Li Hongbo is a paper sculptor from China. Photography © Courtesy of the artist and Eli Klein Gallery
1.In your opinion what is the role of a museum?
It is a place for artists to accomplish their dreams. Museums are more academic, which enables artists to explore works on a personal artistic language level that may not have market value.
2.What are your favorite museums in the world? Why?
I have many favorites. Because established museums all have their own clear positioning, what they collect or display are crystallizations of human wisdom with unique and distinctive characteristics that are all worth our careful study. For example, the exhibitions at the Pompidou Centre show that their criteria for selecting artists are forward-looking. Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze (Florence National Academy of Fine arts of Italy) is a public art museum that integrates education, exhibition, presentation, and collection.
The perfect execution of all those functions represents the valid quality of an academic art institution. There are also the Louvre, the Vatican Museums, the Tate, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Prado Museum and many more. I am impressed by the quality of their world-renowned collections and exhibitions.
