Private art collector Yuri van der Leest on collectorship, losing it and the value of art.
The Last Supper is a weekly podcast featuring artists, curators, collectors and gallerists in Asia. Available on Spotify, Apple podcast, Google podcast.
Art Collector Yuri van der Leest
Ep.22 | In this episode Yuri van der Leest talked about his group exhibition ‘A Collection in Two Acts’, an overview show of his private art collection of 42 artists from around the world. Yuri explained the exhibition’s concept of critical fabulation, we delved into collectorship, why he started collecting and how his acquisition of art has evolved over the years.
Yuri van der Leest
Yuri’s art collecting journey began in 2012, when he first saw Approaching Shadow, Ho Fan’s iconic 1954 photo of his cousin against a wall in Causeway Bay, seemingly stalked by a shadow of time, memory, sanctuary or perhaps fear. Struck by how one photo can simultaneously capture the fragility of beauty and life and the texture and shapes of an always changing city, he began somewhat obsessively building a collection that now spans genres, continents and cultures, but has Hong Kong at its heart.
Over the years, Yuri has explored a network of galleries that foster local talent and a widening circle of public and private art institutions and foundations in Hong Kong. He has also attended art fairs at home and abroad and has met and talked with countless artists who are generous with their thoughts and time.
The collection he has built through this process resonates on many levels. He describes the process of falling in love with and acquiring an artwork as a movement from visual fascination to intellectual curiosity – and ultimately to passion. Sometimes this process takes years and others it plays out in a single second of inspiration.
The art that is closest to Yuri’s heart mirrors and interprets the city he calls home and the world we live in through lenses that reveal the feeling, motivations and lived experiences of the social, political and economic challenges and triumphs we experience as a community.
His collection is medium agnostic, spanning acrylic and oil, ink, unique and editioned prints, photography, sculpture and fabric arts. Local artists represented include Kurt Chan, Chow Chun Fai, Chloe Cheuk, Cheung Szelit, Luke Ching Chin Wai, Eric Fok Hoi Seng, Gohung, Andrew Luk, Wilson Shieh, Mak Yik Tung, Tsang Kin Wah, Annie Wan and Stephen Wong Chun Hei. These are complemented by the works of international artists such as Harland Miller, Grayson Perry, Hank Willis Thomas and Zhao Zhao.
Yuri grew up in Nova Scotia, Canada, but has since lived in South Korea, the US and Hong Kong. He has worked as a writer, editor, researcher, teacher and consultant, but perhaps the best description of his profession is “communicator”. He currently works for Teneo, a global CEO consultancy.
Yuri holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in English Literature from Dalhousie and Queen’s University in Canada, respectfully, and an MBA from Hong Kong University. He should read and learn a lot more about art and art history, but for now is simply enjoying the riches that spread out before his eyes.
Group show A Collection in Two Acts, curated by Chris Wan, from the collection of Yuri van der Leest. Jul 16 - Sep 16, 2022
www.rossirossi.com/exbhition/a-collection-in-two-acts
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'The Last Supper' is produced and hosted by Oscar Venhuis | Instagram @thelastsupper.asia
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