Cover Snow Feinan Li at her Abu Dhabi residence, where she houses her art collection (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
Snow Feinan Li at her Abu Dhabi residence, where she houses her art collection (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
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Chinese manufacturing mogul Snow Feinan Li found herself stuck in the UAE during the pandemic—and that led to an unexpected journey of art collecting.
There have been few trickier times to be an ambassador at a world expo than during Covid. In the case of Expo 2020 Dubai, which was postponed to 2021, Snow Feinan Li, a board member of the China Everbright New Economy Fund—which backs Terminus Group, the official sponsor for Expo 2020 Dubai—was tasked with representing China.
What should have been a short-term visit became a long-time residence in the Emirates, when Li was stranded due to Covid travel restrictions. However, she saw the opportunities to be gained from her enforced stay: as well as expanding her businesses from China to the UAE, she also delved into Middle Eastern contemporary art. Li had been collecting art since 2005, and the lockdown presented an unexpected chance for her to connect with and buy from local artists, such as the trio of Ramin and Rokni Haerizadeh and Hesam Rahmanian; Hassan Sharif, the father of conceptual art in the Gulf; and Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, another conceptual artist.
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Above Li’s residence in Abu Dhabi houses an eclectic mix of designer furniture and artworks (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
Above Li with her art collection in her Abu Dhabi residence (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
Li’s residence in Abu Dhabi houses an eclectic mix of designer furniture and artworks (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
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She has since acquired more than 100 new works by artists in the region, many of which are displayed in her Abu Dhabi penthouse. At a time when the UAE has a growing presence in the global art market—as seen by the area’s investment in new art infrastructure like the Louvre Abu Dhabi and high-profile art fairs like Art Dubai—Li’s collection boosts the spotlight being shone on Arab artists and their work.
She sees art as “a way of entering into a dialogue with an idea, a history, a worldview. Over time, I’ve come to see collecting as an act of care, of preservation—and, often, of resistance.” For example, she loves how the practice of the Haerizadehs and Rahmanian constantly “defies convention. They’re bold in spirit, humorous, generous and [their work is] deeply layered.” The trio’s multidisciplinary works incorporate media such as moving pictures, paintings and installations, and draw references from Persian literature and paintings, European history and modern social topics. “Their collective approach to art is unique—a tapestry woven from three imaginations in constant dialogue, drawing on other fields to build an entirely new world,” she says.
Above A sculpture collected by Li (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
Above Li’s residence in Abu Dhabi houses an eclectic mix of designer furniture and artworks (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
A sculpture collected by Li (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
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Some of the pieces she’s most excited about are misunderstood or politically risky, or have been institutionally rejected. “I’m drawn to artists who work at the margins, whose voices are powerful but not yet canonised, whose practices resist easy consumption,” she says. “The most expensive works aren’t necessarily the most important to me.”
Her penthouse, where she houses her collection, is a colour-saturated treasure trove. An eclectic mix of designer furniture interplays with artworks that express different styles and subjects. Each painting, sculpture or installation carries a story or memory that weaves together her life and experience in the UAE. Whether Li is in Abu Dhabi or Shanghai, or her other homes in Tokyo and Monaco, she regularly hosts artist salons, readings and gatherings. “[My] collection creates a space for conversation in my different homes in different cities. This is where the works can breathe and engage” with those who see them, she says, adding that art is something to be lived with, not just shown off.
She believes the artworks that will remain most impactful over time are those by artists who see their work as contributing to “a holistic environment that engages humans, materials, architecture and even invisible forces. I look for practices that are sustained, courageous and self-aware. I value tension: between vulnerability and defiance, between beauty and rupture.”
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Above Li’s residence in Abu Dhabi houses an eclectic mix of designer furniture and artworks (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
Above Li’s residence in Abu Dhabi houses an eclectic mix of designer furniture and artworks (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
Li’s residence in Abu Dhabi houses an eclectic mix of designer furniture and artworks (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/Daniel Asater)
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Li has donated some of the works she bought by Arab artists to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a museum that opened in 2017 on Saadiyat Island and runs under an agreement between the UAE and France. “I see collecting as a form of cultural responsibility,” she says. “I want to ensure these artists’ voices remain visible and accessible to a wider public.”
Her support of the Middle East’s art industry cemented her reputation as one of the most respected art collectors in the region today—and her collection is still growing. It isn’t a numbers game for her, however. “I’ve never counted,” she says when asked how many pieces she owns. “The works are in motion—rearranged, revisited and lived with. They’re not trophies. They’re companions. I prefer to follow an artist over time, to witness their shifts and ruptures. I’m not here to accumulate. I’m here to accompany.
Collecting isn’t about taste—it’s about trust, time and transformation.”
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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.
