Safia El Maqui and Thomas Hug Exclusive Interview

11/05/2020

This interview is part of Rosemont Art Advisory monthly newsletter. If you wish to receive our newsletter, please contact her: k.blasiak@rosemont-mc.com



In this exclusive interview, Safia El Maqui, the Ambassador of the artmonte-carlo Salon d’art and Thomas Hug, the founder and director of artgenève  & artmonte-carlo Salon d’art took the time to answer Rosemont Art Advisory’s questions.

Following the postponement of artmonte-carlo to the spring of 2021, the organizers of the prestigious Salon d’art created a poignant and vibrant digital publication, also printable, in honour of the galleries and exhibitions initially scheduled. The online catalogue is punctuated by cultural, musical, literary, video and even gastronomic interventions!

We look forward to celebrating the fifth edition of the exhibition next year at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco with you all.

Rosemont Art Advisory is honoured to be mentioned among the international round-up of partners and sponsors of the artmonte-carlo Salon d’art.

Download the catalogue here and enjoy our interview with Safia El Maqui & Thomas Hug and collect art!



In 2012 the Artgenève Salon d’art came into being with you Thomas, as director. Its key components? Hand-picked galleries of the first order, a large proportion of exhibitions involving public institutions, and a spotlight on local creation. Those became the hallmarks too of the Artmonte-carlo show, which you proudly brought to Monte Carlo at the Grimaldi Forum with your team. Please tell us what defines Artmonte-carlo today, now that you have established a great relationship with the local art ecosystem and how do you see the fair evolve and function amidst the current restrictions on public gatherings.

Thomas Hug:Since its first edition in 2016, artmonte-carlo’s identity as an intimate and human-sized alternative to traditional art fairs has remained a constant while artistic projects, commercial and curated, have grown stronger.
As a commercial platform, artmonte-carlo brings a selection of high-end galleries to the numerous collectors of the French Riviera and surrounding region including collectors from northern Italy, those from Geneva who closely follow our activity in Monaco and other strong communities in the Principality such as Greeks and the Russians, for example.

However, artmonte-carlo’s mission is also to develop a rich cultural and multi-disciplinary platform on the Cote d’Azur: the salon d’art dedicates large spaces to curated exhibitions, institutional and private collections, and to a professional forum dedicated to thought production, collaborations and exchanges among art world professionals. artmonte-carlo is also well anchored in the region through the many partnerships the organization has built over the years with local actors.
The Principality has long been known for Formula 1, gaming, the Yacht Show, its tennis tournament...it now seems obvious to many that the art world can also enrich Monaco in terms of quality offer and high-end audience.

Unfortunately, artmonte-carlo’s fifth anniversary, initially scheduled in 2020, had to be postponed to the following year due to the current pandemic.  Instead, we have launched a digital “catalogue” version of the fair, an intimate format with a diversified and curated content. It was important in our eyes to commercially support galleries and artists currently facing many obstacles. The catalogue, user-friendly and intuitive, is available and downloadable from our website.



You always look for quality over quantity, to ensure the best visibility for galleries, ArtGeneve attracts a large number of Swiss and also international collectors, next year you will celebrate 10 years anniversary in Geneva.
What novelties are you bringing to the artmonte-carlo salon d’art 5th edition in 2021 ?  What motivated you to expand to Moscow now? Destinations like Geneva and Monaco work well because there are a lot of art collectors, but there are not large bases of local galleries. That means that there is a lot of positive potential for visiting galleries. Do you see the same principle for Russia?

Thomas Hug:The fifth anniversary of artmonte-carlo scheduled end of April 2021 will bring together about 50 carefully selected galleries of high-calibre including Pace, Gagosian, kamel mennour, Tornabuoni Art, Continua, 303 Gallery, Victoria Miro and many more. Prestigious institutional exhibitions from, among others, the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam and the Mamco in Geneva will also be featured. The esplanade of the Girmaldi Forum will host « Berlin Star » from 1984, one of Otto Piene’s most famous sculptural achievements. A series of solo shows will also be showcased with a particular attention drawn towards younger galleries.

In Moscow, international galleries who have already experienced working with us will present their artistic program to Russian collectors. This also gives them the opportunity to deepen their existing relationships with Russian clients. It is a good opportunity for dealers to get to know them, their taste and desires.
In view of the many high quality art museums in Moscow, it seems obvious that the public in this region has a real affinity with our modern and contemporary art program and that an exhibition of high caliber can be enjoyed by Russian art lovers. In spite of cultural differences, it seems to us that there is a good compatibility between our region and Moscow. We also believe that this destination will interest a large number of collectors from our network who might travel to discover the city, which is finally quite close and so rich in terms of art institutions and other discoveries.



The current lockdown represents ironically a great opportunity to reset, to focus of what is important and what is superficial. What have you enjoyed most during this time and what kept you busy and alive? 
Thomas Hug:I have total artistic admiration for the Brooklyn artist Brock Enright, unfortunately not well known from the public, but who introduces in his work (both conceptual and innovative in terms of form with a great virtuosity of execution) the theme of the game, combining the superficial and the profound in the manner of Mozart.
Safia El Maqui: The most important thing is that I had the privilege to spend this period with my children, which is rare since both study abroad, it has been a fantastic opportunity to be together and share our lives, as we normally live in different cities. Moreover, the cooking classes from my kids has kept me busy and happy.
All my friends have been very present as well, we shared our feelings (the negatives as the positives ones)  and we have being supporting each other as never before and very important: we tried to be optimistic of the will.
I am quite a curious person and it is almost impossible for me to get bored. I have tried to keep my routine as stable as possible. 
I had a nice and precise daily body training, I never stop following up my business affairs  as well as my art collection, I never stopped acquiring art. On the top of that I also got back into meditation which has helped me to stay sane in a crazy world I would say



Who is your favourite artist?

Safia El Maqui: The most immediate answer is to say that God, in all possible forms conceived by the human being, is definitely my favorite artist. I can also mention my first favorite artists when I was a child: Van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci. I am collecting since when I was very young  and I must admit that I am deeply linked to every single work of art I have acquired, they are part of me and my story and they all have a place in my heart and in my mind.

In this regard it is interesting to mention the performance "Borrowed Words"  by Oriol Vilanova, interpreted by Fabrizio Moretti and then by Patrizia Sandretto in NMNM, where a collector declares his unconditional love for his/her collection. In short, I can also declare myself deeply in love with my collection and I am always surprised by the myriad of stories that  works are telling me every day




Credit Pictures:
Safia El Maqui, Ambassador. Photo: Valentina De Gaspari 
Thomas Hug, director of artgenève / artmonte-carlo. Photo: Annik Wetter.