Clara Xing embodies a multi-faceted personality, having excelled as a former classical ballet artist, television presenter and director. Along with these accomplishments, she takes on the roles of devoted mother and avid art collector, currently serving on the boards of the American Friends of Shanghai Museum and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.
From an early age, her ballet experiences immersed her in the world of art. Despite the apparent dichotomy between performing arts and collecting, she sees them as interconnected. On stage she was the performer who captured the audience’s gaze, while with the artwork she takes on the role of observer, allowing the pieces to become the ‘performers’.
Storytelling is an integral part of Xing’s collection. Each work of art, in his insightful eyes, silently tells the story, culture and collectors of a dynasty who acquired it. From its minutiae to the far-reaching story, it delves into the world of ancient beauty. Her background in film and television helps sharpen her interest in interpreting visual imagery. Ancient artifacts are her gateway to unveiling the timelessness of beauty and its importance in human history.
His collection is as diverse and eclectic as his experiences, ranging from dynastic Chinese vessels to contemporary Indian ink art (Zheng Chongbin, Fung Ming Chip), to modern Western masterpieces by Marc Chagall. and Andrew Wyeth. We caught up with her to get a taste of her varied tastes.
A numbered June planter in a purplish glaze, Yuan-Ming dynasty (14th-15th century). Courtesy of Clara Xing.
What was your first purchase?
The first time I got involved in art collecting was when I walked into an auction house eight years ago and there was an exhibition opening. It was my first time touching Song Dynasty porcelain. I will never forget the shock I had that day, that the ancient Chinese people of a thousand years ago had created something so elegant. I learned later that it came from a rare lot of high quality Song porcelain that was in the collection of Japanese collector Linyushanren. I remember when I held the porcelain in my hands, I first felt the unique aura conveyed by the objects, which is actually what we call Song Yi (“the spirit of Song” ). From today’s perspective, the Song dynasty was a very forward-thinking historical era. Western abstraction and minimalist aesthetics already appeared in China in the Song Dynasty, but conceptually different from Western minimalism, which is a process of subtraction, while Song Dynasty minimalism is subtraction transformed into addition. It was with this chance encounter with Song porcelain that the collection entered my life. I also had the chance to collect my first porcelain piece, a numbered Jun planter in a purplish glaze.
Móyòsoré Martins, Nothing to lose (2022). Courtesy of Clara Xing.
What was your last purchase?
My most recent purchase is an abstract work by Brooklyn-based multimedia artist Móyòsóré Martins, who was born in 1986 and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. He is also the first Western contemporary artist in my collection.
Cloisonne enamel box with hibiscus and grapes, Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Courtesy of Clara Xing.
Clara Xing admiring the cloisonné box at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Courtesy of Clara Xing.
Tell us about a favorite work from your collection.
The box covered with cloisonné enamels with hibiscus and grapes is currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is my pride and joy, as there are very few of this kind and similar quality in existence.
Marc Chagall, flowers Or The country bouquet (1965). Courtesy of Clara Xing.
Another favorite is my oil painting by Marc Chagall, flowers Or The country bouquet (1965), which was the subject of an offer to Christie’s Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale in 2019. Hanging next to it was a painting by Van Gogh, Trees in the garden of the asylum. Rarely has Chagall shown such a strong sense of texture as in this work, and it is interesting to compare it to Van Gogh’s overwhelming emphasis on technique. I see in this work a rare intensity in its use of the brush and a complete blossoming of color. This painting currently hangs in a prominent place in my home.
Andrew Wyeth, under the kitchen (1960). Courtesy of Clara Xing.
You also have a painting by Andrew Wyeth. Can you tell us about that?
The work of Andrew Wyet was previously in the Rockefeller Family Collection. I was actually focusing on a painting of his son, Jamie Wyeth. However, I hadn’t seen this artwork by Wyeth in the previews. When I inquired I discovered that due to space constraints the auction house had hung this work in a discreet corner of the gallery and the staff had searched for it for a long time before seeing it. , and immediately took her picture. and sent it to me. On the day of the auction, I took the risk of placing a bid without seeing the original work. But since other collectors probably hadn’t seen it either, I won the auction with almost no competition. Jamie Wyeth’s work, which I didn’t get, set his auction record. When I finally saw the painting I had purchased, I would describe it as a leap of faith. This work, which Wyeth painted in his drybrush watercolor, has the texture and detail of an oil painting. The way emotions are expressed through technique, intensity and color is brilliant. He was one of the few western painters of the modern era to be deeply attached to realism as the ancestor of American nostalgia.
He duet, Flower (2019). Courtesy of Clara Xing.
I also have in my collection three oil paintings of flowers and plants from the first phase of he duet. His early work was heavily influenced by Wyeth and he created many classic realist works, but over the last ten years or so he has begun to create work which I personally consider to be more impressionistic in style, believing that the technique does the concept. For these, I deeply admire those artists who do not follow the prevailing trend and focus on painting itself.
What is the most valuable work of art you own?
I think the most valuable item in my collection is an imperial lacquer box from Qianlong. There are only two, and the other is in the National Palace Museum in Beijing. It was also a beloved object of famous American collectors Florence and Herbert Irving and was prominently displayed in their display case until their passing.
Qing dynasty red lacquer Taoist writing box, Qianlong period (1736–1795). Courtesy of Clara Xing.
Where do you most often buy art?
I buy Chinese decorative art at auction, but I buy contemporary art from galleries or dealers.
How do you assess the provenance of an artifact?
I collect a wide range of objects, from bronze and jade to Ming and Qing porcelain and lacquerware. I want my house to be a home, not a warehouse, so I have very high expectations for my collection, and every piece in my collection is at least top notch in its class. I have a rating system for my collection, with a rating of five for perfection in all aspects, and I don’t consider anything below four. I pay particular attention to provenance, which has almost become a strict limitation for me. Most collections on the market are unsourced and good provenance documentation coupled with first-class quality is very rare.
I hope that over time my collection will feature representative objects from various dynasties, which is the big picture. On a smaller scale, I hope to form a series on various subjects. For example, animals, flowers, baby games, fairies and other common themes. It would be interesting to build a comparative collection of the same themes from various dynasties. But I am only a brief custodian of these objects, which contain far more information than any collector they have passed through.
If you could steal one piece of art without getting caught, what would it be?
A Yohen Tenmoku tea bowl, of course.
Yan Shanchuun, west lake (2019). Courtesy of Clara Xing.
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