Jean-Marc Decrop


Jean-Marc Decrop is a French art collector. He is a specialist of Chinese contemporary art. He is one among the art collectors who have contributed to the discovery, the recognition and the influence of Chinese contemporary art abroad.

Biography

Jean-Marc Decrop was born in 1955 in France. Passionnate about art, but convinced that management is also important in culture, he studies management, taking responsibility of the cultural committee of his school.
He starts his career as cultural attaché at the French Embassy of Asunción in Paraguay but quickly moves to Asia where, as an expatriate in Japan on his free time from business, he organizes several exhibitions.
He discovers Chinese Contemporary Art in 1992, starts his collection, sets up as a resident in Hong Kong in 1993 and deepens his knowledge with Chinese avant-garde. In November 2001, he is appointed expert at the French National Chamber of Experts CNES for Chinese contemporary art. He becomes then the first European expert certified in that specialty.
Influenced by his relationship with Hans van Dijck, he is also at that time a partner with Johnson Chang for the gallery Hanart Taipei, of which he is a 25% shareholder during 1995–2000.
Partner and artistic advisor of Paris Galerie Loft from 1999 to 2007, he produces as a forerunner several pioneering monographic exhibitions of major Chinese contemporary artists:
Meanwhile he also curates non-commercial shows at 11 museums or foundations for which he writes catalogue essays, among which :
  • Champs de la sculpture, Paris, 1999
  • Futuro, CACOM Contemporary Art Center of Macao Foundation Oriente, China, 2000
  • China, FAAP Museum of the University of São Paulo, Video :, Brazil, 2002
  • Paris-Beijing, Espace Cardin, Paris, 2002
  • Subvertion and Poetry, Culturgest Foundation, Lisbon 2003.
His actions progressively contribute to the recognition of Chinese art in Europe. Through his purchases as a collector and as a gallerist, he supports this movement and its artists.
In 2001, he sells his personal collection of Figuration Narrative. From an early stage, he tries to encourage French intellectuals and journalists to write about Chinese art by inviting them to tour workshops and artists studios in Beijing : Christine Buci-Glucksmann, Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr, Michel Nuridsany.

He helps to build many European collections
He organizes loans, via Galerie Loft of good Chinese artworks to international museums.

Articles

CNN broadcasting of a film on the exhibition « Futuro », 2000 CACOM Macau Contemporary Art Centre, Macau, curator Jean-Marc Decrop guided tour and interview.