Passion for Art - CURATOR DU JOUR
April
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What were your first encounters with art and how did you become and independent curator? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Art has been my passion since childhood, which lead me to study at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore and at Central St Martins College of Art and Design in London. Following my degree I decided to concentrate on collecting and curating. During a trip to Beijing in 2003, I discovered the largely unknown but very vibrant Chinese contemporary art movement and began collecting and promoting works by a group of young Chinese artists. My interest was ahead of the subsequent enthusiastic surge in this market and I was keen to see international collectors and museums acquiring these works. I later moved my focus to middle eastern art and specifically Iran, introducing artists such as Ramin Haerizadeh, Ahmad Morshedloo, also the Iraqi artist - Halim al Karim to Charles Saatchi that formed the groundbreaking "Unveiled" show at the Saatchi Gallery in 2009. Following this show, I went on to curate "Guns and Roses" a group show of contemporary Iranian artists in London. The book project, ‘Unleashed’, which was a comprehensive appraisal of Turkish contemporary art took me to Istanbul on a number of occasions where I met many exciting artists and this experience sharpened my interest and led me to become more immersed in the Turkish Contemporary art movement.
There are many advantages being an independent curator, it gives me greater flexibility and freedom to spot emerging talents and to respond quickly. Disadvantages are the support of a large international organization.
What is the difference between working as a curator in Singapore versus working in London?
I arrived in London in 1995, prior to my role as a curator.
Having been born Singaporean, how are you perceived in the UK? As an Asian curator or just a curator from Asia?
I have been established in the UK and Europe for many years and am known through my base in London. I don’t think my Asian’s origin has affected how I am perceived in the UK, people are much more interested in my vision and abilities.
As a curator, you act as a middleman between artists or artworks and the audience. What responsibility goes with that kind of authority? Are they with the audience or the artists, the institution or the exhibition or do they even exist?
I feel I have the primarily responsibility to the artists who look to me to represent them authentically, in addition I have responsibility to the galleries and institutions where I curate a show. We are always looking to introduce new artist to a new audience and in this regards my responsibility is to communicate the artists’ intention to the best of my ability.
Is there some sort of contract that you have with an artist when their work is going to be exhibited? How much input can an artist actually have?
There is certainly a practical contract in place when an artist is involved in an exhibition. Artists also have the freedom and are encouraged to have a view on how their work should be exhibited and we certainly take this into account and accommodate the artist’s requirement as much as possible.
Could you speak about your experience in curating your latest project Confessions of Dangerous Minds / Contemporary Art from Turkey and how does the experience affect the way you will work in the future, in terms of making effective exhibitions that will captivate the viewers?
Since the start, the aim has been to provide the viewers with a current collection of works coming from a country with a millenary culture and located in a very particular geographical position. The title Confessions of Dangerous Minds, as we believe that the works portray visually the inner-self of each of the artists. In a way, enticing the visitors to read the artist’s minds while looking at the works in order to discover this dichotomy between essence, appearance, sexuality, death, persuasion that eventually become the leit motiv of this show. Thus, all the artists were chosen after a very careful consideration and making sure their works would share what are the curatorial values of the exhibition.
Every exhibition is a unique experience and I am continually learning and developing new ideas which will always have an affect to my approach to the future shows and exhibitions.
An exhibition is a creative organic process involving a number of people’s input and every experience is different.
What are the forthcoming projects you are working on?
After the show at the Saatchi gallery, we are planning to bring Confessions of Dangerous Minds to Museo Pino Pascali in Polignano a Mare (Bari) - ITALY. I am also collaborating on a project during the Venice Biennale featuring works by Italian artists. There will also be a solo exhibition by a young Turkish artist during Frieze in London, more details to follow!
Art has been my passion since childhood, which lead me to study at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore and at Central St Martins College of Art and Design in London. Following my degree I decided to concentrate on collecting and curating. During a trip to Beijing in 2003, I discovered the largely unknown but very vibrant Chinese contemporary art movement and began collecting and promoting works by a group of young Chinese artists. My interest was ahead of the subsequent enthusiastic surge in this market and I was keen to see international collectors and museums acquiring these works. I later moved my focus to middle eastern art and specifically Iran, introducing artists such as Ramin Haerizadeh, Ahmad Morshedloo, also the Iraqi artist - Halim al Karim to Charles Saatchi that formed the groundbreaking "Unveiled" show at the Saatchi Gallery in 2009. Following this show, I went on to curate "Guns and Roses" a group show of contemporary Iranian artists in London. The book project, ‘Unleashed’, which was a comprehensive appraisal of Turkish contemporary art took me to Istanbul on a number of occasions where I met many exciting artists and this experience sharpened my interest and led me to become more immersed in the Turkish Contemporary art movement.
There are many advantages being an independent curator, it gives me greater flexibility and freedom to spot emerging talents and to respond quickly. Disadvantages are the support of a large international organization.
What is the difference between working as a curator in Singapore versus working in London?
I arrived in London in 1995, prior to my role as a curator.
Having been born Singaporean, how are you perceived in the UK? As an Asian curator or just a curator from Asia?
I have been established in the UK and Europe for many years and am known through my base in London. I don’t think my Asian’s origin has affected how I am perceived in the UK, people are much more interested in my vision and abilities.
As a curator, you act as a middleman between artists or artworks and the audience. What responsibility goes with that kind of authority? Are they with the audience or the artists, the institution or the exhibition or do they even exist?
I feel I have the primarily responsibility to the artists who look to me to represent them authentically, in addition I have responsibility to the galleries and institutions where I curate a show. We are always looking to introduce new artist to a new audience and in this regards my responsibility is to communicate the artists’ intention to the best of my ability.
Is there some sort of contract that you have with an artist when their work is going to be exhibited? How much input can an artist actually have?
There is certainly a practical contract in place when an artist is involved in an exhibition. Artists also have the freedom and are encouraged to have a view on how their work should be exhibited and we certainly take this into account and accommodate the artist’s requirement as much as possible.
Could you speak about your experience in curating your latest project Confessions of Dangerous Minds / Contemporary Art from Turkey and how does the experience affect the way you will work in the future, in terms of making effective exhibitions that will captivate the viewers?
Since the start, the aim has been to provide the viewers with a current collection of works coming from a country with a millenary culture and located in a very particular geographical position. The title Confessions of Dangerous Minds, as we believe that the works portray visually the inner-self of each of the artists. In a way, enticing the visitors to read the artist’s minds while looking at the works in order to discover this dichotomy between essence, appearance, sexuality, death, persuasion that eventually become the leit motiv of this show. Thus, all the artists were chosen after a very careful consideration and making sure their works would share what are the curatorial values of the exhibition.
Every exhibition is a unique experience and I am continually learning and developing new ideas which will always have an affect to my approach to the future shows and exhibitions.
An exhibition is a creative organic process involving a number of people’s input and every experience is different.
What are the forthcoming projects you are working on?
After the show at the Saatchi gallery, we are planning to bring Confessions of Dangerous Minds to Museo Pino Pascali in Polignano a Mare (Bari) - ITALY. I am also collaborating on a project during the Venice Biennale featuring works by Italian artists. There will also be a solo exhibition by a young Turkish artist during Frieze in London, more details to follow!
ARTNESIA
IN COLLABORATION WITH
PHLLIPS de PURY & COMPANY
ANNOUNCE
CONFESSIONS OF DANGEROUS MINDS
CONTEMPORARY ART FROM TURKEY
A SELLING EXHIBITION FEATURING WORKS BY
ANSEN, RAMAZAN BAYRAKOGLU, TANER CEYLAN, HUSSEIN
CHALAYAN, LEYLA GEDIZ, SITKI KÖSEMEN, SUKRAN MORAL, ARDAN OZMENOGLU, YASAM SASMAZER, CANAN SENOL, ERINC SEYMEN, ERKUT TERLIKSIZ, CANAN TOLON, NAZIF TOPÇUOGLU & DENIZ USTER
VIEWING:
APRIL 16 - APRIL 30, 2011
LOCATION:
Phillips de Pury & Company, Saatchi Gallery, Duke of
York’s Square, London, SW3 4SQ
IN COLLABORATION WITH
PHLLIPS de PURY & COMPANY
ANNOUNCE
CONFESSIONS OF DANGEROUS MINDS
CONTEMPORARY ART FROM TURKEY
A SELLING EXHIBITION FEATURING WORKS BY
ANSEN, RAMAZAN BAYRAKOGLU, TANER CEYLAN, HUSSEIN
CHALAYAN, LEYLA GEDIZ, SITKI KÖSEMEN, SUKRAN MORAL, ARDAN OZMENOGLU, YASAM SASMAZER, CANAN SENOL, ERINC SEYMEN, ERKUT TERLIKSIZ, CANAN TOLON, NAZIF TOPÇUOGLU & DENIZ USTER
VIEWING:
APRIL 16 - APRIL 30, 2011
LOCATION:
Phillips de Pury & Company, Saatchi Gallery, Duke of
York’s Square, London, SW3 4SQ
Interview with Jason Lee
co-founder of Artnesia
co-founder of Artnesia
About Jason Lee
Jason Lee studied at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore and at Central St Martins College of Art and Design in London before concentrating on collecting and curating. His recent primary interest has been in Middle Eastern and Asian contemporary works and he has established a reputation as a trusted expert in the field, fostering many new artists and promoting their work in the West. He was at the forefront of the surge of interest in Chinese contemporary art and has recently concentrated his work on emerging artists in both Turkey and Iran. Initiated and contribute to the groundbreaking Unveiled show at Saatchi Gallery, went on to curate Guns and Roses a group show of contemporary Iranian artists in London. Not however restricted to the Middle East Jason’s interests cover the whole of the contemporary art movement, but he is particularly keen on vibrant, little known emerging artists. Jason is the creative consultant of Unleashed - Contemporary art from Turkey book and co-curated the Confession of Dangerous Minds contemporary turkish group show opening at the Saatchi Gallery in London on 16th April 2011. The show will travel to Italy later this year.
Jason Lee studied at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore and at Central St Martins College of Art and Design in London before concentrating on collecting and curating. His recent primary interest has been in Middle Eastern and Asian contemporary works and he has established a reputation as a trusted expert in the field, fostering many new artists and promoting their work in the West. He was at the forefront of the surge of interest in Chinese contemporary art and has recently concentrated his work on emerging artists in both Turkey and Iran. Initiated and contribute to the groundbreaking Unveiled show at Saatchi Gallery, went on to curate Guns and Roses a group show of contemporary Iranian artists in London. Not however restricted to the Middle East Jason’s interests cover the whole of the contemporary art movement, but he is particularly keen on vibrant, little known emerging artists. Jason is the creative consultant of Unleashed - Contemporary art from Turkey book and co-curated the Confession of Dangerous Minds contemporary turkish group show opening at the Saatchi Gallery in London on 16th April 2011. The show will travel to Italy later this year.
ArtBahrain, in a conversation with Jason Lee, co-curator of the upcoming exhibition CONFESSIONS OF DANGEROUS MINDS CONTEMPORARY ART FROM TURKEY at Saatchi Gallery, London, talks about his background, his passion for arts and the forthcoming show
Photo by Susanne Hakuba
- Artists' Opportunities
April 2011
