Matt Chung: 40 Under 40 2022
“When I was decorating my first apartment in Boston, I wanted something that was less boring than, say, a tired Wong Kar Wai poster or the Klimt lithograph everyone has,” he says. “That’s when I learned about Nick Walker, who’s in the same league as street artists like Banksy, Blek le Rat, Dolk and Shepard Fairey. I paid HK$10,000 for a Walker print on eBay.”
Later, Chung invested in a Todd James work on paper from Aishonanzuka gallery – he counts director Aisho Miura as a mentor – as his first unique buy. And so began his personal collection, which now numbers close to 500 pieces.
But metamorphosing from an afficionado who collects art to a gallerist who curates art is less of a jump and more of a vaulted leap. “I started as a curator at a friend’s industrial unit in Kwun Tong; that’s when we co-founded Good Vibes Only Gallery,” says Chung. “We had no proper training, no gallery or auction-house background. We had to learn everything ourselves, from framing, installation, description tag formatting and logistics to how to properly wrap and box a painting.”
This baptism by fire did Chung well. From his first co-hosted exhibition – also the first in Hong Kong by Japanese graffiti artist Futura – in 2019 and lauching Gallery Ascend at The Arca in Wong Chuk Hang last year to the opening of Side Space in Tai Hang and the six-storey, art-lifestyle hub Haus of Contemporary with partner Samson Ko in 2022, Chung’s meteoric spread of influence just seems to rise and rise stratospherically.
“By having three spaces with different programmes and price ranges, I hope to bring in new collectors who might be uncertain about how to step into this game,” he says, “and I want to bring more local artists to international galleries.”
As for his fourth gallery, Chung is already imagining beyond the confines of Hong Kong. And professionally, he’s already eyeing his next career move. “I want to direct my first feature film at around 40,” he says. “That’s something I want to spend more time doing once my art career is more established.”
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