International art dealers in Asia: De Sarthe Gallery, Hong Kong on Asian art
An exclusive interview with international art dealer Pascal de Sarthe
Vincent, Sylvie and Pascal de Sarthe, Image courtesy of Pascal de Sarthe
In 2012, after a long and successful run in first Paris then America as gallerists, Pascal and Sylvie de Sarthe opened a gallery in Hong Kong in Central, motivated by the time they were already spending in Asia for their business. Earlier this year, they moved to a bigger space at Wong Chuk Hang, attracted, as with other galleries which have opened in the area, by the lower rents and the easier access with the opening of the MTR South Island Line at the end of 2016.
De Sarthe Gallery has, in the past 6 years, solidified their place in the Hong Kong art scene with headlining exhibitions, beginning with ‘Zao Wou-Ki Paintings: 1950s-1960s’, following up with the sophomore show of American artist David LaChapelle, and continuing with other well-received solo as well as group shows, such as ‘Gutai’ and ‘Pioneers of Chinese Modern Paintings in Paris’.
Le Pho, ‘Elegant Lady Pouring Tea’, image courtesy of De Sarthe Gallery
The latest exhibition, ‘Departures: Intersecting Modern Vietnamese Art with R. Streitmatter-Tran’, in collaboration with Singapore-based art agency Art Agenda, S.E.A., continues in the gallery’s pioneering trajectory in presenting trendsetting curatorial ideas and content. For the show, which opened in late May, the Vietnamese contemporary artist Streitmatter-Tran created new works in response to the oeuvres of Vietnamese art masters such as Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam.
De Sarthe Gallery has, through the years, been active in both the secondary and primary market, dealing in works by international modern masters as well as supporting emerging contemporary artists. Pascal’s son, Vincent, has taken up the mantle for the latter in Beijing, running a separate De Sarthe Gallery at Caochangdi, set up in 2014 as a platform for emerging Chinese artists. The current exhibition, ‘Bu Qian’, which runs till end June, presents the new work of Zhou Wendou, who has devoted his practice to installations built around the camera as the subject.
For more information, go to desarthe.com
This article was written by Nadya Wang and originally published in Art Republik.
Read the exclusive interview with de Sarthe in Art Republik’s ‘Connections’ issue, out in June.
