2010-12-29
Art Stage Singapore 2011
Woon Tai Ho

Ronald Ventura Scream, 2008. Mixed media 122 x 154 cm (collector’s exhibition at SAM, facilitated by Art Stage)

Singapore has been known to be the Switzerland of the East – clean and efficient, everything works.  But can such a city be the centre of art?  Shouldn’t an art centre be one that has been organically grown with more than a stain of artistic chaos?  In 1992, Lorenzo Rudolf----the man behind the biggest art fair, Art Basel-----obviously thought so.  “I told myself, if there was one city I will not come back to, it was Singapore.”

He has obviously changed his mind.  Today, he has set up a boutique office along Club Street, a quaint area of Chinatown in Singapore, and is travelling around the world to set up what would be the city-state biggest air fair, Art Stage Singapore come January 2011.  “My approach has changed not just about Singapore but Asia as a whole.  Asia will be the fastest growth area for art and Singapore is well placed as a centre among three of the most important countries, China, India and Indonesia.”

Lorenzo Rudolf grew up in the city of Berne, Switzerland.  In 1991, the former lawyer was made director of a quiet little art fair in a quiet little village, Basel.  From 1991 to 2000, Art Basel transformed from what was a normal trade show into the virtual template of what art fairs are today----lots of glitz and glamour, lots of top quality art, and not to leave out, lots of money changing hands.  By the year he left, no less than 800 galleries were on Art Basel’s annual waiting list.

The Basel magic spread.  There is now a glitzier Art Basel Miami he started; he took over the Frankfurt Book Fair, and in 2007 set up the ShContemporary art fair in Shanghai.  All these part of his new role as creative director for Luxrule, which acquired Art Paris and Art Paris-Abu Dhabi.  Rudolf now concentrates on the global art scene, initiating new concepts linked to the globalisation of the art market.  For Art Stage Singapore, to be held from January 12 to 16 at the Marina Bay Sands, he is looking at about 100 galleries, and he is happy that a substantial bulk would consist of Asia’s top galleries.

What aspect of Singapore enthused him to be the director of Art Stage?  The 51-year old Swiss does not know where to begin.  “Like Switzerland, it works, and more.”  For Art Basel, Basel goes back to being the village that it is after the fair.  Singapore of course, is not a village.  And that explains the “more”.  “I have not seen a place that when it sets its mind on something, arranges with precision and forethought to get it.  It combines drive with wisdom, very rare.”  With Art Stage, he expects new galleries around the world to set up a presence permanently in Singapore, not just for the fair.  From Singapore, he sees these galleries tapping on the surge of emerging artists in the region.

“A lot of cities want to be a world-class city; but they only pay lip-service, no concrete plans.  This city is different.  Singapore wants to be more than merely an efficient city; it wants to be one comparable to the best in the world.”  His admiration is palpable.  You feel what he is thinking – Singapore will get there.  And he is not working alone; he has solid support from key institutions of the city-state behind him----Economic Development Board, Singapore Tourism Board and the National Arts Council.

“I was approached in the mid 90s, to bring Basel here, but Singapore and the region was not ready.  They were looking to the West to benchmark.  Asia has to be a player in the international scene on its own terms with the confidence of attracting the best from the world.”

And hearing him, you can feel it in his bones that Singapore can attract the best from the world, with a sprinkle of his Basel magic.  “Basel took seven years before it became a place where the best of the art world converge for a period.  We pushed the boundaries every year, went to extremes, and took risks.”

He feels that Singapore is willing to take risks, dream big, win big.  Looking back at his illustrious career, he says every city is different and requires tweaking the Basel philosophy.  Miami for instance, is not Basel.  “I realised I couldn’t replicate Basel there one hundred percent.  I had to understand the lifestyle where fun is not fluff but a fundamental activity.  Parties are integral to Miami, where the rich and famous come and where fashion is part of art.”  The Basel Man was lucky.  Setting up Art Basel Miami coincided with Versace living there and the visual art became redefined, taking on a fashion and lifestyle dimension.

What about ShContemporary?  “Shanghai, very much like Singapore, had solid government support.  And you know if China has its way, Shanghai, not Hong Kong would be the financial and cultural centre.”  His way of saying indirectly that Hong Kong has political issues even as it continues to be the center of art and commerce.

“Singapore is too small to have an art scene; its strength is its strategic location.  It has to rely on being a bridge between the East and West.  More importantly, for an art fair to be special, Singapore must have an Asian identity.  This identity must come from the ability to draw from the best in China and India, and its biggest neighbour, Indonesia.”

Apart from its strategic location, what other cards does Singapore hold?  Again he goes back to the region.  “It cannot be Singapore alone; Singapore is the platform of exchange for the entire Asia.”  But there is Hong Kong; the recent Art HK10 was a smashing success.

“In the short term, I think there are only two places in Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore.  But in the longer term, my bets are on Singapore.”  Hong Kong, he feels, will always be dominated by Chinese contemporary art whereas Singapore is neutral.  “I was at Art HK10, and it was a very good art fair.  But I don’t see prominent Indian works, and significant Southeast Asian works.  For Art Stage, you can bet the best of the best from India and Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia will be represented.”

He feels strongly that Asia needs such an art fair where it is not predominantly Indian, Chinese or Indonesian.  “Asia is different from Europe and the US.  In the West, it is an open art market; there isn’t an American art scene, English or French art scene.  In Asia, each country has a strong identity, the Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean.  But we are talking about contemporary art, these ‘walls’ need to come down.”   

An open Asian art market will ultimately be good for the individual artist.  At the moment, the art infrastructure isn’t strong in any particular country in Asia. “So when an artist shows promise, foreign galleries will circle around like vultures to represent them to the West.  So it is important to support the bigger galleries in Asia so that they in turn can nurture and support the emerging artists in Asia.”  He says, for far too long, these big countries relied on their own collectors and their art only became recognised outside the country when a “foreign” player came in.  “I see the need to prop up good galleries, less so now in China and India but more in Indonesia where it is an important country with some of the finest artists and biggest collectors in Asia.  He cites Nadi Gallery, Langgeng and Galeri Ganna as important galleries.”

The MD of Singapore Economic Development, Dr. Beh Swan Gin concurs.  “The centre of art in Asia need not be North Asia.  With world class infrastructure we can leverage on Indonesia and India, in addition to China and the North-East power houses like Japan and Korea.” 

Rudolf points to the important role of the private collector.  “When you talk about art fairs, you are talking about collectors, individuals or groups of individuals with deep pockets.  They will travel anywhere to see and buy the best of the best.  The biggest deals are made face-to-face, not via email or through proxies.  This city is best suited for this kind of transactions.”  There are plans to form a collectors’ club, where prominent international collectors mingle with top Asian collectors to network and share knowledge.   

He reminds,  having the best names isn’t good enough.  A good art fair has to have the best of the best names.  “And the best are with collectors, they can pay when institutions cannot.  For Art Stage, one of my many initiatives is to bring big collectors together and have the first exhibition of Asian contemporary masterpieces from private collections.  Collectors here know of each other, but they don’t know each other.  My aim is to create a community of collectors like in Europe and the US.”

He is working with the Singapore Art Museum for the collectors’ exhibition and is on the look out for super-big warehouses as some of the art he has in mind are too big for existing spaces.  Expect the best from famous artists such as Subodh Gupta, Ai Wei Wei and several other “big names” from Indonesia from the cache of top collectors in the region, including Hong Kong’s Monique Burger, Indonesia’s Deddy Kusuma and the Poddar family of India. 

“Art Stage is an art fair, just on a much larger scale of many connected activities which is the Basel spirit.  I want that spirit to have a distinct Asian identity.  I want artists, galleries and collectors to seamlessly mix.”  For art to explode, it’s clear a fair on this scale is necessary----a concentration of the best for a period of a week.  “Over time, Art Stage will be an event where if you count yourself to be the best contemporary artist, gallery or collector, you have to come.  It is an intense but real period for art business.”    

* Woon Tai Ho is a regional media consultant / coach and author based in Singapore