Bearer of the artistic flame

Simon de Pury, the esteemed Swiss auctioneer, art dealer, curator, collector, DJ, and photographer, embodies a mesmerizing presence and an astute perception of art, life, and the human experience.

In contemporary urban landscapes, a significant number of individuals appear to be sidestepping fundamental truths that could illuminate their potential and ultimately offer greater purpose and fulfillment, as they grapple with choices concerning their careers, lives, or even their very identities. Simon de Pury, infused with a touch of creative elegance, shares his distinctive narrative and insights on traversing the complexities of existence while remaining grounded yet free-spirited.

What is your vantage point on art and its significance for humanity?

“Art is a visual expression of our intimation of ourselves. Each reaction to art is correct. Every view is legitimate. Art is global and universal. I love art from all parts of the world. Art is a thing that brings people together. From different places, religions, upbringings… through art, you understand different cultures. Art is a part of education in life. Art helps overcome challenges in life. A very bright example of how art is needed in the lives of people is the pandemic. People had a thirst for culture, music, cinema, and literature. Art has a positive influence on people’s behavior. It can heal people from the thirst for beauty, finding harmony, and instincts that we all have.”

“By spending a lot of time with people, you get a look into their lives. When you see how somebody collects or how they install their homes, that’s a way to look into their soul. The way you collect or install a home reflects your personality. It carries your handwriting.”

If you were to describe yourself in just one word, what would it be?

In my case, the word, if I had to say one word, is passion. Everything that I do is with passion. I am unable to engage in something that I don’t enjoy doing. I mean, of course you have plenty of stuff to do in your life, you can’t just do enjoyable things, however, each occupation, if you do it with passion, it gets transformed.

During your student years in Japan, have you encountered any particular experiences or teachings that shaped your mindset?

“Lessons, you know… I was very, very bad at school. I hated school. Everything I’ve learned, I learned without realizing that I was learning. I’ve learned so many hard lessons, of course. We all make mistakes, but when you repeat them and repeat them several times, you get severely punished, and yet that is the biggest challenge because we all have patterns. First try to identify what your pattern is and then try to get out of your pattern, because otherwise you become the victim of your pattern.”

“I believe greatly in karma”

What advice do you have for aspiring artists and creative individuals who are on the cusp of entering the art world?

One thing is certain, I think most adults are shaped by their youth. I think adolescence is the key moment when you discover yourself and discover what really makes you tick. I have spent my whole life basically living out my dreams of my adolescence.

Curiosity is the main engine. Freedom of expression is the way. In art, the only thing that counts is look, look, look. In music, it’s listen, listen, listen. Many of this generation are driven and are very, very impressive. Talent, of course, is the most prestigious gift. It’s very important if you can make the best out of it. For that, you need determination, ambition in your pursuit of goals, and, of course, practice. Advancing your skills is crucial.

Whenever you dig deeper into anybody’s life, it’s not a motorway all along. Every life has its challenges, its obstacles, moments of self-doubt, moments of crisis, moments of sadness, and moments of deep, deep sorrow. Of course, with social media, we give an image of ourselves, that is the image that we want to give, and it’s a facade. That’s why I always say, don’t judge a book by its cover!”

“The minute you stop dreaming, the minute you stop having goals, it’s game over.”

How can one tap into that deep sense of passion or inspiration? Are there specific spaces, whether they be artistic or otherwise, that provide you with the most inspiration?

That’s a good question because the spaces we move into have a massive influence on our thinking. I love any spaces that have high ceilings. I feel that part of the difficulties we encounter is that we all live and work in environments where we have very low ceilings, and that has an impact on your way of thinking. Not only does this impact your way of thinking, but it also affects your overall well-being. I’d prefer a small place with high ceilings to a large place with low ceilings.

I believe in Feng shui. I have not studied Feng shui in any way, but I believe that there are certain spaces where you walk in and instantly feel bad, and other spaces where you instantly feel good. This, of course, has to do with energy because not only us humans have energy, everything is energy. So if you are very sensitive to bad energy, but I’m like a sponge, I can take it all. I can fill myself with bad energy as well. So yes, I think it’s key to look for spaces that stimulate you.

I remember when, when my kids were little, we went to a hotel in Zermatt, and it was kind of overdecorated, and I literally felt physically unwell, and my children were complaining, “Don’t be so difficult!” Yet I just could not enjoy it. It doesn’t have to do with simplicity or not. I can love a place that is very, very simple, but when there is a kind of bad aura, then it really becomes disturbing. You can see what an impact it has on us. My challenge is that I’m overly sensitive. I remember when I was a child, my mother used to always say, “Oh, he’s too sensitive,” which is an asset, but it’s a curse as well.

Maintaining momentum is crucial for artists and individuals in the creative industry, as well as many other fields. But how can one effectively capture and sustain it?

“Living in the moment—thats what very, very few people are able to do. Only children live in the moment constantly. Constantly in the moment. We are either obsessed with our past or obsessed with our future instead of living in the moment.

We all know how our human journey ends. Despite this, my motto remains that the best is yet to come. I think that it helps you when you have that attitude, because the minute you stop dreaming, the minute you stop having goals, it’s game over.

When I sold my remaining stake in Philips, I thought that that was the last time that I had conducted an auction. Then people kept asking me, various cultural institutions or various charities kept asking me to conduct auctions on their behalf. And in a way, I conduct more auctions today than I ever did. That happened on a way of its own, and of course, I’m delighted to do so. As long as I’m asked to do it, I do it with pleasure. It is nice when you see that you help towards medical goals or cultural institutions by being able to have functioning budgets thanks to the funds you have raised. I do feel that we are all very, very privileged, most people who are active in the art world. When you have been given the luck of having an interesting or exciting existence, it is important to give back to people who have been less fortunate and less privileged in a sense. I think that success brings an obligation to be philanthropically active.

I feel it’s also a question of karma. I’ve always seen the people who are very, very generous, they do get so much back, and sometimes when you feel the people do it completely selfishly, in the end, sometimes they don’t have quite the same karma. So I believe greatly in karma, and I believe in karma beyond our own life. It has an impact on our families and descendants, and we are the result of our ancestors. It’s fascinating.”

Images courtesy of the artist.