Pilipili Mulongoy (c. 1914-2007) ; Sans titre, 1954, Estimation : 4500 / 6500 €

Pierre Loos, interview with a tribal art dealer

The great merchant and traveller Pierre Loos, has been setting up his Ambre Congo gallery in the Sablons district of Brussels for several decades. Founder of the Bruneaf fair, a keen market observer, he is about to sell part of his collection to Piasa.

Casimir Zagourski (1883-1944), Danseuse Ya-Koma, Congo Belge
Casimir Zagourski (1883-1944), Danseuse Ya-Koma, Congo Belge

You are about to sell part of your collection, in three consecutive sales, to Piasa. What led you to this?

It is time for me to pass on things. In three parts, fifty years of my life will pass by and correspond to who I am, to who I have been. For someone like me, who has had the chance to travel, leaving without transmitting is like running away like a thief. When some people build walls, I prefer bridges.

It expresses a little bit your vision of the merchant, like that of a smuggler. To exchange objects of great symbolic value, at least culturally significant, is to exchange ideas…

The very fact that I discovered things, that I brought them to light, is very rewarding. For example, when I brought back the Kuba fabrics from Kassaï and the whole world became interested, including some major American universities, it was something strong. Yet I didn’t invent anything! I just believed in something. A merchant’s instinct. I can’t appreciate a Fontana… I’m on the beauty of the gesture, the work, the material, the patina, the history.

Are you approaching the question, what were and what are your selection criteria as a merchant?

First of all, seniority. I hate copies and fakes, it makes me sick. The rules are simple: an object must have been made by people from the tribes, for a role in the tribes. It must have a patina of use, but never be artificially aged – which is done for tourists. So authenticity first, originality, and then beauty finally. But that’s up to me alone.

Today, we can see that the price of African classical art pieces is rising, that records are falling. How do you view this?

It’s time! It’s time! It is unlikely that the artistic testimonies of the primordial tribes would be considered as tourist art. When we exceeded 25,000 € 25 years ago, there was an article in the press! That is no longer the case today, fortunately. The comparison with contemporary art is also unsustainable. Why would one sell a Basquiat for tens of millions of euros, and a masterpiece of humanity for a few hundred thousand? This is not reasonable, and what is happening now is a readjustment. Moreover, the poor vision we had of tribal art explains why he did not enter the Louvre – except through the back door thanks to the influence of Chirac and Jacques Kerchache (in Le Pavillon des Sessions, editor’s note).

You are also a great collector of Congolese modern art. Lately, this scene seems to be coming out of the shadows, at least in France. The latest example is “Beauté Congo” at the Cartier Foundation, under the direction of André Magnin, where your works were numerous.

“Beauté Congo” was a very beautiful exhibition and I admire the work of André Magnin. Concerning Congolese art, I hope, and I believe, that it will be an explosion. The Piasa sale will be the first in a structured, and important, series of this school in Congo. I don’t think I’ll get any great prices because that’s the beginning, but I hope it will set the foundation for the market around which Congo art will develop over time.

I focused on the artists who worked in Romain Desfossés’ studio, the heart of Congolese painted modernity. Of the forty artists in question, about ten stand out and four or five are known. Everyone has their own style: Bela, who painted with her fingers, without the slightest brushstroke, but also others: Pilipili Mulongoy, Mwenze Kibwanga…

In addition to that, you feed projects related to the sale….

For the past three years, we have been working with Thomas Boyer, who has university knowledge, on an extensive catalogue that will be the bible of Congolese painted art from 1928 to 1960. Its publication comes after a heavy collection of information, documents and photos. No one can do better, because we have access to thirty years of purchases from me, and several archives that we have connected. I will also set up an expertise firm. My proximity to the paintings allowed me to know what counterfeiters don’t know. With the recognition of this school.

« Arts Premiers et Ethnographie », 17 septembre 2018
« Art Moderne Africain », 18 septembre 2018
« Photographies de Casimir Zagourski », 18 septembre 2018
Piasa
118, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris
https://www.piasa.fr

Share on:

About the author

Clément Thibault

Clément Thibault is an independent critic and curator, member of AICA, Jeunes Critiques d'art and C-E-A. After studying art history and cultural management, he was assistant curator to Laurence Dreyfus, then editor-in-chief of Art Media Agency (AMA) for two years. Recently, he has participated in various books and exhibition catalogues including Fred Forest au Centre Pompidou (éditions Première Partie) and the monographs of Wahib Chehata (Ut Pictura, Hemeria editions), Vladimir Skoda (Art Absolument editions) and Lucien Murat (Suzanne Tarasiève editions). From ethnology to digital art, his inclusive approach to art writing and curating revolves around reflections on image, technology and spiritualities - he is preparing a double exhibition on the subject at the Musée de Soissons, Deus Ex Machina. Clément Thibault teaches art history in specialized institutions (ICART, EAC, IESA), and sits on the board of directors of Le Cube (digital creation center, Issy-les-Moulineaux). In 2020, he was a member of the jury of the Salon de Montrouge, and nominated for the Dauphine Prize for contemporary art, with Guillaume Bouisset.

You might also like