Page 68 - The Parker Collection: Hua Qi Min

Conclusion

Having enjoyed the paintings of Hua Qi Min's series "The Remote East," Yvonne and I
decided in 2014 to embark on a quest of art tours across East and Southeast Asia to
attend Biennales, museum exhibitions, gallery events and to visit artist studios.

These months-long trips between 2014-2016 enabled us to become more
knowledgable about the culture, history and art in Asia, particularly contemporary art.
We traveled throughout Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand,
Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar (we still call it Burma), the Philippines,
Brunei and Borneo.

Many discoveries are memorable from our travels, but attending two Singapore
Biennales (2014-2016) and a Hong Kong Biennale (2014) remain some of the
unforgettable experiences.

Attending Beijing's Art District 798 demonstrated how important contemporary art
in China is today.

Both Asian and Contemporary Chinese art have been greatly influenced by Western
art and not always for the better. No more than a dozen Contemporary Chinese
artists occupy the world stage. Ai Weiwei is the acknowledged leader in avant-garde
art coming from China.

Our international art quest lasted for 331 days, spanning over the period of three
years. Few have been so fortunate to enjoy so much interesting art "up close and
personal." For Yvonne and I, it has been a life changing experience to go beyond
websites and jpegs to enjoy hundreds of talented Asian and Chinese Contemporary