
In March, I’m hosting three public talks at Mandala Club.
This is a compact programme for people who want more than “art appreciation”.
Across three evenings we move from visual language and cultural codes, to symbols and taste, to the real-world mechanics of money in art. You will leave with sharper eyes, better references, and a cleaner understanding of how art works socially and financially.
Expressionism & Chinese Ink
Both Chinese ink painting and Expressionism are rooted in emotion, gesture, and inner state, yet they produce radically different visual languages. Why?
This talk explores how Western modernists encountered East Asian calligraphy, ink painting, philosophy, and religion, and how this encounter reshaped abstraction, movement, and rhythm in Western art.
Key threads: Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Pollock and the calligraphy comparison, Cy Twombly, and the Chinese masters Qi Baishi, Zao Wou-Ki, Chu Teh-Chun.
Flowers in Visual Art & High Jewelry
Celebrating International Women’s Day, we explore the evolution of floral symbolism in visual art and in jewelry art.
Speakers: Olga Ferreres and Bangkok-based jewelry designer, gemologist, founder of Eurus Gallery, Anna Minakova.
Alongside the talk, we present a curated exhibition with rare museum-level works at the intersection of collectible art, design, and master jewelry craftsmanship, including:
• Dickson Yewn (Hong Kong), worn by Michelle Obama at a State Dinner in honour of Queen Elizabeth II
• Ilgiz F. (Russia), works held in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum
• Stephen Webster (UK), works held in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, sold at Sotheby’s and Phillips
Money in Art: Taxes, Inheritance, Divorce
A practical talk about how art becomes part of family dramas, capitalisation, and tax planning.
We cover how ownership works, what triggers risks, how value behaves in real life, and what people usually miss until it gets expensive.
All talks are hosted at Mandala Club, start 19:00.