Finding parallels between Han era and China today
November 11, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BELGIAN art and antiques dealer Maximin Berko, co-founder of Shanghai Fine Jewelry and Art Fair, is a student of Chinese culture, specializing in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).
"Most of the governance system in China had been established in the Han Dynasty, such as central power and different other powers. But sometimes when I say this, people are shocked," he said with a laugh.
He added that some people think he's an "over-the-top romantic" when it comes to China, but he sees parallels between China today and China of 2,000 years ago.
"People in China have a very close relation to art. This dates from the Han Dynasty when people were already collecting antiques and ordering works of contemporary art," he told Shanghai Daily. At that time, Belgians were living in the woods and New York was a swamp, he said.
A graduate of the Sorbonne Paris with a major in art and archeology, Berko wrote his PhD thesis about "boshan lu," bronze Han Dynasty censers with mountain-shaped lids, evoking a mountain of immortality.
Berko landed in Shanghai in 2001 to learn Chinese for his PhD. He regards Shanghai as his home.
"There is only Shanghai and New York that are cities where people are proud to be called New Yorkers and Shanghainese, but nearly no one is originally from New York," Berko said. "Everyone who comes here has his passion for the city and wants to do something to help the city grow."
Shanghai Museum has an amazing collection of bronzes, he says. "The whole museum should be only bronzes. They should build other museum for porcelain or furniture. There's a lot to exhibit. It's also my dream to have a museum introducing Western art in China," Berko said.
Berko's family is in the art and antiques collecting and appraisal business, so Berko's interest came naturally.
Berko has done research in the British Museum and worked for Sotheby's auction house. The Shanghai Fine Jewelry and Art Fair, established by Berko and his colleague Nicolo Mori, is Berko's gift to the city he loves.
The city that has Formula One and a Tennis Masters Cup should have a fine art fair, the Belgian art dealer said.
"A fair like this should be open to the maximum number of people," he said, adding that the Masstricht Fine Art Fair, the world's biggest and most important fine art fair, gets 95,000 visitors in 10 days, perhaps 1,000 of them buyers. That's a sign that people love art and beautiful things, he said. Berko added that he was pleased to see a security guard taking a photo of paintings in the exhibition and gave him a brochure. He urged his colleagues and staff to take their children to the fair, calling it a good opportunity to enjoy fine art.
"A lot of people in China say art is a luxury, but art is not luxury. Luxury is, for example, a watch, ring, mobile phone, cars, and so on, all factory-made. But art is an expression for a person. These art works are expressions by people who have passed away or are still alive," he said.
The true meaning of art is how people enjoy it and how it resonates with them, he said.
Maximin Berko
Nationality: Belgian
Age: 34
Profession: Businessman
Self description: Complicated
Q&A
Strangest sight: The sign saying "no explosives allowed" in Metro station.
Advice to newcomers: Find a good "ayi"
Motta for life: It's all in the details.
How to improve Shanghai: Improve the art side in the city.
"Most of the governance system in China had been established in the Han Dynasty, such as central power and different other powers. But sometimes when I say this, people are shocked," he said with a laugh.
He added that some people think he's an "over-the-top romantic" when it comes to China, but he sees parallels between China today and China of 2,000 years ago.
"People in China have a very close relation to art. This dates from the Han Dynasty when people were already collecting antiques and ordering works of contemporary art," he told Shanghai Daily. At that time, Belgians were living in the woods and New York was a swamp, he said.
A graduate of the Sorbonne Paris with a major in art and archeology, Berko wrote his PhD thesis about "boshan lu," bronze Han Dynasty censers with mountain-shaped lids, evoking a mountain of immortality.
Berko landed in Shanghai in 2001 to learn Chinese for his PhD. He regards Shanghai as his home.
"There is only Shanghai and New York that are cities where people are proud to be called New Yorkers and Shanghainese, but nearly no one is originally from New York," Berko said. "Everyone who comes here has his passion for the city and wants to do something to help the city grow."
Shanghai Museum has an amazing collection of bronzes, he says. "The whole museum should be only bronzes. They should build other museum for porcelain or furniture. There's a lot to exhibit. It's also my dream to have a museum introducing Western art in China," Berko said.
Berko's family is in the art and antiques collecting and appraisal business, so Berko's interest came naturally.
Berko has done research in the British Museum and worked for Sotheby's auction house. The Shanghai Fine Jewelry and Art Fair, established by Berko and his colleague Nicolo Mori, is Berko's gift to the city he loves.
The city that has Formula One and a Tennis Masters Cup should have a fine art fair, the Belgian art dealer said.
"A fair like this should be open to the maximum number of people," he said, adding that the Masstricht Fine Art Fair, the world's biggest and most important fine art fair, gets 95,000 visitors in 10 days, perhaps 1,000 of them buyers. That's a sign that people love art and beautiful things, he said. Berko added that he was pleased to see a security guard taking a photo of paintings in the exhibition and gave him a brochure. He urged his colleagues and staff to take their children to the fair, calling it a good opportunity to enjoy fine art.
"A lot of people in China say art is a luxury, but art is not luxury. Luxury is, for example, a watch, ring, mobile phone, cars, and so on, all factory-made. But art is an expression for a person. These art works are expressions by people who have passed away or are still alive," he said.
The true meaning of art is how people enjoy it and how it resonates with them, he said.
Maximin Berko
Nationality: Belgian
Age: 34
Profession: Businessman
Self description: Complicated
Q&A
Strangest sight: The sign saying "no explosives allowed" in Metro station.
Advice to newcomers: Find a good "ayi"
Motta for life: It's all in the details.
How to improve Shanghai: Improve the art side in the city.
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