The Davidoff Group and Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) hosted the “Davidoff Art Dialogue” on May 22nd at the Niccolo Chengdu. This year’s topic was “the mission of art collecting”; participants included the director of UCCA Philip Tinari, the art collectors Liu Lan and Cheng Shoutai, the artists Xie Nanxing, Tu Hongtao, and Hao Liang, and the curator Zhao Yisong. The event is one of many seminars and events hosted by Davidoff in collaboration with UCCA under their “Art Collecting in China” series.

Cheng Shoutai, a lawyer and art collector, said the following about the relationship between artists and collectors: “At times, the collector is an artist…you have to view the artist from the perspective of art.” Whereas the famous art collector Liu Lan is more inclined to reflect on art history in her understanding of collection: “throughout the process of collecting art, I am in fact searching for master artists…I hope some of these artists will one day be recognized as a master. As for what it means to be a master, I think a true master not only impacts art history, his creations should also have value.” In Liu Lan’s view, there are two important aspects of art collection—it not only provides spiritual comfort; it can also bring considerable returns on investment. The artist Xie Nanxing places greater importance on art collection as a platform for exposing his work to a wider audience, rather than a piece of art to be locked away in the collector’s home. Meanwhile, Hao Liang focuses on Chinese painting, and attempts to respond to the present through the historical nature of his art, generating new modes through a series of intrinsic links.

The Davidoff Art Initiative supports contemporary art and artists in the Caribbean, strengthens art organizations in the Dominican Republic, shares knowledge and expertise about contemporary art, and fosters cultural engagement between the Caribbean and the rest of the world. The Davidoff Art Initiative’s four global program areas are: Davidoff Art Residency, Davidoff Art Dialogues, Davidoff Art Grants, and Davidoff Art Editions.