{"id":51948,"date":"2025-10-02T20:09:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T20:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/51948\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T20:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T20:09:09","slug":"why-leading-hong-kong-collector-evan-chow-is-drawn-to-minimalist-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/51948\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Leading Hong Kong Collector Evan Chow Is Drawn to Minimalist Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

Art Market<\/p>\n

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Portrait of Evan Chow in front of Huang Rui, Memory Loss, 1999. Courtesy of Evan Chow. <\/p>\n

Installation view of Mika Tajima, Negative Entropy (Kazue Kobata, Blue, Double), 2015. Courtesy of Evan Chow. <\/p>\n

A prominent collector and arts patron based in Hong Kong, Evan Chow\u2019s engagement with art started early. Born into the Li family of storied bankers, he grew up surrounded by Chinese ink paintings, antiques, and ceramics. Today, his vast collection of over 500 works is both international and focused, with attention paid to specific movements and disciplines. Throughout his collection, influences from his upbringing are bridged with a distinctly contemporary outlook, featuring works by artists such as Tschabalala Self<\/a>, Yayoi Kusama<\/a>, Wolfgang Tillmans<\/a>, and Jad\u00e9 Fadojutimi,<\/a> among others. <\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up surrounded by my family\u2019s collection of Chinese works of art and ink paintings gave me an early sense of what it means to live with art and to care for it across generations,\u201d he told Artsy. <\/p>\n

Chow\u2019s lineage is closely entwined with Hong Kong\u2019s history. In the early 20th century, the city was a colonial port undergoing rapid transformation\u2014its ferries, trams, and cinemas defining an evolving modern identity. His great-grandfather, Li Tse Fong (1981\u20131953), co-founded the Bank of East Asia with Li Koon-Chun (1887\u20131966), his older brother. This laid the foundation for the family legacy not only in banking but also in the Hong Kong government, judiciary, and the Legislative Council. <\/p>\n

The Lis are among Hong Kong\u2019s \u201cbig four\u201d families, which are the most influential and recognizable for their contributions to business and a range of industries. <\/p>\n

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Installation view, left: Korakrit Arunanondchai, Painting with History: Naga rivers. The joy of the serpent gods are that once a year they get to embody human forms to come watch an outdoor movie screening. What are their movie selections? Is the reverse of this situation when a human goes to a museum?, 2015; Nick Mauss, F.S. Interval II, 2014; Donna Huanca, Arrythmia, 2017. Courtesy of Evan Chow<\/p>\n

Chow aims to continue this legacy, not just through finance, but through culture. Now, his day jobs as managing partner at MCL Financial Group Ltd. and founder and managing director of Chow Enterprise Group (CEG), are supplemented by board positions at several international institutions, including the Hong Kong Arts Centre<\/a>, New Museum<\/a>, and the Tate. He\u2019s also a founding patron of M+<\/a>, Asia\u2019s most visited museum, and in 2023, founded the Evan Chow Art Prize at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, supporting a range of works in the undergraduate and postgraduate exhibitions. \u201cOver time, I began to see that my role could also be contributing to the ecosystem around art,\u201d he said. \u201cLegacy is a big word, and not something I think about often. For me, it is more about being present with art and supporting artists in the moment. If anything carries forward, I hope it is simply that the works continue to be seen, shared, and cared for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chow began collecting art while working in investment banking in the early 2000s. \u201cWhen I first started, my focus was just on building a collection of art I admire,\u201d he told Artsy. His first acquisition was a print from Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang\u2019<\/a>s seminal \u201cBloodline\u201d series\u2014an accessible starting point, yet a distinctively independent gesture for someone whose family has collected art since the 19th century. <\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a throughline in his collection, it is a clarity of focus. \u201cClarity can be found in simplicity,\u201d he said. \u201cA reminder that strength often comes from patience and persistence, and that even the simplest materials can carry profound weight when treated with care.\u201d Take, for instance, Issu du feu 2b (2000\u20132001), a charcoal piece by Korean artist Lee Bae<\/a>, which Chow points to as a reflection of his journey as a collector. \u201cIn this sense, the artwork is not just an object, but a quiet motto about resilience, care, and meaning that can last across time,\u201d he explained. Chow also connected Bae\u2019s work to Dao De Jing (The Book of the Way and Its Virtue), an ancient text on Taoism, attributed to the Chinese philosopher and writer Laozi. \u201cHis use of charcoal evokes the cycles described in [the book]: life and death, presence and absence, fullness and void,\u201d he noted. <\/p>\n

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Lee Bae, Issu du feu 2b, 2003. Courtesy of Evan Chow. <\/p>\n

Portrait of Evan Chow with (left to right) Tomma Abts, Folme, 2002 and Weet, 2006. Courtesy of Evan Chow. <\/p>\n

This focus on clarity perhaps inevitably led to what Chow calls an \u201caffinity for Minimalism<\/a>.\u201d His holdings include works by legendary artists of the movement, such as geometric abstractionists Bridget Riley<\/a> and Tomma Abts<\/a> as well as Donald Judd<\/a>. \u201c[Judd\u2019s] clarity and discipline, the rigor of his structures, showed me that collecting is not about having more things but about engaging with ideas that can change the way we see space and form,\u201d Chow said. \u201cThat way of seeing has always felt close to me, perhaps because of how I naturally look for balance and underlying patterns in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minimalism, for Chow, carries an appealing order. \u201cWhat speaks to me is how it strips away excess to reveal structure, showing the essence beneath complexity,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is not about being cold or detached; it is about finding clarity through complexity.\u201d For example, Judd\u2019s Untitled (1991), an anodized aluminum box stripped of its usual glass enclosure, meets the viewer eye to eye, offering an unmediated view of its vibrant interiors\u2014reducing the work to its essential structure and color. <\/p>\n

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Installation view of Donald Judd, Untitled, 1991. Courtesy of Evan Chow. <\/p>\n

Installation view of Huang Rui, Sacrifice & Prelude, 1988. Courtesy of Evan Chow. <\/p>\n

Still, Chow leaves room for rupture. Take the works of Hong Kong\u2013based artist Wong Ping<\/a>, for example, whose practice stretches across animation, sculpture, and immersive installations. A self-taught animator, Ping touches upon deep psychological human conditions in a whimsical, childlike manner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWong Ping speaks to something closer to home,\u201d he said. \u201cHis surreal, sometimes absurd storytelling reflects the spirit of Hong Kong today\u2014playful, sharp, and a little uneasy.\u201d Sarah Crowner<\/a>\u2019s sewn canvases, which also figure prominently in his collection, reflect this. \u201cHer work makes clear that abstraction is never static,\u201d he said. \u201cThe way she pieces her compositions together gives abstraction a sense of movement and texture, showing how historical forms can be reimagined to feel alive and contemporary.\u201d <\/p>\n

Chow\u2019s collecting journey coincided with Hong Kong\u2019s rapid rise as a global art hub. He became an early presence in the city\u2019s emerging contemporary art scene, notably with ArtHK\u2014an art fair launched in 2008. The fair\u2019s success led to Art Basel\u2019s buyout in 2013, creating Art Basel Hong Kong. This shift\u2014from local fair to global platform\u2014marked a defining moment for the city\u2019s transformation as an art capital. \u201cThe art world has become much more dynamic and interconnected over the past decade,\u201d Chow recalled. \u201cIn Hong Kong, I\u2019ve noticed a greater diversity of artists and practices, and more platforms where their work can be seen. Collectors here are also engaging with art in more varied ways, not just through acquisitions but also by supporting institutions, programs, and educational initiatives. These shifts have been a reminder to stay open-minded and responsive, rather than relying on fixed formulas.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Portrait of Evan Chow in front of Sarah Crowner, Turning Violets and Reds, 2021. Courtesy of Evan Chow. <\/p>\n

The evolution of Hong Kong\u2019s art landscape and Chow\u2019s direct engagement with it played a significant role in shaping his collecting approach over the years. \u201cMy choices are guided less by trends and more by whether a work resonates and by the kind of dialogue it creates with history, with the present moment, or with other voices in the collection,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

His advice to younger collectors is simple: \u201cI\u2019ve found that even small gestures can mean a lot. From my experience, a lot of it is simply about being present, showing up at exhibitions, taking the time to listen to artists, and engaging in what they are doing.\u201d And that is what Chow continues to do today, one gesture at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Art Market Portrait of Evan Chow in front of Huang Rui, Memory Loss, 1999. Courtesy of Evan Chow.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[437,434,435,436,18627,39744,438,146,85,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-51948","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-collector-101","13":"tag-collector-profiles","14":"tag-design","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-il","17":"tag-israel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}