The Kanbas Collection was born from a necessity to bring art into our new home. Growing up in Caracas, we were immersed in a public landscape shaped by art: highways, airports, campuses, and parks were populated with works by Gego, Alejandro Otero, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesús Rafael Soto, and others. Art was embedded in our lives without us noticing. After living in the Bay Area for many years (with a stopover of a few years in Brazil) we found ourselves longing for that experience, and began reflecting on the role of art in shaping our children's education and sense of heritage. This inspired our decision to focus the collection first and foremost on Latin American artists.

The culture and innovations stemming from Silicon Valley have impacted how we live our lives (and indeed the entire planet). Changes are adopted quickly and technology is always with us. As our collection grew, we recognized that while it honored our past, it didn’t yet reflect how we live now. A few years into our journey as collectors, we started to immerse ourselves in the world of digital art. Our children reacted naturally and immediately to this work. Not only does it mesmerize and captivate them, it enriches and reflects their experiences in the same way we remember from our childhood in Caracas. Sharing in this learning and discovery with them has been a gift. Interweaving both traditional and digital art is the best way for our collection to represent our life; we never forget our roots, but we also adapt to changes. The discovery of continuities is as important as embracing ruptures and innovations.

Our journey into digital art illuminated yet another pivotal moment: just as modern, concrete, and kinetic artists once did across Latin America, digital artists today are leading a new wave, engaging a new generation. We have been blessed to meet and connect with several of these pioneering artists, whose creativity and vision bring a poetic dimension to our understanding of today’s technological revolution. Their work deserves to be supported, exhibited, and shared.

The Kanbas Collection unites the innovation of 20th-century Latin American art with the digital art of today, creating a bridge between our heritage and our children's future. We see it as a living legacy, connecting our past and future in the vibrant immediacy of the present.