Every collection, whether it begins with a single work or grows across a lifetime, should carry something of its collector’s sensibility. Blackbird Rook exists to sharpen that instinct – to present work that is credible, critically alive and likely to hold its own in the long view. After nearly 30 years in the art world as both artist and academic, Greg Rook brings a rare combination of access and judgement: long-standing relationships with artists and studios; a grounded understanding of art history and its currents; and a practical sense of what makes a work truly significant. Working directly with galleries, curators and artists, Blackbird Rook has built a network that supports the development of intelligent, confident and forward-looking collections. This book gathers together a selection of works placed in the first years of Blackbird Rook – pieces that now sit in established collections – as a record of that ongoing conversation between art, collector and advisor.