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art over the last fi ve years. Artists are packing their works with meaning that is known only to those within their close-knit circles. I think having works that share certain affi nities—although not necessarily visual ones—can be very exciting for the viewer. Several contemporary artists that I don’t regularly work with, along with many that I represent, were inspired by the idea and made incredible works. The exhibition was a great success and we placed a couple of important paintings with major American museums. I am now working on my next exhibition that will include African art from my collection for the summer of 2016. This one will be called Wild Style and will explore fi guration in African and contemporary art. My goal will be to transport the viewer to a dream world via an intellectual journey that has as its starting point the surrealist salons of the early twentieth century. We will also publish a book bringing together images and information from Wild Style and Group Spirit. T. A. M.: Speaking of Bundu masks, in addition to your other African material, you’ve formed what is certainly one of the largest and fi nest collections of Bundu masks in private hands. Why did you choose to create an encyclopedic collection of these? J. P.: I collect Bundu helmet masks because I am very attracted to representations of beauty in African art. For me, a great Bundu mask can be the epitome of beauty, 122 especially because of the incredible coiffures and the beautiful dark, glossy patinas that symbolize the spirit of the Sande emerging from the water. Whenever I have the opportunity to add a great Bundu to my collection, I take it. A few years ago I was able to acquire an incredible Bassa helmet mask formerly in the William Siegmann Collection from Bernard Dulon in Paris, and it remains one of my favorite sculptures in my art collection. I currently have it on a pedestal in my bedroom positioned so that I can always see it from my bed. When I started acquiring Bundu helmets, I had in mind the great group formerly in the Arman Collection, and I was also thinking of the large groupings of marble busts in the Archeological Museum in Athens. My goal is to one day dedicate a large room in my home or an institution to my Bundu helmets, each on its own pedestal, so they can be experienced en masse. T. A. M.: We’ve known each other for more than fi fteen years now. When we fi rst met and you were living in San Francisco, you had a small collection of African statues that were all female. Bundu masks aside, your focus is substantially different today. How has your collecting evolved over the years? J. P.: I started to collect African art in 2000 when I was still practicing law in SF. At that time I was particularly interested in notions of classicism and the connections between Greek, Roman, and African art. The female form was my initial passion and I started to look at and acquire female statues on my business trips to NYC, Paris, and Brussels. The more I looked, the more different types of objects attracted me. At the beginning my focus was mainly art from Ivory Coast and the surrounding regions—Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, etc. Looking back I would say that I was going for works that today I would call “pretty” and quite safe. Over the last couple of years, I have really started to fi nd myself in my collecting and have become more adventurous and experimental. My focus has switched from the safe and pretty to the strong and bold, with works from Nigeria, Cameroon, and now also Gabon and the DRC becoming more and more what I’m attracted to. Another big shift is the amount of time I spend looking at, researching, and learning about African art. I now FIG. 6 (left): Apartment interior, 2015. Left to right: Standing fi gure. Mumuye, Nigeria. Ex Jean-Claude Andrault, Seillans; Galerie Monbrison, Paris. Wood. H: 81 cm. Blair Thurman, Goth Rocket II (Menthol 100’s), 2014. Acrylic on canvas, wood. 186.1 x 87 cm. Headcrest. Igbo, Nigeria. Ex Michel Perinet, Paris, 1978–1985; Christine Valluet, Paris, 1985; Donald Morris, Birmingham, Michigan, 1998; Myron Kunin, Minneapolis, 1998. Wood, pigment. H: 76.8 cm. Photo: Hans-Georg Gaul. FIG. 7 (above): Apartment interior, 2015. Left to right: Male headcrest. Eket, Nigeria. See fi g. 13. Max Lamb, Poly Dining Set Commission (12 chairs), 2014. So Society horned helmet mask. Fang or Bulu, Gabon/southern Cameroon. Wood, fi ber, pigment. H: 52 cm. Other dining room objects captioned in fi g. 6. Bundu masks on table captioned in fi g. 8. Photo: Hans-Georg Gaul.


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