(Re)Connect: The Power of Creative Collaboration
W ith all of the challenges of the past year and a half, one thing has remained constant: our desire to share ideas and find new ways of interacting with art. In this issue, we are spotlighting the artists, curators, collectors and creators who have placed collaboration at the centre of their work – a vital practice as the world begins to open up and reconnect once more.
Jay Chou is known as the “King of Mandopop”, and his creative output also stretches across film, music production, television, magic and more. Just as crucial to his universe is collecting, and as he prepares to curate Sotheby’s forthcoming contemporary art sale in Hong Kong, he speaks to Vivienne Chow about the power of sharing his passions with the world.
Another potent testament to the exchange of knowledge is the twisting, glistening structure opening at the heart of Maja Hoffmann’s creative campus, Luma Arles. Its architect, Frank Gehry, tells James Reginato about discovering “the light of van Gogh’s Starry Night on the building”.
It is a “silver moonlight”, meanwhile, that Caroline Roux remembers illuminating her bed during a visit to the Lopud 1483 hotel in Croatia. The art-filled space was recently converted from a former monastery by collector Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza and the World Monuments Fund. Roux speaks to Thyssen-Bornemisza about creating a place of “healing, and wonder and joy”.
For Bella Freud, an equally deep sense of connection has been found closer to home. Ahead of overseeing a programme dedicated to British Art at Sotheby’s, she tells Hettie Judah about launching her brand in the unique context of 1990s London, working with Sarah Lucas and finding inspiration in the work of other British masters such as Francis Bacon and Tracey Emin.
Other highlights of the season include a painting of David Hockney created by fellow master of portraiture, Lucian Freud in 2002. Martin Gayford shares his thoughts on the work in All in the Eyes, a deeply personal essay examining the relationship between artist and sitter, and the friendship between the two men.
Whatever the setting, the opportunities for coming together and reengaging with art are ever-evolving and too important to be missed.
We can’t wait to dive in.
