Michael Xufu Huang

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Michael Xufu Huang
黄勖夫
Born1994 (age 29–30)
Chongqing, China
EducationDulwich College
University of Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)Art collector, socialite

Michael Xufu Huang (Chinese: 黄勖夫; pinyin: Huáng Xùfū; born 1994) is a Chinese art collector and socialite. Huang co-founded the M Woods Museum of Beijing's 798 Art Zone in 2015 and the X Museum in the Chaoyang district of Beijing in 2020. His art collecting activities have led The New York Times to profile him in 2017 as "something of a next-generation Jeffrey Deitch of China."[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Huang was born in Chongqing, China in 1994, and grew up in Beijing. His mother works in the pharmaceutical industry and his father is a finance lawyer. As a teenager, Huang became interested in art while attending boarding school in the United Kingdom. He recalled an exhibition on the beach paintings of Alex Katz at Tate St Ives, where he "really felt connected with the work" and "grew [his] passion for art."[2][3] After finishing his education at Dulwich College and completing his A Levels in art history, Huang moved to the United States to study at the University of Pennsylvania.[4][2] In university, Huang studied art history and marketing and was active in the Zeta Psi fraternity.[5][6] He graduated in 2017.[7]

Career[edit]

Huang developed his interests in art at the age of 16. His parents gifted him his first work of art, a lithograph by Helen Frankenthaler, for his sixteenth birthday in 2010. He started slowly collecting in 2013, after moving to Philadelphia to attend university.[2]

M Woods Museum[edit]

While a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania in 2015, Huang joined the contemporary art museum M Woods as a co-founder alongside art collectors Lin Han and Wanwan Lei. Located in Beijing's 798 Art Zone,[8][9][10] the museum focuses on "internet-minded" works of artists such as He Xiangyu and Olafur Eliasson. Its debut exhibition on Andy Warhol in 2016 received international recognition.[1] Later that year, Huang joined the board of the New Museum in New York City as its youngest member.[9][11]

In the summer of 2017, Huang curated his first major exhibition, Heart of the Tin Man,[12] a survey of artists influenced by post-Internet culture.[2] Huang announced his resignation and the withdrawal of his collection from the museum in 2019.[13]

X Museum[edit]

X Museum

In 2020, Huang co-founded the X Museum, focused on Chinese contemporary art, with businesswoman Theresa Tse. It is located in the Chaoyang district of Beijing.[8][14][15] The museum aims to provide an art platform for millennial artists and present contemporary art works that are heavily influenced by globalisation.[16]

Other activities[edit]

In 2020, Huang was reported to be a stakeholder in Mine Project, a commercial gallery that opened in Hong Kong a year earlier.[17][8] He organised its inaugural exhibition, Cutthroat Kitchen, on the works of Chinese artist Zhang Zipiao.[18][19]

In 2022, Bloomberg News reported that Huang had filed a lawsuit against art collector Federico Castro Debernardi. The lawsuit alleged that Debernardi had violated the terms of a sales agreement involving a Cecily Brown painting that Huang had previously bought from the Paula Cooper Gallery and resold to Debernardi for an added commission.[20] A settlement between Huang and the gallery was reportedly reached just before the Bloomberg report.[21]

Personal life[edit]

Huang was one of the influential figures defrauded by Anna Sorokin after the two met in New York City. Sorokin claimed to be a wealthy German heiress under the fictitious identity of Anna Delvey.[22][23] Huang later purchased a portrait of Sorokin in court, drawn by Chinese artist Gong Jian, for the X Museum's collection, stating "I paid more for this work than the hotel charges I apparently lost."[24] He is depicted in the 2022 Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna, based on Sorokin's life.[25]

Recognition[edit]

In 2016, Apollo magazine highlighted Huang in its "40 Under 40 Asia Pacific" list.[26] In 2017, he was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list under its "Art & Style" category.[27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Hawgood, Alex (6 July 2017). "Michael Xufu Huang: Rising Art World Curator From Beijing". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Pollack, Barbara (3 October 2017). "Young & Restless: Collector Michael Xufu Huang Has Grown Up Fast in a Changing Art World". ARTnews. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  3. ^ Ugelvig, Jeppe (6 October 2016). "michael xufu huang and the new generation of art collectors". i-D. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  4. ^ Adam, Georgina (25 May 2020). "Michael Xufu Huang on opening a private museum in Beijing at 26". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  5. ^ Kerr, Dylan (15 May 2016). "Meet Michael Xufu Huang, the 22-Year-Old Museum Co-Founder Who's Building "The MoMA of China"". Artspace. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  6. ^ Zhong, Fan (28 June 2016). "Meet Michael Xufu Huang, the College Student With His Own Museum". W. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Our very own Michael Xufu Huang, C'17, featured in ARTNEWS". Penn History of Art. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Movius, Lisa (26 May 2020). "X-appeal: millennial collectors open private museum in Beijing". The Art Newspaper. No. 324. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b Cheng, Zaneta (14 September 2020). "Meet Michael Xufu Huang, Instagram It Boy, Millennial Art Collector And Co-founder Of X-Museum". A Magazine Singapore. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  10. ^ Giles, Oliver (6 October 2017). "The new generation of Chinese collectors shaking up the art world". CNN. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Isolde Brielmaier, Victoria Mikhelson, and Michael Xufu Huang Join New Museum's Board". Artforum. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  12. ^ "'It's always the young section first'". frieze. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Michael Xufu Huang Departs M Woods, Plans to Open X Museum in Beijing". Artforum. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  14. ^ Sutton, Benjamin (6 November 2019). "The Millennial Collectors behind Beijing's Newest Art Museum". Artsy. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  15. ^ Bhargava, Aaina (30 May 2020). "Millennials aim to change perceptions of contemporary Chinese art". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Michael Xufu Huang on Collecting". Phillips. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  17. ^ Bhargava, Aaina (6 December 2020). "The rich millennials shaking up China's art market". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  18. ^ Giles, Oliver (26 March 2019). "Mine Project Gallery Opens In Hong Kong With 'Cutthroat' Exhibition". Tatler Hong Kong. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  19. ^ McMahon, Katherine (8 April 2019). "ARTnews in Hong Kong: The FUTURE Group". ARTnews. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  20. ^ Tarmy, James (12 January 2022). "A Million-Dollar Lawsuit Uncovers Backdoor Art World Contracts". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  21. ^ Greenberger, Alex (12 January 2022). "Settlement Reached in Collectors' Secret-Buyer Lawsuit". ARTnews. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  22. ^ Pressler, Jessica (28 May 2018). "How an Aspiring 'It' Girl Tricked New York's Party People – and Its Banks". The Cut. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  23. ^ Motion, Davina (19 February 2021). "What 'fake heiress' Anna Delvey did next". Tatler. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  24. ^ Kinsella, Eileen (10 December 2020). "Convicted Fraudster Anna Delvey Conned Collector Michael Xufu Huang. That Didn't Stop Him From Hanging Her Portrait in His New Museum". Artnet News. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  25. ^ Kinsella, Eileen; White, Katie (11 February 2022). "What Does the New Netflix Series About Convicted Scammer Anna Delvey Get Right About the Art World? We Took a Deep Dive". Artnet News. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Michael Xufu Huang | Apollo 40 Under 40 Asia Pacific | The Collectors". Apollo. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  27. ^ "30 Under 30 2017: Art & Style". Forbes. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
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