As anyone who has tried to curate an art collection for their home will tell you, it takes an eye to put the right pieces in the right places. Cassi Young has the eye, as evident by the paintings that were on display at the Art Works Gallery in One Holland Village back in September. She had carefully curated the vivid artworks from budding artists Kate Florence and Sylvie Kettle for the gallery’s exhibition, titled The Spirit Of Life. Curating such exhibitions has been one of Young’s many responsibilities since she became the global fine art director of Art Works Group in May this year.

Young has both the eye and the expertise for the job. Before joining Art Works Group, she was the former director of Post War & Contemporary Art at Bonhams in London. She previously held roles in other esteemed auction houses, including Christie’s London.

At Art Works Group, a Singapore-based fine art gallery and advisory that was established in 2011, Young has her finger on the pulse of the Asian art market; she leads the company’s mission to enrich, expand and diversify the collections of art collectors in the region. She is particularly passionate about championing emerging artists, and hopes to offer Art Works Group’s clients a taste of contemporary art that they may not have seen before.

Ahead, Young tells us more about her role at Art Works Group, her direction for the company, and what she believes sets high-quality art apart.

What drew you to a career in the art world?

Cassi Young (CY): I’ve always known that I wanted to work in the arts. In high school, I was intrigued by anything creative. I was super interested in classical history, but then I was thinking, how do you pivot that into a career other than being a historian? One of my favourite things to do when I was growing up was to visit art galleries. Most famously, in Adelaide, there’s the Art Gallery of South Australia. It’s quite a big institution and I would go there with my mom [when I was younger]. I loved being lost in the artworks, immersed in this different world. I knew before I finished high school that I wanted to have a career in the arts, probably as an art dealer or working at an auction house.

Speaking of auction houses, you previously worked at Bonhams and Christie’s London. How do you think those experiences contribute to your role at Art Works Group?

CY: One of the beautiful things about auction houses is that you learn so much and you are exposed to so much because of how international these companies are. They have so many different departments, not just for art but for jewellery, watches, cars and manuscripts. Coming from a major auction house like that, you gain a lot of knowledge about how the luxury market works. But personally, the interaction with such amazing artworks was clearly the highlight. These are the types of works that have been hidden away for maybe 50 years in a private collection, come up for auction once, and then go to another private collection. They may not be seen again for another 50 years. It was a privilege to handle such artworks, to get up close to them and learn about the practice of the artists. Those experiences and the people that I encountered, from clients to colleagues, have been integral to my career. I’m bringing all of that knowledge to my new role in Art Works Group.

You are the global fine art director of Art Works Group. What does that role entail?

CY: It’s quite a big role. I’m overseeing the artistic curation of the company, and there are multiple pillars at Art Works Group. The gallery focuses on emerging to mid-career artists. It’s a real passion project of mine. One of the reasons I joined Art Works Group was because I wanted to work closely with artists for a long time. For the gallery, my role is to choose the artists we partner with, and shape and curate what we present. The advisory, which is another pillar of the company, is a very familiar space for me as we advise clients on their art collections, such as which artists to buy, what art works to sell, or where to sell them, for example.

What is your vision for the Art Works Gallery?

CY: What I really want to do is support local artistic talent and to bring exciting contemporary artists from all over the world to Singapore, and showcase their works here so that collectors, both aspiring and established, can experience something a little bit different. That’s really our goal.

What do you look out for when choosing artists to represent at Art Works Group?

CY: Talent, firstly. You know, when you’re standing in front of an artwork, do you enjoy it? Does it bring something to your experience? Are you moved by it? These are all the things that [I consider and] I look for. But it’s also important to consider different artists for different regions. In Southeast Asia, certain artists and materials work better here. For example, if not looked after works on paper don’t fare as well in Southeast Asia because of the humidity. So I tend to look for canvases or sculptural works—pieces with a more robust material. Also, I look at the artist’s trajectory and their fit within the gallery’s roster. Can we support them in the best way? That’s really important as well.

What do you think art collectors in Singapore are looking for?

CY: I think that colour is very popular here. And having good feng shui and a sense of harmony within the artworks is important as well. I think that clients here know what they like but are also open to embracing contemporary ideals and international art, and we want to bring that to them.

Is there a launch that you’re excited about?

CY: Our upcoming Perception exhibition is our next show and a project I’ve been passionately working on since I joined. It opens on 24 October and it features three UK-based artists: Araminta Blue, Max Boyla and Callum Harvey. It’s titled “Perception” because each artist looks at reality, their perception of space, and how that is perceived on the surface of the compositions. As artists they’re all quite different, but there is an underlying thread [in their art] about the way that they all look at reality, whether it’s real or imagined, and all three are very exciting artists to watch. Araminta just had her first solo museum show in Italy, which is a big moment. Max has a solo show that recently opened in Palma, Spain. And Callum has exhibited with some of the most impressive young galleries in London. I’m thrilled to be bringing them out to Singapore.

Photography: Jaya Khidir
Art Direction: Marisa Xin
Styling: Kelly Hsu
Photography Assistants: Aliy Alam And Nowo Kasturi

This story originally appeared on Grazia Singapore and in the October 2024 issue of GRAZIA Singapore.

For more on the latest in leader interviews and reads, click here.