Inside the Collection: The Paradise Valley Home of Adam and Iris Singer

In Paradise Valley, Arizona, collectors Adam and Iris Singer have transformed their home into a vibrant hub for art, conversation, and community. Their 9,000-square-foot residence, entirely reimagined by designer Matthew Boland of MMB Studio, was conceived first and foremost as a live-in gallery—a space to showcase their growing, diverse collection with clarity and care. The project was a full gut renovation, encompassing every corner of the home, including a primary gallery with a bar and cellar, multiple dining areas, entertaining spaces, and guest quarters.

Eighteen years after first working together on the Singers’ previous home, Boland returned with a crystal-clear brief: Design a home specifically around art. Known for this unique talent, he paid meticulous attention to wall placement and the spatial dialogue created once artworks were installed. The result is a striking balance between refined architecture and curatorial flow, featuring the work of artists like Loie Hollowell, Simone Leigh, Amoako Boafo, Flora Yukhnovich, Rashid Johnson, Nicolas Party, and many more. 

For the Singers, collecting has evolved from a passion to a vocation—one that includes opening their doors to curators, gallerists, artists, and fellow collectors. Hosting intimate dinners, cocktail receptions, and museum groups has become an extension of their philanthropic mission. In the conversation that follows, Whitewall speaks with Adam, Iris, and Matthew about art, architecture, and creating space for connection.

Adam & Iris on Collaborating with Matthew

WHITEWALL: This is a first for us—to have a conversation that brings both design and art together. Usually, we speak with collectors, but it’s a rare treat to also include the designer. Thank you all for joining us.

ADAM SINGER: Thank you. We don’t do a lot of interviews, so if we’re missing something, just guide us—we’ll follow your lead.

WW: Of course. Let’s start with how you all came to work together. What was that first connection between you and Matthew?

IRIS SINGER: We actually met Matthew over 20 years ago, when we were moving from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Arizona. He was working with another firm at the time and was assigned to our project.

AS: And we just fell in love with him. In the middle of our build, he decided to branch out on his own—and we followed him.

MATTHEW BOLAND: There’s a bit of a fun debate over whether Adam and Iris were my first clients.

AS: We like to think we were his first!

IS: When we moved in, the house was about four or five months from completion. It was a spec home, so we didn’t get to change much, but Matthew helped us personalize the finishes and really brought his touch to the space.

WW: And how did your working relationship develop from there?

IS: Beyond working together, we also built a friendship. We were all members of the Phoenix Art Museum and would often have dinners together. He watched our children grow up, so there was always that personal connection and trust.

AS: And for me, I’m not as naturally drawn to design, so I was probably the more challenging one. But Matthew made the process easy and built my confidence through each step. That trust is why our relationship really blossomed.

IS: I always tell people—Matthew never wasted my time. He brought me options that felt spot-on, never recycled from other clients. That’s such a gift. He just has the eye.

MB: Thank you. I think there’s an intimacy required in designing someone’s home. It’s not about reflecting my taste. It’s about distilling the clients’ aesthetic into a cohesive environment that feels uniquely theirs.

And with Adam and Iris, there’s transparency. No one’s afraid to speak up—we respect each other’s opinions, and that openness has allowed the work to evolve naturally.

“There’s an intimacy required in designing someone’s home,”

-Matthew Boland

WW: And evolve it has. You’ve worked together for decades now. Can you tell us about how the house changed over time?

MB: It’s been an ongoing conversation. What I love most about working with Adam and Iris is that they’re always growing—they travel, they see more, they experience more. I remember early on, Adam mentioned he wanted to start collecting contemporary art. That seed eventually grew into something remarkable.

As their collection grew, the house needed to shift to accommodate it. At one point, Adam and Iris said, “If we’re going to stay here, we need to rethink how the house interacts with the art.” And that opened the door to fully reimagining the space.

AS: And Matthew wasn’t afraid to make bold moves—like closing off windows and fireplaces to create more walls for the collection. At the time, I wasn’t sure—but I trusted him.

MB: That’s how the gallery space came to be. It actually stemmed from a trip Adam and Iris took, where they saw an apartment with an art wall softly backlit by a window behind it. Adam asked, “Could we do something like this?” That’s the beauty of the process—it’s not just my ideas, it’s how our ideas synthesize.

Curating the Collection

WW: Adam and Iris, you’ve built a remarkable collection. What sparked your interest in collecting contemporary art?

IS: When we moved to this house, it was much larger than our home in Tulsa. There was so much wall space, and it felt empty—like the house wasn’t alive. I love color, and while we had great fabrics and rugs, the walls were still bare. That’s when we knew we wanted to collect.

AS: I come from a family of collectors—my father and grandfather both collected art. My mom was an antiques dealer. I collected stamps, cloisonné, comic books. So collecting was in my DNA.

But I didn’t want “vacation art” or what a decorator might pull off a local shop wall. I wanted meaningful pieces. At first, we were overwhelmed. We followed my father around The Armory Show like puppy dogs. That’s when I realized—we need help.

WW: And that led you to find an art adviser?

AS: Yes. I did tons of research and landed on three names: Theo Westreich, Allan Schwartzman, and Ruth Katona. We interviewed all three and chose one. Looking back, we weren’t even ready for an adviser—but it was the start of our education.

“Now, everything is intentional…The art leads the design.”

-Matthew Boland

WW: Matthew, as they began collecting, how did you adapt the home’s design to incorporate the growing collection?

MB: The original house was a mix of antiques and transitional pieces, especially incorporating elements Iris loved from Tulsa. But as the collection grew, we had to keep editing the interiors. Everything had to quiet down to let the art speak.

Now, everything is intentional. From the paint tones to the placement of furniture. The art leads the design.

WW: Adam, I heard there’s a specific story around acquiring a Wade Guyton piece that was an early milestone?

AS: Yes—our adviser at the time suggested a Wade Guyton X painting. I remember thinking, “You want me to pay that for an inkjet print?” But after pausing and checking with a few trusted sources, we went for it. That decision marked a turning point. Now we’ve collected Wade in depth—two more paintings and a sculpture.

IS: At the beginning, we were drawn to emerging artists out of L.A. and New York—many of whom were our own age at the time. That’s where it started.

AS: As we became more comfortable, we moved into more significant works. But art was never an investment for us—it just needed to maintain its value. It was about what we loved.

WW: Did the collecting lifestyle shift your daily life? Travel? Social circles?

IS: Completely. When we started, our daughters were two, eight, and ten. I was a full-time mom. Adam did all the acquisitions, while I curated the house. But art became a shared passion—our way to spend time together. Every trip turned into a museum visit or an art fair.

AS: We traveled to Hong Kong, China, and across Europe. Over the years, we’ve made friends in the art world. Now, we go to fairs like Frieze to reconnect with them—it’s become more about the community.

IS: Recently, we took friends to Frieze L.A. who had just remodeled their house. It was fun to show them our world. Most of our friends here don’t know that side of us.

WW: As your collection expanded, did any themes start to emerge?

AS: Initially, no—we just bought what we loved. But over time, yes. One subset became Black and African artists. During the height of Black Lives Matter, we were able to share that collection locally—40 works by 25 artists, including Rashid Johnson, Genesis Tramaine, and Mark Bradford.

I also have a personal side collection: Dorothea Lange and Berenice Abbott photographs. That’s more of a quiet passion. But broadly, we lean toward abstraction, and always follow what speaks to us.

“We lean toward abstraction, and always follow what speaks to us,”

-Adam Singer

WW: And as the walls filled up, what conversations began about next steps?

IS: That was the turning point for creating the gallery space. We had a beautiful great room, but it was fighting with the art—curtains, rugs, sofas… we even hung pieces from the ceiling to make space. Eventually, we knew: It had to evolve.

MB: That evolution is part of the joy. The house isn’t static. It’s grown with them, just like the collection. That’s what makes our work so meaningful—creating spaces that continue to grow alongside the people who live in them.

WW: When did the conversation around remodeling your home begin in earnest?

IS: It really started with a painting by Sean Scully. I had it installed in front of some soft, neutral curtains, and I kept thinking, “This isn’t working.” That piece needed a proper, white wall. And that made us realize—maybe it wasn’t just the wall. Maybe it was time to reimagine the entire space.

AS: At first, we thought about moving. But we love our neighborhood, and during COVID we realized: Why not stay and make the house work better for us?

Matthew on Remodeling Around the Collection

WW: What were your top priorities for the remodel?

IS: More wall space for art, definitely. But also a better kitchen—both for daily living and entertaining—and a dining room that could seat twelve comfortably. We host a lot of dinners and events, so we wanted to make that experience easier and more beautiful.

MB: The first project we tackled was the primary bathroom. It had always been a bit compromised, and once we updated that, it felt so right in terms of materials and scale—it became the inspiration for the rest of the renovation. That bathroom is still one of my favorite rooms in the house.

“We wanted to make that experience easier and more beautiful,”

-Iris Singer

WW: Matthew, what were some of the boldest design moves you made in the remodel?

MB: We closed off an open archway to create more wall space and shift the flow of the home. Iris was concerned it would darken the space, but I knew it would actually help define the interiors without sacrificing natural light. I also eliminated some fireplaces and built-in shelving to allow for full-height walls that could accommodate large-scale works.

AS: He was right—it didn’t feel dark at all. And now we have incredible spaces to showcase pieces we love.

WW: Did any specific artworks shape the way rooms were redesigned?

MB: Absolutely. For instance, there’s a piece by Flora Yukhnovich that we knew needed a certain presence. The way we placed it transformed the wall. And a Nicolas Party piece became a focal point in the kitchen—which, for Adam and Iris, is the heart of the home.

AS: We live in the kitchen, so why not have something beautiful there? It’s where we start and end every day.

WW: How did you approach creating a space that felt like both a home and a gallery?

MB: We built what I call a “gallery room” by walling off patio doors to create four clean walls for art. Then we designed a custom, multi-lounger sofa in a very specific tone—a “non-color” that wouldn’t compete with the artwork but would still energize the space.

IS: Choosing that sofa color took weeks! I must have gone through every sample on the planet, but Matthew kept editing with me until it was just right. The texture, the depth—it needed to feel neutral, but never flat.

WW: What’s your process like as a team?

IS: I usually dive into the research and narrow down the options. Then I bring Adam in for the final decisions. It works for us—he doesn’t want to see a hundred choices. He wants three great ones.

MB: They’re incredibly thoughtful. They care deeply about function, but also about how the space feels. They wanted a home where they could live with art—truly live with it—not just admire it from afar.

WW: That seems like a delicate balance—creating a museum-quality space that’s still warm and inviting.

AS: That was the goal. We didn’t want it to feel sterile. And it doesn’t. We have dinners, we lounge on the sofa—it’s very much a lived-in home.

IS: There’s a moment I’ll never forget: I came in and saw the Nicolas Party piece in the kitchen. I hadn’t realized it was going up there, and I said, “That’s amazing.” It just felt right. Sometimes the surprises are the best part.

Collecting Through Changing Times

WW: You mentioned traveling and seeing other collectors’ homes. Has that influenced how you think about your own space? Do you enjoy inviting people into your collection?

IS: Definitely. Just this past Sunday, we hosted a group of collectors. In November, we had a group from Santa Barbara come through. We’ve always opened our home—that’s something we both love when we travel. I get as much joy seeing art in someone’s home as I do visiting a museum.

AS: We’ve hosted the Contemporary Forum from the Phoenix Art Museum, done dinner parties for the museums, and supported shows and talks. When artists come in town, we always try to host them at our house. It’s something that’s become part of what we do.

WW: That’s incredible. Any memorable visits?

AS: Mark Bradford came by, and we’ve known him almost from the very beginning. He was looking at one of his works in our home—he does this thing with papier-mâché, and he started tugging at a corner of the piece. I had to laugh and say, “Hey, don’t touch the art!” But it’s just who he is—it’s all part of his process.

WW: That’s such a great story. Someone mentioned that your home feels like a surprise from the outside. Matthew, can you speak to your approach to designing the space?

MB: The interior used to mirror the exterior’s more traditional architecture. We wanted to create an environment that felt more like us, but still respected what was already there. In the gallery space, for example, there was a sandblasted fir beam ceiling with tongue-and-groove planks. We kept the structure but painted the ceiling to give it a more loft-like, California feel.

IS: It’s definitely a surprise when you walk in. It feels really fresh and edited.

MB: The exterior has more exuberant architectural references—historical, detailed. Inside, it’s very clean and edited. There’s a duality that I think works.

WW: Do you have any works outdoors?

AS: We do. There’s a calligraphy sculpture by Herbert Ferber, a mid-20th-century artist who was friends with people like Rothko and David Smith, but never got the same level of attention. I joke that he’s my “poor man’s David Smith.” We’ve got a few of his maquettes and sculptures in the collection.

WW: Is there an area of the collection you’re looking to grow right now?

AS: We’ve slowed down quite a bit over the past two years. Not a full pause, but the landscape changed. Galleries started asking more and more from collectors to even have access—it started to feel a little yucky, honestly.

IS: But we’ve always loved the “buy one, donate one” model. That’s been a big part of our philanthropy—helping artists get into museums.

AS: Right. That’s one of the most rewarding aspects. We just bought a piece by Haley Barker, a younger artist we’re excited about. Her show came down recently, and we’re looking forward to installing the work.

WW: You mentioned your philanthropic efforts. Can you share more about that?

IS: I’m on the board of the Phoenix Art Museum, and Adam used to be before joining the board at the Hirshhorn. That’s where we put a lot of time and resources. I also chair the acquisitions committee at the Hirshhorn.

AS: And we’re involved with the Hirshhorn. We’ve helped place over 20 works into museum collections, either by direct donation or by helping make those connections between curators and galleries.

WW: That’s real impact. Are you also involved locally in fsdale?

AS: We try to support the local scene—go to openings, support galleries—but we haven’t focused our collecting locally. When I was more involved with the Phoenix Art Museum and the Contemporary Forum, we helped support local artists through their awards and exhibitions.