Queenie Rosita Law on Championing Central and Eastern European Art in Asia

Director and founder of Q Art Group, Queenie Rosita Law shares her ambitions as a collector in Asia and her experience opening a gallery in Hong Kong and a foundation in Budapest.

Law is striving to discover, nurture and empower under-represented contemporary artists, especially from Central and Eastern Europe.

The Hong Kong-born collector studied at Central Saint Martins in London, where she graduated in 2009. Today, she's put her own art-making on the back burner while she dedicates her time to collecting work—specifically from Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic—and leading her gallery in Hong Kong as well as her foundation Budapest.

Law speaks with Ocula Director Eva Fuchs to discuss her experience as a collector and gallerist.

You started your career as a painter. Do you still paint today? How did that experience inform your approach to collecting art and running a gallery?

I love making art, so that's what I focused on throughout my studies and early career. After I began collecting in my late 20s, I realised I'm truly obsessed with finding great artists, particularly those who are overlooked.

One of my favourite things to do is studio visits because they provide an opportunity to talk to artists in an intimate setting. I enjoy getting to know them, learning about their practice, and listening to their stories.

Regarding my career, everything happened organically from my studio visits. They are where I developed a passion for collecting, became inspired to establish Q Contemporary in Budapest, and built relationships with the artists who encouraged me to open Double Q Gallery in Hong Kong.

For me, there is nothing more exciting than discovering a great artist. Whenever that happens, I want to collect, showcase, or collaborate with them, or all of the above.

We're sitting together following Hong Kong Art Week, where Double Q Gallery participated at Art Central, Art Basel Hong Kong's satellite fair. You had an eye-catching solo booth, presenting the work of Hungarian artist József Csató. Why him?

József Csató is one of the leading emerging artists in Hungary, but relatively unknown in Hong Kong and Asia. I thought Art Central would be a great opportunity to introduce his works to a wider audience.

His paintings speak a unique visual language, where dreamlike figures create a fantastical world that evokes a sense of childlike wonder. I felt confident that he would be well-received at the fair.

To showcase Csató's creativity and playfulness, I gave him a solo booth and in return he designed a stunning installation that took the form of an inviting living room with arches, soft flooring, and lamplight.

With the re-opening of Hong Kong's border this year, we expected larger crowds but what surprised us was the energy. Everyone who stopped by our booth was eager and excited to engage with art—not just collectors, but art lovers of all ages, particularly millennials and students.

Q Contemporary is your non-profit in Budapest. What was it like to open an art centre in a foreign country? Are visitors mostly local or international, and what has the response been?

It's been six years since I first envisioned establishing a space in Budapest dedicated to supporting contemporary artists from the region. It was a long journey, but throughout the process, everyone from the local art scene has been so supportive.

We opened during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, so visitors were mostly local, but we have been getting more international visitors since last year. The response has been fantastic since we opened and our visitor numbers keep climbing.

Our latest exhibition features one of Hungary's most famous and accomplished contemporary artists, Ilona Keserü. Over 400 people came to the opening.

After setting up Double Q Gallery in Hong Kong in 2022, what have you found to be the general reaction of Hong Kong and Asian collectors to Central and Eastern European art? Are they hesitant to open their collections to lesser-known talents?

I have witnessed Hong Kong's art scene mature rapidly over the past ten years. There has been a new wave of curiosity and appetite among Hong Kong and Asian collectors in recent years, especially millennials.

Most are surprised at the quality of works we offer while still being accessible, so lesser-known talent hasn't been an issue for us.

Who are the 'hot' artists coming out of Central and Eastern Europe at the moment? Is there a particular artist you have your eye on?

The idea of collecting Central and Eastern European artists five to six years ago was not common in Asia. Now, we're seeing a number of art-market stars from the region. In recent years, some of the 'hot' artists among the younger generation include Szabolcs Bozó, Ewa Juszkiewicz, and Vojtěch Kovařík.

I would love to collect work by Ewa Juszkiewicz. Another younger-generation artist who is doing incredibly well is Klára Hosnedlová. I own a work of hers already and would love to add more to my collection if the opportunity arises.

For upcoming exhibitions at Double Q Gallery, one of our artists, Márton Nemes, was selected to represent Hungary at the 2024 Venice Biennale (20 April–24 November 2024).

Double Q Gallery is currently showing Resilience: Voices of Ukraine (16 March–22 April 2023), an exhibition dedicated to two contemporary Ukrainian artists displaced by the war, Artem Volokitin and Maria Kulikovska. Tell me about this exhibition.

Volokitin and Kulikovska were forced to flee their home country in March 2022 when the war erupted in Ukraine. The exhibition reveals their sheer determination to navigate the unknown despite the challenges they have faced.

It offers important visual representations of the conflict's lasting impact on ordinary Ukrainians and highlights how the two artists build resilience through the act and process of artistic creation.

The exhibition is a powerful display of hope and what art can give to the artists, and now to our visitors. —[O]