Cover Alan Chan at the ‘Alan Chan: Collecting Inspiration for Design’ exhibition (Photo: courtesy of Alan Chan)
Alan Chan at the ‘Alan Chan: Collecting Inspiration for Design’ exhibition (Photo: courtesy of Alan Chan)
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The exhibition at Phillips’ Asia headquarters gives us a view of the Hong Kong designer’s treasure trove—and shows how his collection informs his creative process
Hong Kong designer and collector Alan Chan, who has won more than 600 international and local design awards in his five decades of career, is showcasing 800 pieces of artworks and artefacts from his private collection, as well as his own designs, in an exhibition titled Alan Chan: Collecting Inspiration for Design. It’s running at Phillips Hong Kong’s new headquarters in West Kowloon until August 27.
The exhibition is an extension of his 2022 book by the same name, which documents more than 1,000 collected items. Chan’s complete collection has more than 10,000 pieces, ranging from sculptures, lacquerware bento boxes from Kyoto, artworks by Damien Hirst and Zao Wou-ki to vintage Hong Kong toys and souvenirs.
Above Alan Chan in front of the Phillips Asia headquarters in West Kowloon (Photo: courtesy of Alan Chan)
Alan Chan in front of the Phillips Asia headquarters in West Kowloon (Photo: courtesy of Alan Chan)
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The show is divided into three sections: The Joy of Collecting, which displays the items that have inspired Chan’s creative process; The Joy of Creating, which exhibits his own creations; and The Joy of Curating, which recreates Chan’s art space Salon 27 in Quarry Bay.
Jonathan Crockett, Phillips’ Asia chairman, says Chan is a trendsetter among Asian collectors as his eclectic collection is based on his personal connection with the objects rather than on market trends. “Alan [has] travelled the world; [when he] sees [beautiful] objects, he falls in love with them and collects [them]. There’s no limit to what he might find beautiful or what might resonate with him. His collection includes Imperial Japanese lacquerware, Hong Kong neon signs, contemporary Chinese artwork, black and white photography, antique silver items, and bits and bobs from around the world,” he says. “And he completely disregards the market. It’s not about the market at all. It’s the behaviour of a true collector who’s collecting for the joy of collecting.”
Don’t miss: Inside designer and artist Alan Chan’s eclectic private museum
Above The Joy of Collecting section in the exhibition (Photo: courtesy of Alan Chan)
The Joy of Collecting section in the exhibition (Photo: courtesy of Alan Chan)
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Chan’s passion for collecting started back in 1970s, when he was in his 20s. “I still have my very first movie ticket [from] when I went with my girlfriend. It was called Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter and featured [British rock] band Herman’s Hermits,” he says. “And I still have all my love letters to my girlfriend in the drawer.”
Over the years, his collection has expanded greatly and serves as a foundation for his creative process. For instance, inspired by Hong Kong’s birdcages in his collection, he has designed a bird-shaped tea strainer which, when removed from the birdcage stand, makes twittering bird sounds.
“[Most] of the time, [the objects’] form inspire me to think out of the box and come up with something totally different [from the original item]. I don’t make my designs look like a certain product [that I might have] loved and collected from Tokyo, New York or Paris,” he says.
Above The Joy of Creating section at the exhibition (Photo: courtesy of Alan Chan)
The Joy of Creating section at the exhibition (Photo: courtesy of Alan Chan)
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Speaking about the West Kowloon show, Chan says, “It’s the [broadest] in terms of the diversity of the show’s content. It is also possibly one of my best curated exhibitions. [I was] like a chef, who wouldn’t tell you his secret ingredients, [like from] where he got his soy sauce. Now, I’m showing you all my secrets and you can understand where my creative ideas came from.”
And Chan isn’t done with collecting just yet. “I never put any target [on what I want to collect]. The sky is the limit.”
Until August 27, 2023. Phillips Asia headquarters, 8 Austin Road West, West Kowloon.
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
