PIVOT Day 5 | Art Collecting
Kim Camacho, Patrick Sun and Ryan Su take on multiple roles
By A&M
Key Points
When lockdowns began, the immediate focus was on supporting the art community.
Online auctions, fairs and exhibitions have presented unique opportunities and challenges for purchasing art.
The collectors are hopeful about how the post-pandemic art world will recalibrate to enhance the appreciation of art.
We conclude PIVOT | The Southeast Asian Art World Beyond COVID-19 with an uplifting conversation surrounding the evolution of art collecting agendas. Moderated by Nadya Wang, Editor at Art & Market, the discussion involved collectors Kim Camacho, Patrick Sun, Founder and Executive Director of Sunpride Foundation and Ryan Su, Founder of The Ryan Foundation.
Here are our three takeaways from the panel:
When lockdowns began, the immediate focus was on supporting the art community. Kim talked about consciously purchasing work from younger and emerging artists to help tide them over this challenging period. This was also her recommendation to the Asia-Pacific Acquisitions Committee for TATE. Patrick participated in the worldwide presentation of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s ‘Untitled (Fortune Cookie Corner)’, an interactive artwork that spreads positive messages and has lifted people’s spirits. Ryan has kept busy helping artists and other art workers with legal issues arising directly from the pandemic, such as with employment contracts and studio rent.
Online auctions, fairs and exhibitions have presented unique opportunities and challenges for purchasing art. Ryan talked about the competitiveness of online auctions he has bidded in at this time, which Kim echoed in her story about purchasing a rare Takis artwork that became available at auction. She also noted that while the search function available in online viewing rooms makes it easier to look for specific works, the experience is ultimately unsatisfying, a sentiment the other panellists shared. In addition, Ryan and Patrick emphasised the importance of learning more about the artists whose works one likes through speaking with the gallerists or artists, which is better done in person.
The collectors are hopeful about how the post-pandemic art world will recalibrate to enhance the appreciation of art. Ryan suggests that museums could consider deaccessioning works to remain solvent in response to the statistics that many public art institutions will be closed as a result of the pandemic. He also talked about how a soon-to-be announced physical exhibition The Ryan Foundation is putting together will engage with the public. Patrick and Kim both agree that the art world was previously operating at a frenetic pace, and this is a good opportunity to slow down and be more selective in the activities they will partake in when restrictions ease. Patrick also predicts that video art will flourish given the compatibility of the medium with the increased digitalisation of the art world. In addition, Kim is confident that artist collectives will thrive, and is looking forward to ruangrupa’s curation of documenta 15 in 2022.
Watch the full recording of PIVOT Day 5 here:
We are also pleased to share our takeaways from Day 1 on how public art institutions are engaging with their audiences, Day 2 on how galleries are marketing and selling artworks, Day 3 on how artists are approaching their practices and Day 4 on how the art world will negotiate borders and be reformed.
Thank you for joining us for the first Art & Market conference PIVOT | The Southeast Asian Art World Beyond COVID-19. We hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have. Look out for our article on what we’ve learnt from the conference as a whole next week!
