THE RENAISSANCE MAN

Magnus Renfrew tells Augustman that, "All art was once contemporary. Artists try to make sense of the world and their place within it," and he has been helping Singaporeans make sense of their cultural and aesthetic sensitivities with an annual shot in the arm by way of Art SG.

As a cultural entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience, how do you feel the industry has changed and have most of the developments been for the better?

The art world has internationalised and broadened from a Euro- and American-centric view of the world to become much more multipolar. Museums in the West have, over the past 10 years or so, become much more self-aware of the exclusionary nature of their institutional collecting and exhibition programming. A great deal of progress has been made, but there is more to be done. On the market front, one of the biggest changes over the past 20 years has been the geographical expansion of the market. Asia has now become an incredibly important part of the global art market and will continue to develop as economies across Asia develop.

Art fairs have played an important market and cultural role in promoting cross-cultural collecting and in broadening awareness of work produced from different cultural and aesthetic backgrounds.

Is it at all possible to compare the work of a Renaissance master, and the modern works produced today?