Facing the Collector. The Sigg Collection of Contemporary Art from China

The exhibition Facing the Collector. The Sigg Collection of Contemporary Art from China presents, for the first time in Italy, the Sigg Collection, acknowledged to be the most important collection of Chinese contemporary art in the world. Consisting of some 2,500 works by more than 500 artists, the Sigg Collection is built according to an encyclopedic approach that documents the evolution of Chinese art from the late 1970s to the present day, intended beyond the limitations of personal taste.
Uli Sigg was among the first Western entrepreneurs to travel to China in 1979, following the declaration of the Open Door Policy. Lawyer, economic journalist, and Swiss ambassador to China, North Korea, and Mongolia in 1995–1998, Sigg has played a crucial role as a cultural ambassador, promoting the knowledge of Chinese art around the world.
The exhibition, conceived in close contact with the collector and the artists, presents a focused selection from the Sigg Collection and the M+ Sigg Collection, documenting some of its distinctive features such as the friendly relationships between Sigg and the artists and his role in commissioning new works.
With works by aaajiao, Ai Weiwei, Chen Danqing, Fang Lijun, Feng Mengbo, Fu Hong, He Xiangyu, Li Zhanyang, Liu Ding, Liu Wei, Lou Shenyi, Mao Tongqiang, Miao Ying, Ni Youyu, Qi Zhilong, Qiu Shi Hua, Manuel Salvisberg, Shao Fan, Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, Wang Keping, Yu Youhan, Zhang Wei, Zhang Xiaogang, Zhao Bandi, this volume includes new essays by Uli Sigg, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, a recent conversation between the exhibition curator Marcella Beccaria and the collector, and texts on the artists and displayed works. A rich selection of images documents the exhibition in the galleries of the Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea.