Art

The interview: Gilles Dyan, founder of Opera Gallery, on the “ultimate luxury” of truly important artworks

On the 30th anniversary of Opera Gallery’s simultaneous launch in Paris and Singapore, founder and chairman Gilles Dyan talks us through the evergreen market for the “ultimate luxury” of truly important artworks.

Boulevard: I’m intrigued to find out more about the extraordinary, 30-year history of Opera Gallery, and was curious to learn that you founded the gallery simultaneously in Paris and Singapore. And this was before Singapore’s rising reputation as a real hub for wealth and indeed for art. How did that come about and why did you choose Singapore?

Dyan: To be honest with you, it is a coincidence. I had a small gallery in Paris, close to the Bristol hotel, and the business in Paris in 1994 for art was very bad, because there was a huge crisis that started in Japan and in the US. The art market was going completely down and there were no buyers. During that time, I had someone who was organising the first art fair in Singapore, and he came into the gallery by chance and asked me, “Gilles would you like to come?” 

Left: Estoril #XII, 4.75X (2nd version), 1982, oil-stick, urethane enamel, alkyd and Magna on etched magnesium. Artwork by Frank Stella.
Right: Personnage (Homme), 1970, oil on plywood. Artwork by Pablo Picasso.

When we did the fair, I sold everything in four days – I was very surprised by the business. I spoke with a guy who was just in front of my gallery, and said we should open a space together in Singapore because it seemed to be the right place for art. I convinced them, and we opened the gallery together six months later. Then we opened a gallery in Paris, six months after opening the gallery in Singapore.  

The location we had in Singapore was on the second floor and it was not easy to find, you know, but we had a nice window onto the street. Then after one and half years, we moved to Takashiyama.

Blvd: And you’re now in 16 locations around the world. What would you say are the different markets trends in each geography?  

Dyan: The good thing is that as we became a little bit global, so we got strong in Asia, Europe, America, and the Middle East. When there is a crisis in one location, the other locations are not affected.

Right now, the market is a bit slow all over the world, but it’s still okay – we have a huge range of important artworks, expensive ones. And this market is always booming, because you meet more and more people with money, more billionaires, people who want to own an asset. When you already have everything – houses, cars, sometimes planes – the ultimate luxury is to have your own Picasso, or Basquiat.

Left: Head on the Sea, 1958, oil on canvas. Artwork by Karel Appel. Right: Girl with Cat, 1989, oil on canvas. Artwork by Fernando Botero.

But we are still very keen on working with young artists and helping them with their careers. We take care of everything for them – the marketing, the books and the catalogues. We have people working with institutions, foundations and museums, and we try to sell their works to important collectors. I do this because I love everything about art. I love taking care of young artists; I love to sell important paintings to important people.

Blvd: What do you feel is the impact on art and artists from that intersection of capital and the arts? 

Dyan: Art and finance are very much linked. Most people who are buying art, they do it not only because they like the works, but they also want to do good business, and to build a collection for themselves or for the family.

I’m used to working with art and finance – I used to manage regulated art funds in Luxembourg. The first one was in 2007, and we gave good numbers to the investors – 10.85% net per year in return. It is not crazy, but not so bad either because in 2008 and 2009, there was the subprime financial crisis. So it was not too bad. Then I opened another fund in Luxembourg, which was also regulated, and we had a rate of 21.5% net per year to the investors. We focused only on masterpieces. We didn’t buy young contemporary artists or even middle-career artists, only masterpieces.

Left: Le Cirque, clown au chapeau, 1955, oil on canvas. Artwork by Bernard Buffet.
Right: The Street, 1989, oil on canvas. Artwork by Fernando Botero.

But regarding young contemporary artists being impacted by the connection between art and finances, I think the answer is yes, they are, because every collector, when they buy something, they want to buy at the right price, and they have in mind what the price of the artist is. They know that it will go up, depending on the work of the gallery and what it can do to sell the work to institutions.

Blvd: What first drew you to the art space – and what has sustained you through 30-plus years in that world?

Dyan: What do I like? I like everything. I love the relationships with artists; I love to see how the artist lives, to speak with them, I love to see what they have in mind when they create a piece.

And I love to meet passionate collectors as well. I love going to collections to look for paintings we might buy, from an important collection, or from an institution. And I also love opening galleries all over the world because we now have a very nice network and we are open almost every night, everywhere around the globe. So we have something different every day, which is very nice.

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