Pio Abad and Alex Turnbull
By A&M

Key points:

For artists who are planning their estates, the key is to work conscientiously on archiving and documentation.
Renewed interest in Lim and Abad are driven by shifts in curatorial focus as issues around identity come to the fore.
The management teams of both estates bring their unique skill sets to the preservation efforts of the artists’ legacies.
Financial and curatorial interests must be balanced to ensure long-term sustainability.

For the final panel discussion of LANDING, we spoke with family representatives of artist estates who share first-hand accounts and best practices for legacy planning. The panel featured Pio Abad, Curator of Pacita Abad’s estate, and Alex Turnbull, Co-Director of the Kim Lim Estate and William Turnbull Estate. The talk was moderated by Ian Tee, Associate Editor at Art & Market.

Here are the takeaways from the panel:

For artists who are planning their estates, the key is to work conscientiously on archiving and documentation. Alex noted that steady documentation would help to make it easier for the management of the estate after the passing of the artist as there would be less guess work to “fit the pieces together”. Pio brought up the challenging task of consolidating Pacita’s body of work which is scattered around the world. Both of them stressed the importance of keeping the estate intact until a moment of interest arises.

Renewed interest in Lim and Abad are driven by shifts in curatorial focus as issues around identity come to the fore. Alex explained the importance of timing in the estate’s promotional efforts, given that Lim’s work was largely forgotten after her passing and only recently reclaimed into artistic canons. Pio shared the need to “insist on Pacita Abad’s complexity”, as she led an itinerant life and became a part of many different art histories. Both Lim and Abad were ahead of their times not only in their aesthetic explorations but also transnational outlooks. Similarly, both artists had major solo exhibitions in the United Kingdom in 2020: ‘Kim Lim: Carving and Printing’ at Tate Britain, and ‘Pacita Abad: Life in the Margins’ at Spike Island, Bristol.

The management teams of both estates bring their unique skill sets to the preservation efforts of the artists’ legacies. Pio spoke about how his experience in exhibition-making informed decisions regarding the display of Pacita’s works. Alex uses his documentary-making skills to help research and tell the stories of Kim Lim and William Turnbull. Importantly, this is a team effort: Pio with Jack Garrity, Pacita’s husband; and Alex with his brother, Johnny Turnbull.
Financial and curatorial interests must be balanced to ensure long-term sustainability. For the Pacita Abad Estate, revenue sources include participation fees from major exhibitions as well as activity in the art market through collaborations with Silverlens Gallery. Alex shared that Bianca Chu’s involvement with the Kim Lim Estate has been instrumental to their ability to navigate the art world and place pieces in important institutions.

Watch the full recording of LANDING Panel 4 here: