Uli Sigg And Chinese Contemporary Art -Case Study On Private Collection With An Academic Infrastructure

The main purpose of this paper is to explore an unique private collector, constructing and continuously improving his collection by playing a Researcher role. As to Mr. Sigg Uli (Uli Sigg) - a businessman from a neutral western country from (Switzerland), a distinguished diplomat, what primaryly inspired him and led to form an idea of 'Collecting Chinese Contemporary Art' , and what is the secret to keep him practice long-term research and unstoppable enthusiasm on this topic. 32 years, more than 2,000 pieces of collection, what he actually did related with 'Chinese Contemporary Art' and how he influenced the fate of many important art figures in China. Facing the changing facts of these people and events, what kind of reflection have Uli Sigg brought tolocal Chinese artists, scholars, and collectors?As a leading collector on Chinese Contemporary Art collectors in the world, Doctor. Uli Sigg has actually just done two stuffs: 1, To understand and to gain a better understanding of China for above three decades. 2, Unstoppably looking for opportunities of promoting Chinese Contemporary Art onto the international stage. In this paper, the exhibition "Mahjong" (Mahjong) and CCAA (Chinese Contemporary Art Awards) ? are as two landmark contributions of Uli Sigg as a private art collector. The research anchors from these above two points, to describe the spiritual paths of Uli Sigg as a collector and "China Expertise', and specifiy his understanding thoughts by living in China and standing-out of China, then to trace back the various contexts of Chinese Contemporary Art since the Reform and Opening-up and make debates. Doctor Uli Sigg defines himself as both a collectors and researcher on Chinese Contemporary Art. As a foreign collector who has witnessed and join in-depth the fast-changing Chinese social cultures, he has successfully created a special approach to'Collecting Contemporary China', stressing on the perspectives like'buying and having the ownership doesn't mean collecting','Collection should start from Primary Year-1'.Admittedly, this paper is not aimed to praise the collector. No matter in ancient or modern time, domestic or abroad, there have occurred to be numberous great art collectors contributing via various approaches, but Doctor Uli Sigg happens to be the unique person to interview every artist before he decides collecting him. This sort of "ascetic scholar's" curiosity and researching enthusiasm, remind us about the very origin of contemporary art: the thoughts and context behind those artworks. Apart from the angle of art, the paper involves discussion on the significance of Chinese Contemporay Art's creation, curatorship, and collecting practices in a globalized background since the Reforms, and hopefully to provide some positive tips for the curatorship also suggestions for speeding up the bettering the collecting infrastructure.