How Collector Bryant Chao Approaches Taipei Dangdai

Bryant Chao was still in college when he acquired his first piece of art—a Yayoi Kusama 'Dots Obsession' work. Now back in Taiwan, the collector has become an opinion leader among the younger generation of collectors through his popular YouTube channel, BryantChao, spanning contemporary art, NFTs, and sneakers.

Ahead of Taipei Dangdai (12–14 May 2023), Chao sits down with Ocula Advisory to discuss what's in store for this year's edition, the artists on his radar, and his advice for first-time collectors.

What are you expecting from this year's Taipei Dangdai? Are there any artists who have gained popularity in the past year you'll be looking into?

In Taiwan, it's a rare opportunity to see paintings from artists from all over the world, so it's exciting. During Covid-19, the scale of the fair was a lot smaller, however, this year there are more than 90 galleries.

The two Japanese artists, Yayoi Kusama and Mr. are particularly popular in Taiwan. Kusama has been popular for some years, with many big collectors of her work in the country, while Mr. has become increasingly so in the last few years.

Six years ago, I bought a painting by Mr. at a time when not many were familiar with his work. Those who were, thought of it more as a comic than art. However, as time has passed, his popularity has grown in Taiwan and many are adding his work to their collections.

Which overseas artists are you most looking forward to seeing works from? And who are you following locally?

For me, it's Nicolas Party. I had the chance to buy one of his works when they hadn't quite hit the market and were comparatively cheap to what they are today.

However, ever since his work appeared at the Phillips auction in 2019, his prices have skyrocketed. While I haven't had a chance to buy a work since, I still enjoy seeing his work in exhibitions and auction previews.

As for local artists, I'm a fan of Taiwanese pop-culture artist, KEA TSAI who shows with Whitestone Gallery in Taipei. I like streetwear and sneaker culture, so his work has a particular draw. He will get a Supreme sticker, rip it in two parts, and reproduce it on a large scale, with various media, as seen in FAITH COST ME A LOT (1/3) (2022).

Does sneaker culture and pop culture play a large part in your collecting?

Yes, definitely, as that's who I am—how I dress, the music I listen to, the shoes I like.

The first artist I collected when I was in college was KAWS. He started as a graffiti artist, and then designed sneakers and streetwear. From KAWS, I moved on to Takashi Murakami and other Pop artists. Now, my taste has gradually shifted towards surrealist and abstract works after seeing René Magritte's Empire of Light (1950) at a Christie's preview in 2017.

What are the biggest changes to the aesthetic collectors in Taiwan are looking for in recent years?

Four or five years ago in Asia, there was the era of kawaii, the Japanese culture of 'cuteness'.

'Cute' paintings were appearing in auctions and exhibitions, and Pop artists like KAWS were very popular among collectors in Taiwan. However, I think the kawaii movement has pretty much died down today. The only artist that has survived this is Yoshitomo Nara.

How do you see the art market evolving?

In my opinion, the art world, especially the contemporary art market, is moving too fast at the moment. A contemporary artist will appear at auction and their price will shoot up. Many will disappear within two or three seasons. It's an unhealthy situation for both artists and collectors.

For this reason, I'm shifting my focus from contemporary to modern art.

I read that you're a collector of NFTs. People in some circles have lost confidence in them. Are your peers in Taiwan still interested?

While I still have faith in NFTs and the metaverse, many of my peers have started to dislike them as they've lost a lot of money in it.

So how do artists and galleries promoting NFTs establish confidence with collectors such as yourself?

I think it will take time. Galleries need to programme and re-promote the way people think about NFTs by putting on interesting exhibitions to convince their audiences that digital art is different and perhaps 'cooler' than traditional art.

Nowadays, you see many galleries like Pace and LGDR promoting artists such as Beeple, which is great as he's a prolific digital artist who is using the technology as a means to mint, or verify, his unique digital artwork.

However, where I feel it is going wrong at the moment is where 'traditional' artists are trying to jump onto the NFT bandwagon. In my opinion, to make a successful piece of digital art or an NFT you have to be well-versed in the technique of making and showcasing digital art, whether it be an animation or a hologram—it's totally different from the traditional medium of art.

Do you have advice for first-time collectors?

Buy art that you like.