Jay Chou Curates Sotheby's "Contemporary Curated: Asia" Auction at K11 MUSEA
HYPEBEAST ZH sat down with the acclaimed musician to discuss his star-studded curation.
For Sotheby‘s first “Contemporary Curated: Asia” sale, the premier auction house invited Taiwanese musician Jay Chou to spearhead its curation and presentation in Hong Kong’s K11 MUSEA. The auction recently ended on June 18th with all auction items sold. Chou donated a number of works from his personal collection for this auction which included a 1985 ‘Untitled’ triptych by Jean-Michel Basquiat. The work was estimated to sell for about $255 million HKD (approx. $32 million USD), but was finally traded at $289 million HKD (approx. $37 million USD).
HYPEBEAST’s editorial team in Hong Kong took this opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with Jay to understand how he was influenced by art since childhood, and how art became a communication medium between him and his mother.
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s
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Sotheby’s
You said that your interest in art was spurred by your mother since you were a child, how did she guide you into the art world?
Jay Chou: Because my mother is an art teacher and I started music in elementary school, it should be considered that I grew up in the atmosphere of art since I was born. If you ask me when I came into contact with art, it should have been since I was born, haha!
How does she affect your appreciation and evaluation of art in the future?
Because of my mother’s relationship, she also has some concepts about art history. From an early age, watching her use different media to create, in my eyes she should be the best artist!
Are there any differences in your artistic preferences and evaluations?
Everyone has different preferences. My mother and I often communicate, for example, what paintings she has painted recently, and what works I have recently received. What’s more impressive and interesting is that my mother told me that the reason she likes Salvador Dali more than Pablo Picasso is because “Dali is more dedicated!”, haha!
When do you start collecting art?
Speaking of the origin of the collection, it should be from a walk in the Marais district of Paris, I accidentally bought a lot of works that I like and have strong visual effects. After returning home, my friend laughed and said that I bought decorations for tourists. This incident inspired me to be competitive, and I decided to step into the field of art collection seriously and study hard.
How do you pick and choose the works in your personal collection? What are the conditions for you to make the artworks you want to collect?
After several years of exploration and learning in the collection, I realized that art works cannot be measured by absolute prices. A work that can make you happy is priceless and worthy of the money. in.
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s
After you became a father, did you focus on cultivating your own child’s artistic interests?
Various forms of art can bring us happiness and at the same time stimulate our feelings about life. When I had children myself, I found that they were very creative. I will use different ways to encourage my children to create, and will print their works on the clothes. The children are also very happy to see me wearing the patterns they created and feel very fulfilling! I hope that through art, I can take them to see and listen more, and feel from the heart in an immersive environment.
In your curation for this auction, you were inspired by Pablo Picasso ’s home in Cannes, France, Jean-Michel Basquiat ’s studio in New York and when Andy Warhol’s ”Campbell’s Soup Cans” were exhibited at the “The American Supermarket” exhibition in 1964. What were your main motivations behind these sources?
I have been thinking about the planning this time for a long time, how to bring you a different surprise. Therefore, I specially designed a very special preview so that the audience can appreciate and understand the artwork with an immersive experience.
What do you think about the recent boom in NFT digital artworks?
Regarding the recent hot NFT, I can only say that if a thing is produced or phenomenon, if it is not eliminated by time, then it proves that it is worthy of being liked, let’s look at it again!
Any other upcoming projects?
At present, we are fully committed to this cooperation with Sotheby’s. If there is any interesting and fun artistic cooperation in the future, of course, we will not rule out new plans.
