Cover Uli Sigg (Photo: Getty Images)
Uli Sigg (Photo: Getty Images)
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There’s no doubt about Swiss art collector Uli Sigg’s enthusiasm for contemporary Chinese art—he’s the world’s largest collector. But he still has a soft spot for Switzerland’s artists and museums.
Few figures have shaped the international perception of Chinese contemporary art quite as much as Uli Sigg, whose Chinese art collection, at its height comprising approximately 2,200 pieces by 350 artists, including Ai Weiwei and Cao Fei, is the biggest in the world. In 2012, he donated the bulk of it, a total of 1,510 pieces, to M+, Hong Kong’s museum of visual culture, ahead of its opening.
Yet the Swiss collector’s professional journey has nothing to do with art: he did a PhD in law; in his youth, he was first a business journalist, and then went on to become a diplomat and a businessman. “I chose to put myself under pressure to change my life every few years, so as not to remain complacent but keep learning,” he tells Tatler.
Sigg’s first exposure to China was in the late 1970s, when he was sent to work on a project there. He returned to the country in the 1990s, when he was appointed as Switzerland’s ambassador to China, a pivotal posting that gave him front-row access to a country in transformation.
Above Uli Sigg donated HK$1.3 billion worth of artworks to the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. From left: board of West Kowloon Ronald Arculli, chief executive officer of West Kowloon Michael Lynch, chief secretary for administration Stephen Lam Sui-lung, Sigg, executive director of M+ Dr Lars Nittve and Victor Lo Chung-wing (Photo: Getty Images)
Uli Sigg donated HK$1.3 billion worth of artworks to the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. From left: board of West Kowloon Ronald Arculli, chief executive officer of West Kowloon Michael Lynch, chief secretary for administration Stephen Lam Sui-lung, Sigg, executive director of M+ Dr Lars Nittve and Victor Lo Chung-wing (Photo: Getty Images)
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One of the biggest shifts was the beginning of contemporary art development; in 1978, after the end of the Cultural Revolution, artists sought to break away from the restrictions of socialist realism and engage with international art movements. Sigg took it upon himself to document this significant chapter in history by building a comprehensive art collection.
His curiosity about the development of art in the nation evolved into his curating one of the most significant collections of Chinese contemporary art in existence. With works from the late 1970s onwards, the Sigg Collection is an unparalleled record of China’s artistic awakening.
Though still deeply engaged with Chinese art, Sigg remains highly influential in and connected to art in his home country. He sits on the board of the Kunsthaus Zürich museum—he was also on the board of Asia Society Switzerland until he resigned in February 2024—and has curated shows for important art institutions such as Kunstmuseum Luzern.
Above Uli Sigg (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
Uli Sigg (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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He also visits these spaces for fun. His enthusiasm for art in his homeland shines through, when he speaks with admiration of Swiss artists such as Christine Streuli, whose “big, impactful colour paintings” he cites as among his favourites. “To [name a favourite Swiss artist] is not easy as there are many good contenders for this spot,” he says, adding he looks up to “all of them, as any one of them has more talent to execute an art piece than I have”.
Sigg’s home, Castle Mauensee, provides another layer to his story. Situated on a small island in a lake 30km northwest of Lucerne, the medieval castle might seem an unlikely home for vast canvases of Chinese contemporary art. Yet Sigg calls his home’s massive spaces “a perfect match”—after all, he says “Chinese art is very much about size”. For him, Mauensee is more than a place to live: it is a space that embodies his belief in the importance of dialogue between cultures.
A man who thrives on reinvention, Sigg’s legacy is clear. He has not only built bridges between Switzerland and Asia but also between epochs, aesthetics and worlds of thought— always with an eye on the horizon.
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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.
