12-11-19
Ms Catherine Kwai is the Co-President of Hong Kong Art Gallery Association. Only her charisma is powerful enough to replace her art reputation. As a child, drawing is one of her most favorite hobbies. Drawing was the drive which made her wake up in the middle of the night and paint to seek sudden inspiration. She came from a family in which her Shanghainese father was educated in Germany and expected his children to be a professional or entrepreneur in their career. Catherine majored in economics and accounting at the university in America. She planned to stay there after graduation. With her mother’s illness, Catherine however returned to Hong Kong to take care of her. It was natural that she would work in Hong Kong and later became a banker in Chase Manhattan Bank. A successful career in banking had enabled her to build up her financial security. She started to think about the meaning of life. She has a passion in art. She quitted the job and started to make the dream come true. Doing with half of her savings in all those years, Catherine opened her gallery in Happy Valley in 1991. At that time, art is an industry of rare awareness. The survival in the art business is like a life-and-death struggle. Catherine said, “Art business is not an immediate profit generating activity. It takes years to build the trust from excellent artists and clients. The success is based on the gallery owner’s sensibility, instinct, creativity and professional management.” I asked Catherine after being in the art trade for almost 30 years, what were her most unforgettable stories. Catherine replied, “Every represented artist brings me fascination. This business led me to be very international and let me know all kinds of people in different fields. Every encounter of a client is a story. It took me the first 10 years rock & roll to learn. My leisure time is just a peaceful life with my family. Relaxing in bookstores and watching movies are my pastime.” Catherine added, “Most of my profit from the business goes to buying a piece of art and adding to my collection. My passion for art is above all.” For the wonderful contributions to art, Catherine was honoured in 2011 by the French Government with ‘Knight of the National Order of Merit’.
I gave Catherine a hypothetical question, “Many painters dream of selling their work at HK$1,000,000. Price does not imply only a good income but also reputation. How is it possible?” She burst her sides with laughter, “Oh! It is difficult but achievable. Being a painter is a very demanding profession. A great painter has to pass 2 tests: whether there will be people loving his work and willing to pay for it and also if his work will be appreciated by the specialists in the art circle such as critics, museums and quality galleries. Pleasing the buyers can sometimes be a piece of cake as there are many uncritical buyers besides the professional art collectors. Pleasurable subject matter, attractive colors and joyfulness usually are the key elements to attract new buyers, but they won’t attract the sophisticated collectors. Any price less than HK$500,000 may attract a new buyer. An artwork of one million needs the assurance by professionals in the art field.”
Catherine supplemented, “the real passion for art, determination and discipline to keep creating with continuous breakthroughs are a must in the blood of a great painter. Their hunger for creation and experiment for new ideas are their basic need like the food which he will eat with breakfast.”
I pursued the topic, “Catherine, how do these attitudes transform into the qualities of an artist and his paintings which the experts will endorse?” Catherine smiled elegantly, “The views of an expert is subjective but critical. When the expert views are grouped collectively, the assessment will become more objective. They will assess the creativity, distinctiveness, individuality, consistent creation and constant improvement of the content and quality of the work. The work itself must have a certain spiritual attraction to the viewers as it shares the deep emotion and inner expression of an artist’s soul. Thirdly, can the painter skillfully execute and will the process not be easily learnt by others? Finally, rarity of the painting in question will also bring a befitting good price. We tend to rank an artist lower if he is very commercial and duplicates his popular art piece into many similar copies. Discipline is the bridge between goals and actual accomplishments mentioned above. The great artists possessing the above qualities all have one thing in common: they do spend much effort on a daily basis.”
A painter does not aim at riches and fame; and such things can be traps which will hinder an artist from improving. Most great painters dream of leaving behind a masterpiece of themselves, and that piece can inspire generation after generation down the road.
