Cover Gallerist Audrey Zhang of Prestige Gallery (Photography by Darren Gabriel Leow; Art direction by Jeremy Ang; Hair and make-up by Angel Gwee)
Gallerist Audrey Zhang of Prestige Gallery (Photography by Darren Gabriel Leow; Art direction by Jeremy Ang; Hair and make-up by Angel Gwee)
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Gallerist Audrey Zhang brings a storyteller’s vision to Prestige Gallery, shaping collector experiences rooted in cultural depth, contemporary ink, and the belief that art should live as a legacy across generations
Audrey Zhang speaks of art as something to be lived with, returned to, and continually reinterpreted over time. That view was shaped long before she helmed Prestige Gallery in Singapore—first during her student days spent wandering London’s museums, and later as a documentary director with the BBC and CCTV. Those years, she recalls, exposed her to a way of living shaped by curiosity and cultural engagement—and trained her instincts toward narrative thinking. “It’s more storytelling rather than selling art,” she says, articulating the foundation of her curatorial and art advisory approach. “Whether it’s a group show or a solo exhibition, I always try to find a storyline.”
Her move to Singapore a decade ago was prompted by family—three young children, ageing parents, and a desire for a gentler pace. The transition became a decisive chapter in her work. In Singapore, she found not only a home but also a community whose relationship with art felt refreshingly unforced. Collectors here, she observes, buy because they are drawn to the work, not because they expect a rapid financial return. It is a climate she describes as “organic”, sustained by long-standing relationships between artists, collectors and institutions. That ecosystem laid the groundwork for what would become Prestige Gallery, now located in the heart of the cultural district.
Her earliest encounters with art were in her family homes in Beijing, then Hainan, where her father filled their spaces with paintings and sculptures. “I’m used to living with art,” she says. This sensibility—art as part of life rather than decoration—now permeates everything she does. Every show is anchored in academic research, artist interviews and archival work to help audiences understand the artist’s life and creative evolution. She sees exhibitions as points of connection that allow viewers to pause, reflect and enter, even briefly, a more contemplative inner world.
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Contemporary ink lies at the centre of Zhang’s curatorial vision, connecting the region’s artistic heritage and its contemporary realities. Some may view ink as bound to the past, she notes, but she sees something more dynamic. The medium’s elasticity allows it to be both rooted and current. It also serves as an important bridge for younger audiences, including her own children, who increasingly gravitate toward digital art yet remain connected to the grounding values of tradition.
Prestige Gallery represents artists from across Asia, many of whom have spent decades honing their craft. Zhang prioritises those with long-term commitments to their practice, often middle-career or older artists whose bodies of work reveal sustained thought and evolution. Interviews are central to her selection process. “I go very deeply into their concepts,” she says. Understanding the artist’s life is, for her, inseparable from understanding the art itself.
One of the gallery’s recent exhibitions, (Re)discovering Shui Tit Sing is emblematic of its mission. Shui, who studied alongside Zao Wou-Ki at the Hangzhou National College of Art and immigrated to Singapore in 1940, spent nearly 60 years here contributing quietly but significantly to both artistic practice and art education. His archives—letters, photographs and manuscripts—reveal intimate exchanges with some of the 20th century’s most influential artists. Yet his story remained largely untold for half a century.
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Above Before helming Prestige Gallery, Audrey Zhang worked as a documentary director with the BBC and CCTV
Before helming Prestige Gallery, Audrey Zhang worked as a documentary director with the BBC and CCTV
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For Zhang, the discovery of these materials made clear just how vital Shui’s role was in bridging Chinese modern art and Singapore’s pioneer artist generation. His decision to shift from ink to wood sculpture after insects destroyed his rice paper works becomes, in her telling, a narrative pivot. The retrospective took one and a half years to assemble and represents only part one of a two‑part project.
Alongside exhibitions, education is central to Prestige Gallery’s ethos. Programmes range from collectors’ tours and workshops to panel discussions aimed at building confidence and connoisseurship. Zhang encourages new collectors to take their time. Collecting, she believes, should unfold over milestones, shaped by intention rather than impulse. Rather than rush to assemble a full collection, she advises families to see art as a shared journey. It is, she notes, a meaningful way for different generations to engage with one another, reflect on values and consider what kind of legacy they hope to build.
She sees a growing appetite among Asian family offices for cultural impact, alongside a desire for enduring contribution. Private museums and long-term artist patronage signal what she considers the next phase of wealth evolution in the region. In Singapore, she hopes to see more collectors step forward publicly, not for recognition but to strengthen cultural confidence and support emerging talent. “Art is soft power,” she says. “It can be a slice of an artist’s life, a moment of a culture, and something you pass to the next generation.” In her own collection, she is particularly drawn to female artists—among them Han Sai Por, Dawn Ng and Chen Cheng Mei—whose perseverance and clarity of purpose she describes with admiration.
Her children accompany her to major international exhibitions and biennales. Whether or not they grow into collectors, she wants them to experience art as a living inheritance that cultivates patience, openness and perspective. Digital art may capture their imagination now, but she is confident that they will one day return to what is tactile and enduring. “[They say] life is short,” she reflects. “But art is eternal.”
At Prestige Gallery, this belief is more than a philosophy—it is practice. By placing narrative and lived experience at the centre of her work, Zhang invites collectors to see art not as an acquisition but as a legacy shaped, shared and continually rediscovered.
As Senior Editor of Tatler Singapore, Hashirin champions and refines the storytelling across platforms—curating and crafting compelling profiles, cover stories and features that spotlight visionaries shaping culture, business and impact. Driven by curiosity, she draws inspiration from the artists, changemakers and trailblazers she encounters through her work. Beyond the pages of Tatler, she is an avid supporter of local theatre and delights in seeking out art in every city she visits.
