Chazan. One of the young videographers and I were taking one last glance in the golden light of late afternoon when she turned to me and said, “This man was proof that one person really can make a difference.” Just so.
Dr. Joseph Chazan was an esteemed nephrologist and probably the greatest arts patron Rhode Island has known. The “ART inc.” team was in the planning stages of a segment featuring Chazan when word of his death in Providence at the age of 89 came on July 26, according to his obituary. Chazan’s passing came not long after he attended a joyful opening night in mid-July at the large-scale exhibition presented by WaterFire Providence called “NetWorks Rhode Island and the Chazan Collection: A Half-Century of RI Patronage.”
The turnout was astounding — 1,000 guests — and attendees told me the night felt like a magical family reunion between local artists and their longtime champion.
Chazan and his late wife Helene began collecting contemporary art in 1973, his obituary stated. Through the years, the couple donated much of their collection to more than 40 museums.
The obituary noted that Joe had a particular passion for supporting young artists.
“He was a true patron of the arts with boundless enthusiasm and generosity for the local artist community,” it stated. “He cherished most of all the wonderful and lasting friendships he made with many of the artists.
Since 2005 — the year Helene passed away, according to her obituary — Joe focused on highlighting the work of contemporary Rhode Island artists through initiatives such as public art placements and production of the NetWorks multimedia visual arts project documenting the work of more than 100 accomplished Rhode Island artists.
The creatives he supported also told me that Joe did not collect art; he collected friends who were artists. Chazan donated much of his collection to museums and developed ways to feature contemporary local talent through public art placements and multimedia visual arts projects. According to those who knew him, he was also a family man devoted to creating educational opportunities for others, and his memory will indeed be a blessing.
You can learn more about Chazan’s remarkable life in an upcoming episode of Season 3 of “ART Inc.”
Here is a taste of what his friends said when we recently sat down to talk.
Barnaby Evans, the founder of WaterFire and its executive artistic director, said that Joe “felt that he could learn from everybody.” More importantly, he listened.
“He would ask questions, but he would ask questions with a purpose of elucidating your thoughts,” Evans said. “And often that was helpful to you as an artist. He was impatient. He’d like to see things happen. He didn’t like excuses, and he was very generous. He was often seeking to assist, and it was very frequently behind the scenes you didn’t realize quite what he’d done.”
Peter Mello, the former co-CEO of WaterFire Providence, said that Joe challenged him and made him think about how he could be a better leader.
“It’s important for younger artists to meet the type of people who are ultimately going to buy their work if they’re going to pursue a career as an artist,” Mello said. “And so he presented a very approachable figure, even though he was such a big figure in the community.
“I think to these young artists, he was always very interested in what their stories were. So I think he touched people and always they would leave with a memory. They’ll never forget their time with him, for sure.”
Umberto Crenca, the artist-musician who founded the internationally acclaimed art space AS220 in Providence nearly 40 years ago, called Joe a man of conviction who asked direct questions.
“Apparently I made a decent impression because it was a longstanding relationship, but he was an incredibly successful man in his own right in terms of he’s brought kidney dialysis to the state of Rhode Island,” Crenca said. “ He was the first person to open a dialysis center, so he was in the business of saving lives. Not a small thing, obviously.
“And by the time I met him, he had already had begun to create a legacy of collecting and supporting artists.”
“His legacy lives on through the countless artists he championed and the works he lovingly collected,” WaterFire Providence wrote on its website.
It is worth repeating: Joseph Chazan was more than a patron of the arts. He was a patron of the artists and became their loyal and encouraging friend.
