Page 6 - The Parker Collection: Hua Qi Min

Commentary by Ronald K. Parker, Ph.D.

Paris has always held a special place in art. My first visit to the City of Light at age
nineteen sparked my own interest in art. I had left my home in Texas to hitchhike for
eleven months throughout Europe to expand my horizons. Paris was exciting and
while walking along the banks of the Seine and visiting Montmartre, I was amazed at
the range of artistic talent on exhibit. I bought my first work of art, a scene of the
busy Champs-Elysees. The purchase of this little painting was the modest beginning
of my art collecting.

While privately collecting art on a large scale, I have enjoyed successful careers as a
psychologist, academician and entrepreneur. Being passionate about art, I became
President and COO of a public art company in 1978. In 1980, I started my own art
publishing company, which, as CEO, I took public on NASDAQ in 1983. I opened
three galleries in SoHo, NY, in 1980, 1984 and 1992 and one in Paris, in 1988.

On a sunny afternoon in 1988, after visiting my Paris gallery - Galerie Damien (named
after my son) - I visited a contemporary Chinese art exhibition at the Ecole des
Beaux-Arts. Only one artist impressed me in this show, because the other Chinese
artists were derivative of Western contemporary art. Hua Qi Min, on the other hand,
was special and different. His painting was done in a contemporary Chinese style,
telling a complex story about life and lasting values. Without knowing anything about
the artist, I bought the painting.

Later, I contacted Hua Qi Min in China. Min soon responded to my letter (no internet
in those times) and I learned that he was a highly talented artist from Beijing, China.
He had attended the best art schools and had won numerous awards.