Dealer Maxime Mauchamp of Tsukimi Gallery.
1 How did you get your start?
I received an excellent training working from a very knowledgeable dealer in London, with a great eye when it comes to select pieces. I developed my own interest and started to collect. After I gathered a certain amount of works, I created a website, started to share my collection on social media. I received lots of support from established dealers and started dealing.
2 What is one great discovery you have made?
I could not say it is a ‘great’ discovery, but it is always satisfying to be able to find out that a piece of art has more to say that I originally thought. I purchased a few years ago a large earthenware vase with a striking shape and a beautiful glazing.
I bought it because I loved it, without any precise information. Then I identified the maker Akitoshi Ito (b.1951), whom I did not know before my research, and I realised that this very piece was the one displayed by the artist in 1991 during the Nitten, probably the most prestigious Japanese modern crafts exhibition.
The earthenware vase identified as by Akitoshi Ito (b.1951) by Maxime Mauchamp of Tsukimi Gallery.
3 Something you secretly hope you’ll never sell?
I would love to find a metalwork piece by the ‘Living National Treasure’ Yukie Osumi; her inlay technique is fabulous. But I am afraid that this treasure will stay on my shelves and will not be for sale!
4 What is one thing you couldn’t do without?
A little Japanese modern enamel vase which is in my living room. I purchased it as a pair when I was visiting a flea market with my grandmother in Burgundy, where I come from. I have one of the vases, and she has the other one. Awful quality and absolutely not suitable for sale! But it has a priceless sentimental value and it reminds me of the beautiful day we had.
5 What events do you have coming up?
This autumn I will take part in Asian Art in London as an emerging dealer. A selection of artworks will be displayed at Japan House during the exhibition The Art of Collecting: Japan (October 24-November 20).
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