Pearl Lam: A Relentless Champion Of Contemporary Artists

The petite Pearl Lam, instantly recognisable with her deep purple bob, chunky bangles and her impeccable outfits, has a commanding presence in any international art capital, whether it be New York, Basel or Melbourne. In sync with the unforgiving art-fair schedule, Pearl Lam tirelessly runs exhibitions across Busan, Singapore, Tokyo and London, all usually within the period of a year. All her exhibitions have been credited to be of museum-quality. Her exhibitions are also admired for their ability to “re-evaluate and challenge perceptions of cultural practice in Asia”, but while at the same time showcasing “a thoughtfully balanced roster of Chinese and international artists”, according to Ocula.

“What I love to do is make artists international, make them rock stars” Pearl Lam has previously told the press. “This is what I’m good at. I’ve made several artists into rock stars.”

Her Pearl Lam Galleries, has been described as a brand of galleries which is “strategic in its curation, positioning itself as an educator”.

Among notable names connected to the galleries are millennial British artist Mr Doodle, China’s pioneer abstract artist Zhu Jinshi, British Nigerian portraitist Babajide Olatunji, New York’s abstract expressionist artist Cynthia Polsky and the British-Japanese collaborative duo Studio Swine, who are known for breathtaking installations and spaces that cross between art, design and architecture, and cinema. Pearl Lam is also supporting the works of Scottish artist Philip Colbert, who has been described as ”The godson of Andy Warhol” and a self-proclaimed “pioneer of the Metaverse”.

Pearl is the go-to art dealer for those seeking the world’s most prominent Chinese contemporary artists, whose works are inspired either purely by ancient Chinese philosophies or those who are drawing inspiration from both Eastern and Western techniques. “I am interested in artists that don’t just adapt or adopt a Western concept and overlay a local language. I am more interested in artists…that are saying something, who are talking and teaching me something. What I always say is that I like art that has an international language, but that has a vocabulary that is Chinese,” she has previously said in an interview.

But Pearl Lam is someone who has never boxed herself into the spaces reserved for Asian art in the West. Instead, she has introduced artists from all over the world, from the US to the Australian Outback, to India and to the United Kingdom.

She is a pioneer in the contemporary art world in the way she has forged a path in which she champions other artists. Pearl Lam uses her platform to put other artists on the map and to shine a spotlight on their art for the benefit of the art world. She is most concerned about seeking authenticity, both within herself and in others in the worldwide contemporary art communities.

She believes in championing artists with a borderless attitude. “Creativity is not about your colour, it’s not about your passport — it’s about whether you have that gift or not,” she has told in a recent episode of her new podcast series, A Black History of Art. In another interview, Pearl has stressed that “what art brings us is a bigger world”. Pearl is a true believer of exploration and rejects the orthodoxy, especially when it comes to learning about different cultures.

Pearl Lam has also played a role in the evolution of Hong Kong into the world’s second largest art market, which is a remarkable feat considering that the art market when she initially started out was practically non-existent. Just two decades ago, she said that Hong Kong society “had no respect for what I was doing and no understanding of the art world”. But this hurdle never stopped Pearl. In fact, it made her more determined than ever to appeal to the Shanghai crowd first, which was why she established her first physical gallery there in 2005 (it was first called Contrasts Gallery, which was then subsequently renamed in 2013 as Pearl Lam Galleries). After the success of her first gallery, which served as a platform for cross-cultural dialogue and cultural exchange between the East and the West, she opened her second gallery in Hong Kong in 2012.

“It’s amazing that since I opened my first gallery in Hong Kong, within 10 years this city has become the second largest art market in the world. It’s overtaken the UK, which is incredible for a little island like us.” Hong Kongers’ interest in art spawned rapidly. “When Hong Kong people decide to do something, decide to build a collection, they do it furiously,” she said.

Pearl is known for her enterprising spirit and often has global ambitions for her galleries. In her conversation with former BBC arts correspondent Rebecca Jones, she hints that she has been thinking of bringing her brand of eponymous galleries to Europe and America.

But Pearl is fiercely protective of her vision for her galleries. “I want to say this: I am not a Western gallery. I am trying to find what is a ‘Chinese gallery’. Of course, we have to draw from the West – because, until recently, there has been little or no gallery or museum structure in Asia. But I don’t think I should follow exactly the Western model. My gallery is all about talking about cultural dialogue. I want to share the existence of other roots of abstract painting, roots not just grounded in the West.”

Even though Pearl Lam doesn’t prescribe to following the business model of a Western gallery, she represents many prominent artists from the West, as well as the rest of the world, indiscriminately. She was inspired by her recent visit to Lagos, where she fell in love with Nigeria’s art forms and the role the city plays as a creative hub for artists in Africa. She is working on presenting African artists and building an international platform to make authentic contemporary African art mainstream too, the same way she has brought Chinese contemporary art to the attention of the art world.

Other than championing contemporary art, Pearl is most passionate about building a cultural bridge, particularly between the West and the East. A defining moment in Pearl Lam’s career was when she introduced Chinese contemporary art to an international audience via the Awakening: La-France Mandarine exhibition which she curated for the French consulate in 2004.

Her eye for design and curation received high praises as the exhibition travelled across the borders from Shanghai, to Beijing, Hong Kong and Paris. Based on her success with the East meets West type of event, Pearl was repeatedly encouraged by the French and others in the art world to build a foundation to foster cultural exchange and to create continuous discourse between art, culture and academia. That’s when she discovered a niche: that the West needed to understand Chinese contemporary art and connection to its ancient philosophies, techniques and traditions.

In 2008, she launched China Art Foundation, with the aim to “help ensure that the intense global interest in contemporary Chinese art and culture has a sustainable future, and to help two-way knowledge and understanding between China and the rest of the world”. The foundation has played a crucial role in academia, as it supported two groundbreaking titles, with MIT Press, on China’s Avant-Garde art movement and contemporary art in Asia.

The foundation has also supported important events at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the British Museum, as well as organised private summits in both Ditchley, Oxfordshire, and Hangzhou, China, both attended by 40 directors from major museums across the world, and scholars from both China and the West.

Pearl has more events and projects for China Art Foundation in the pipeline, which will bring in further attention to the subject of East-West discourse through arts and culture. Pearl believes in the power of cultural dialogues through art, as she has said that art is a form of “soft power”.

After spending decades in the contemporary art space, Pearl is not only brimming with experience, but has a relentless passion for communicating her ideas across borders and across disciplines. She has a strong desire to understand the next generation of thought leaders and to inspire a new breed of entrepreneurs in the world of art.

Pearl is focused on her next steps in the world, having achieved an enviable position as a global entrepreneur. “I have been a gallerist and curator for over 20 years — and those 20 years have been, arguably, the most significant in our history for cultural exchange, and the diversification of the buyer.”

Her outward approach to her business and her daring vision for the contemporary art world signifies her long-term commitment to improving the cultural understanding between the East and the West, and between the West and the rest of the world. A strong proponent of cultural relativism, Pearl is fiercely vocal about challenging Western dominance in the art world which then either misrepresents or disregards the authenticity of non-Western art forms and artists. Pearl continues to fight for an art world that is diverse, as it is inclusive.

Staying true to her outspoken personality, which is paired with an erudite charm, she recently launched The Pearl Lam Podcast, now available on Spotify and Amazon Music, where she hosts discussions with disrupters in various global industries, on the subject of challenging the status quo: her personal mantra. The very purpose of this project is to highlight emerging voices who, like Pearl, have themselves forged their own path with determination and verve. In a way, Pearl sees this way of sharing her thoughts and wisdom from her career experience as a way to “pay forward” the benefits she has received from her privileged background to elevate and promote those who lack such opportunities.

In the first episode of the podcast, the enigmatic Pearl is introduced by former BBC arts correspondent Rebecca Jones, who hears about her journey, her vision and how she perceives her role to be in cross-cultural exchange between the East and the West. In the second episode, A Black History of Art, Pearl hosts an interview with art historian Alayo Akinkugbe and learns about her passion for championing Black artists.

Pearl actively and regularly participates in important forums too, as a seasoned observer and commentator of the art world. She is a key speaker in the FT Business of Art summit in October 2023, talking about the future of the art world, and on creating a more inclusive art market in the face of a changing consumer base.

She has also been appointed as an expert speaker at another event organised by J.P. Morgan on a similar subject. She is a member of the prestigious Forbes Business Council where she will continue to mentor future leaders and entrepreneurs who wish to learn from her journey as a trailblazer through the international art space.

The iconic Pearl doesn't believe in idols herself, but is a vocal proponent of self-belief. “We need more leaders and less followers”, she has said. However, she truly believes that to make it in the art world, you have to value the help of others too, especially to gain more understanding of a subject.

She has credited her friends as a contributing factor to her success in the art world, saying: “My number one piece of advice I would give to anyone wanting to enter any industry, is to make friends, build relationships and immerse yourself in other cultures and traditions.”