As a collector of Hong Kong art, we are just at the beginning and there is definitely a long way to go.
Your Collection includes mostly Hong Kong contemporary artists. When did you start collecting and did you start with contemporary art?
I started collecting Chinese Contemporary art in 2005. In the middle of 2006 I got introduced to the contemporary Hong Kong art scene and I started to make a shift towards Hong Kong artists. At the time, their work was not overly commercial and for me the works were very interesting. There was no art market in Hong Kong and the works they produced were created for small exhibitions. The situation changed quite quickly and today Hong Kong artists are shown in a lot of galleries and there are more opportunities for them. Also, the younger generation is starting to change their artistic approach.
Did the shift of circumstances in the Hong Kong art scene also influence your collecting approach?
Before, I was collecting to document all the activities in the Hong Kong art scene. I covered most of the Hong Kong artists in my collection. Today, I really focus on the important works and fewer artists than before.
What is your focus regarding the artists in your collection? Are you more interested in emerging or renowned artists? What is the reason?
When I started collecting, some of the artists I collected were emerging artists. They are now shown in major international shows. With regard to this I can’t really state whether I am focusing on emerging or renowned artists.
You are an architect and an artist yourself. Collecting art is a creative process as well. Do you see collecting as some kind of art?
In my opinion, collecting is almost like a journey that you go through. It is always open-ended. The history of art in Hong Kong is probably younger than 20 years. It is still a very young art scene and there will be many developments in the future. As a collector of Hong Kong art, we are just at the beginning and there is definitely a long way to go.
Our research project found around 40 contemporary private collectors in Hong Kong. What is your observation? How many active contemporary art collectors are based in Hong Kong? Will these numbers increase?
Actually, I have not done any research regarding the number of collectors in Hong Kong. Among the collectors that I know there are maybe 10 keen and very good collectors. I am a little bit surprised that there are actually around 40 contemporary private collectors based in Hong Kong but it is very good to know that.
Are you in contact with other Hong Kong collectors? Do you visit each others collections?
I don’t really have time to visit other people’s collection. Also, many collectors in Hong Kong keep their collections in storages since there is not enough space to show the works. Hence most of the collectors do not have the chance to display their collection publicly.
Chinese collectors mainly focus on Chinese artists. Hong Kong is an international metropolis. Do Hong Kong collectors follow a more international collecting approach?
The collectors I am primarily familiar with have a focus on Hong Kong artists but they are also buying international artists. In my opinion, that is the interesting part in art collecting: you always need to have a focus but you have to be open-minded for new things as well.
We spoke to European collectors who are collecting Chinese artists (eg Sylvain Levy). Lately the Rubells opened an exhibition dealing with Chinese artists.Do you think that contemporary Chinese artists will gain more popularity outside Asia in the future? And what about artists from Hong Kong?
The Burgers and the Levys are both some kind of pioneers as Western collectors collecting Hong Kong artists. They both follow a very interesting and encouraging approach. In the future there will be other collectors following them. A friend of mine from Dallas came to Art Basel HK last year and went home with a work by a Hong Kong artist. I think that there are definitely a lot of good artists in Hong Kong and as long as people notice them, Hong Kong artists will be more and more present in Western collections.
The influence of private collectors in the art scene is bigger than ever before. As the Chinese (and also Asian) collector base is growing rapidly, we assume that some of the next global artist “superstars” will be Chinese artists. Do you share this opinion?
In China there are a few artists who will be important. For example, artists like Zeng Fanzhi are already achieving very high prices. He produced very rare series (e.g. hospital series), which is really smart because the demand gets stronger if there are only a few works available on the market.
There are many private museums (Budi Tek, Zheng Hao) opening in China at the moment. Do you have plans to make your collection publicly available?
I published a book with Hatje Cantz on my collection and I hope it will help to raise more public attention to Hong Kong artists. It was released in May 2014. Compared to China, the situation of private museums is different. The prices for land are really expensive in Hong Kong and therefore it is difficult to present collections to the public. I own a small studio that I open for people to visit at art fairs. Nevertheless, for me it is not important to own a private museum. I hope that at some point my collection will help to document the situation of Hong Kong artist of today and I also hope that in the future people will find my collection important and encouraging.
