About
The Collecting Life
In 1989 I saw a show in Paris: Magiciens de la terre. It had a profound effect on me. Before this show, I had no idea that so much amazing contemporary art was being made in Africa. After the show, when I met Andre Magnin (one of the curators of the show)
To me at that time
African art was the stuff that one sees at the Metropolitan in New York – dark wood masks, dogs full of nails, gold jewellery, carved drums – or it was the junk one can buy at Mombasa airport. But in Paris I saw paintings that could have been done by a hip artist living in a loft in Brooklyn, or sculptures made out of plastic that could be seen in an elegant gallery in Berlin. I was stunned, and thrilled. The colours, the imagination, the subjects – I was definitely impressed. Of course I knew that interesting creative work was happening all over the world, but there seemed to be no way to find it, to see it. When I met Andre Magnin I realized that together we could put together a serious collection of contemporary African art. In my life, I love to make new discoveries: new music, new food, new technology, new art… the exhibition was a complete revelation to me. I wanted to explore my new discovery.
African Art Collection
My collection started as a small dream but soon became a huge, exciting reality. I realised immediately that it could help the Western world understand that good art can come from the dusty streets of Dakar and the poor, remote villages of Ethiopia, as well as from air-conditioned studios in SoHo, New York. From a young age I was a collector. Toy cars, stamps, rocks, trains …
Explore
African Art Collection
Collection d'Art Africain Contemporain — Collection Jean Pigozzi
La collection Pigozzi – Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC) – est aujourd’hui la plus importante collection privée dédiée à l’art africain contemporain. Créée en 1989 par l’homme d’affaires italien et photographe Jean Pigozzi, en collaboration avec André Magnin qui en assurera la direction artistique pendant 20 ans, elle compte aujourd’hui plus de 10 000 pièces : peintures, sculptures, dessins, photographies, installations et vidéos, conçues par des artistes vivant et travaillant dans une vingtaine de pays d’Afrique sub-saharienne.
La collection ne se veut pas une vitrine de l’art africain contemporain et revendique des choix particuliers d’artistes dont elle possède souvent de grands ensembles d’œuvres. Elle ne dispose pas de lieu permanent pour l’instant, mais grâce aux expositions et prêts d’œuvres à de nombreux musées du monde entier, à la publication de catalogues et de livres consacrés à cette scène artistique, elle a fait découvrir à un public toujours plus nombreux la formidable diversité de la création plastique en Afrique sub-saharienne.