Hedge fund billionaire to show part of art collection during Art Basel Hong Kong – to educate public about a favourite artist
Super collector J. Tomilson ‘Tom’ Hill, of the Blackstone Group, will exhibit 15 works by American abstract artist Christopher Wool, of whose work he owns more than anyone else, including museums
J. Tomilson “Tom” Hill has been to Hong Kong countless times because of his day job in finance – running Blackstone’s hedge fund business. But next month, the American billionaire is travelling to the city to launch an art exhibition.
“Christopher Wool: Highlights from the Hill Art Collection” opens during Art Basel week at H Queen’s Atrium and features 15 paintings and works on paper by the abstract American artist best known for his word paintings.
According to Hill, the exhibition is a taster for the opening of the Hill Art Foundation’s first permanent exhibition and education space in New York this September, when all 19 Wools in his collection will go on display.
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Hill tells the Post that he realised Hong Kong was a good platform for art after he first attended the city’s edition of Art Basel, the contemporary art fair, at the insistence of Melissa Chiu several years ago when she was director of the Asia Society Museum.
“I don’t usually go to fairs but Melissa said it would be eye-opening, not just in terms of the art but also because of the people I would see,” recalls Hill, who is a former chairman of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, where Chiu is now director. He was impressed by how the art fair brought together “thought leaders” from all over the world, especially Asia.
Incidentally, Hill is one of two Western collectors who are bringing a portion of their personal collections to Asia during Art Basel Hong Kong. Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo from Turin, Italy, will hold an exhibition at Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai to promote her art foundation, which is opening a new satellite centre in Madrid next year.
