There is still a very narrow expectation of what “African art” should look like.

A few months ago in Lagos, I had the opportunity to speak with artist Alimi Adewale and visit his studio following our conversation on The Pearl Lam Podcast. We spoke about how certain visual languages ...continue to be stereotyped or culturally assigned, even when they speak to something far more universal.

His work moves beyond those expectations, drawing from forms and symbols that cut across geography, race, and culture. It is this tension between categorisation and universality that makes the work so compelling.

Hear the full discussion on The Pearl Lam Podcast now.

#PearlLam #AlimiAdewale #ContemporaryArt #AfricanArt #Sculpture

While in Lagos, I visited the studio of artist Alimi Adewale following our conversation with curator Maria Bojan on The Pearl Lam Podcast.
After discussing authorship, cultural context, and the frameworks that continue to shape how art is produced and interpreted globally, Alimi shared a closer... look into his practice and the ideas behind his latest works.

The sense of family, community, and continuity felt deeply present throughout the visit and very similar to that of Chinese families! There is a different kind of strength in extended family structures, where generations remain closely connected and support exists collectively rather than individually.

Subscribe for more behind-the-scenes moments and studio tours, only on The Pearl Lam Podcast.

#PearlLam #AlimiAdewale #ContemporaryArt #LagosArt #AfricanArt StudioVisit

Speaking with Harry Lee, we reflect on how discipline and respect cannot simply be taught through pressure or repetition. He points out that if children cannot learn these values through something they are naturally interested in, additional tutoring will not solve it.

Instead, learning ...needs to happen in an environment where they feel respected and at ease.

Discover the full conversation with Harry, only on the Pearl Lam Podcast.

In the museum world, there’s been one recent acquisition that’s gotten many professionals and art aficionados talking: the first-ever video uploaded onto YouTube.

The video was collected by the V&A (@vamuseum), alongside a reconstructed early webpage. Titled ‘Me at the zoo,’ ...the video features the then-25 year old co-founder Jawed Karim talking about elephants at the San Diego Zoo. First uploaded on 8 December 2006, Karim’s video has the oldest timestamp documented online, according to one of the museum’s spokespersons.

What’s particularly charming to me is that while we might view the video as low-quality in today’s world of crystal-clear 4k footage, it was definitely mind-boggling in the 2000s. Even owning a handheld video recorder was quite impressive back in the day, in contrast to how normalised it is to walk around with our app-laden smartphones today.

If you’re curious about viewing his slice of history in person (and pondering the rapid development of technology through time), ‘Me at the zoo’ is on display in the Design 1900-Now gallery at V&A South Kensington.

Image credit: YouTube “Me at the zoo,” uploaded on April 23, 2005, by co-founder Jawed Karim.

#PearlLam #ArtWorld #ArtHistory #Museums

The world today is more globalised than ever, and nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of arts and culture.

Culture has always been defined by an exchange of ideas and perspectives, and legendary Maison Chanel (@chanelofficial) is paving the way for a greater understanding of ...artistic craftsmanship on a global scale. Later this year, the historic fashion house will bring programming from its Paris-based creative complex La Galerie du 19M (@le19m) to the Museum of Art Pudong in Shanghai.

The programme will feature Chanel’s ateliers, engaging with both Chinese and French craftsmanship. What I’m particularly impressed by is how intentionally localised the entire project is. An all-star lineup will be involved, featuring prominent Chinese artists and curators from some of the country’s most esteemed cultural institutions, alongside craft and design specialists.

To me, this reads as the ideal way to contextualise new ideas for a local context, and ensures that cross-cultural dialogue remains a two-way street.

Will you be visiting the exhibition later this year?

#PearlLam #ArtWorld #Chanel

Can values like compassion and empathy be taught?

In this episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast, I’m joined by Harry Lee, who reflects on how these ideas are not easily explained, but can be experienced. Through music and art, he sees a way of reaching younger generations and shaping how they... understand the world around them.

Continue the conversation on The Pearl Lam Podcast.

In this episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast, I’m joined by Harry Lee, founder and chairman of the Hong Kong Choral Foundation.

We discuss the role of choral music beyond performance, and how it can function as a form of education and social infrastructure. Through his work, access to ...structured choir training is being extended to students from under-resourced schools, creating opportunities that go far beyond music itself.

The conversation also considers how collective singing can shape confidence, discipline and a sense of shared identity, particularly within the context of Hong Kong.

Watch or listen to the full episode of The Pearl Lam podcast now YouTube and Spotify.

A collector had used his money to buy the artist Su Xiaobai’s paintings instead of other things. And when asked why, he couldn’t give a clean answer. Only fragments, “Maybe I saw... maybe I saw... I don’t know why.”

But something in those small ink wash paintings held him. He ...couldn’t leave it. He had to possess it.

He loved the calligraphy. The composition. And then, almost quietly, he said this: “In a small frame, I feel there is the compositional method of Song Dynasty painting.”

Zhangfa. A structure centuries old, alive in a tiny frame.

The complete discussion is now live on YouTube.

This week on the Pearl Lam podcast, Artist Su Xiaobai discusses on the unseen forces shaping his work.

He never consciously thought about the Tao Te Ching or the Heart Sutra while painting, yet they are present, because he comes from a country shaped by Chinese culture. But he is also a ...Christian. And so his paintings carry a great deal of Christian spirit, Renaissance elements, and even something scientific, especially in the colors.

The question he leaves hanging in the air is both simple and profound: Where do these colors come from?

Continue the conversation on The Pearl Lam Podcast.

Glitzy art fairs, slick white-walled galleries, seemingly obtuse artworks and endless conversations – these are some of the stereotypes that come with working professionally in the arts. Taking that even further is the world of cinema, where the art world remains the central subject for numerous ...satire films. (2026’s dark comedy thriller ‘The Gallerist’ comes to mind.)

As someone who’s been in the industry for over twenty years, it’s interesting to see cinema use the art world to explore ideas of wealth, artistry, and the absurdity of modern life. Yet, I’d say that exaggerations abound.

Certainly, there are moments of wonder when collaborating with an artist just clicks and when an exhibition comes together perfectly, almost like magic. But working in the art world can be more mundane than modern media makes it out to be. Many overlook that professionals spend days navigating logistics and shipping; poring over exhibition build plans; and doling out invoices.

But looking back on my journey through the arts, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s been incredibly rewarding, opening my eyes to the many cultures and ideas that shape our world. I’d encourage anyone whose impression of the art world has been swayed by the glamour of TV and film to try to learn more about the industry in practice.

If you’re interested in learning more about the numerous ways that film depicts the art world , I’d recommend Brittany Rosemary Jones’ story for @ocula.art here: https://ocula.com/magazine/opinion/the-art-world-has-become-cinemas-favourite-joke/

Image Credit: Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega as Polina Polinski and Kiki in Cathy Yan’s The Gallerist (2026) (Still) and Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffmann as Elliot and Erika Tracey in Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex (2026) (Still).

“I managed to earn a little money because I didn’t jump straight into contemporary art.”

That’s artist Su Xiaobai’s own humble version. But the question put to him was far less modest: Are you the most financially successful artist among all German and Chinese artists?

...His answer sidesteps comparison altogether. He calls himself a lone wolf, not based in Berlin, not chasing trends. Instead, he leaned on what he brought from home: the painting techniques he learned in his home country. He created beautiful works, desirable, decorative, made for living spaces. And German families, he found, were willing to hang original art on their walls.

That, not market hype, became his quiet success.

Catch the full episode of the Pearl Lam podcast on YouTube.

Rome has always had a certain energy to it. Elegant, cinematic and endlessly inspiring. One experience stood out in particular during my most recent trip this May: visiting VENUS at PM23, the exhibition space founded by Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti.

Presented by the ...Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti and curated by Pamela Golbin, the exhibition places monumental installations featuring 33 archival Valentino garments. The result is a fascinating conversation between couture and contemporary art, where craftsmanship, scale and emotion all intertwine.

What remains most inspiring was learning how many different communities contributed to the making of the exhibition, from students and artisans to refugees, patients and women supported by social initiatives across Italy – beneath the grandeur was a true sense of humanity.

Considering Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti first met in Rome back in July 1960, it felt particularly fitting to experience an exhibition so deeply connected to the cultural and creative spirit of the city itself.

#Valentino #Rome #ArtsAndCulture #FashionExhibition #PM23

In the latest episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast, artist Su Xiaobai reflects on an obsession that lasted three years, a single shade of blue so unprecedented he named it Ulysses Blue.

The name came not from a color, but from James Joyce’s famously impenetrable novel Ulysses, a thick, ...celestial tome he’s never been able to finish.

Set in 1920s France at Shakespeare and Company, this story weaves together reading, longing, and the desire to invent a color no one had ever seen.

Listen to the full conversation on The Pearl Lam Podcast.

Living in remote rural Germany, long quiet nights come with no pastimes or entertainment at all.

Artist Su Xiaobai reflects on that period, and how ink painting began to emerge from that stillness – not out of intention, but out of time, repetition, and a certain kind of boredom.
...
After painting all day, he still had plenty of spare time in the evenings.
He turned to reading, then began creating simple ink works on rice paper brought from China, cutting each sheet into small 30cm by 30cm pieces. What started purely out of idle time slowly became a quiet artistic routine.

Listen to the full conversation on The Pearl Lam Podcast.

The Art Basel (@artbasel) and UBS Global Art (@UBSglobalart) Market Report 2026 by Dr Clare McAndrew of Arts Economics dropped recently, and there are a couple of key points that caught my eye.

The news that has everyone talking: global art market sales grew 4% in 2025, rebounding to a ...cool $59.6 billion. In terms of genre popularity at auction, postwar art came out on top, accounting for 31% of sales value, with Modern art not too far behind at 24%. Interesting to note that Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art grew the most rapidly, surging 47% year over year.

Additionally, the report revealed that you don’t need to fork out eye-watering amounts to be a collector, with 77% of transactions at fine art auctions last year went for less than $5,000.

Also worth mentioning that the U.S., U.K., and China still remain the top three art markets, with sales $26 billion, $10.5 billion, and $8.5 billion respectively.

Beyond the report itself, I also thoroughly enjoyed Dr. McAndrew’s reflection on developing the report over the past decade, and it’s impressive to see how much the art market has grown from the ‘90s onwards: https://www.artbasel.com/stories/what-a-decade-of-research-reveals-about-the-global-art-market

Image credit: Pearl Lam Projects, Art Basel Hong Kong 2026.

#PearlLam #ArtWorld #artmarket #artmarketreport #arteconomics