Female Voices in Art: Mee-Seen Loong, Director of INKstudio

Mee-Seen Loong (b. 1948, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya) has played a key role in the field of Chinese art for over 40 years. She earned her B.A. in Art History from Wellesley College and her M.A. in Far Eastern Art from Columbia University. Her long career at Sotheby’s has included the roles of Managing Director of Sotheby’s Hong Kong and Vice-Chairman, Chinese Art and Asian Paintings worldwide. She is now a director of INKstudio, a gallery based in Beijing, and remains a consultant to Sotheby’s, providing art advisory services to collectors, corporations and museums worldwide, as well as representation and promotion of contemporary ink artists and ceramicists.

Could you tell us something about your role in the art world?

For the four decades I was with Sotheby’s as a Chinese art specialist, I was privileged to have worked on some of the most significant collections of Chinese art sold at auction. I also developed the field of Chinese contemporary ink art. I have organized auctions and exhibitions, and helped build private collections. As a director of INKstudio, I now work with some of the most renown contemporary ink artists.

What did you enjoy about being a part of this project?

I loved the collaboration of ideas, admiring Carla’s warmth, sense of humor, great creativity and art historical memory. I especially enjoyed her visual speed and the way she conjured up angles and postures, coaxing and exacting. It felt like a painting in process, and in the hands of a master.

Do you have a favourite artist?

Liu Dan, a brilliant Chinese Ink artist I have known since the 1980’s and have worked with ever since. The other is Botticelli who first sparked my interest in paintings.

What is your earliest memory involving art?

I grew up in Kuala Lumpur and a vine known as the ‘love’ or ‘bee’ vine grew wild along the hedges in our large garden. It has numerous very small pink heart-shaped blossoms, serrated leaves and tendril-entwined vines. From the age of four I would weave the vines into ‘artsy’ arrangement and used individual little blossoms in my miniature bottle-cap mud cookies. That was when I appreciated ‘beauty’ and the sense of color and smell.

Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world?

For centuries they have been kept in the background, mostly unable to find a place in art and creativity by being denied education and freedom. The changes in women’s rights and education since the mid-20th Century has brought in great women artists...creative, daring and unbound by tradition. I hope to be able encourage and work with some of them.

What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it?

I grew up in Malaysia and have always loved batek, the old craft of Indonesia and Malaysia, for its combination of earthy colors, intricacy of lines and geometric rhythms.

I have a silk batek shawl by Josephine Komara (Obin) of Bin House, the great Indonesian batik designer I most admire and collect, for the complexity of the design and the luxurious combination of old batek traditions with dazzling modern techniques. The silk dress is by Asiatica, a Kansas-City based gallery known for their use of antique fabrics, using Japanese ikat patterned silk, inspired by Indonesian fabrics. The black dress is Issey Miyaki. The red lacquer rose rings are from a flea market in Beijing. The amber beads are gathered from old strands and remains of Chinese 18th century court beads. The lipstick and nail color are by Tom Ford, who liked my nail color on a trip to China over ten years ago!

What impact has the current health crisis on your daily practice?

It has severely impacted my art practice as I am in a kind of cocoon, unable to travel internationally and domestically. Over the past 40 years I have travelled to Asia three or four times a year for auctions, art fairs or visits with artists and clients.

Everything is now virtual and I miss the interaction with people and viewing ‘real’ art. We took for granted the joys of meals together, and almost a year of no group dinners has made me realize that food events are the major art forms taken from almost all of us. I am clearly starved for company even though I spend a lot more time cooking these days.

Is it changing your views on Art?

It has not changed my views on art but I miss being able to see first-hand, changes in art. It makes me acutely aware of how important art is to our lives and mental health. Fortunately, technology has made it possible for see new works in the absence of seeing the real work.

Are you creating new initiatives and ways of working?

I have been forced to rely on technology as I have to navigate the internet and to present ideas and images online...skills not second nature to me , the way it is for the younger generation. I would like to expand my client base but I find that I concentrate on communicating with my usual group of collectors. The one positive aspect of the shut down in travel is that institutions, museums and my more creative colleagues have made it possible for me to participate in webinars all over the world. Clusters of like-minded individuals have formed zoom groups to share ideas, drink together and ‘visit’ so in 2020, in the midst of this uncanny isolation, I have actually reconnected with old friends from grade school and college.

I have even found new hobbies but these are just distractions as what I really want to do is travel again to visit family, old friends and to see what my circle of artists are doing. This last group, the artists, have found the year of living as hermits quite invigorating. Without the need to visit and with no visitors bothering them, they have found time to do new works. I can hardly wait to disturb them!