Chloe Chiu used to devour manga when she was little. Her favourite was the one about “a naughty boy with his cat, living with the family”. She’s forgotten the name of the Japanese comic but remembers the characters. She also loved watching Doraemon, the popular robotic cat turned cultural icon that spawned multiple TV series, films, and books.
Even now, with children and responsibilities in tow, she still finds time to watch anime, particularly One Piece, which debuted in 1999 and still releases episodes every week.
“I have friends who started watching when they were young. Despite marriage and children, they still follow the series religiously,” Chiu says.
Therefore, it is no surprise that she gravitated towards Japanese pop art. The Beijing native grew up in a creative environment. Her father was a well-known collector of Chinese imperial antiques and she marvelled at these pieces in her home as a child.
Art collecting began much later in her life. “In 2013, I visited a museum exhibition in Shanghai that showcased the works of Yoshitomo Nara, Yayoi Kusama, and Takashi Murakami. It was the first time I experienced contemporary art,” says Chiu. She was transfixed. The pieces transported her back to her childhood when she read manga and watched anime.
Blue Photograph by Mr., from Chloe Chiu's private collection.Photo: Cher Him 
Unreleased pieces from Yoshitomo Nara, from Chloe Chiu's private collection.Photo: Cher Him
Her first piece was a Yoshitomo Nara that she won at a Christie’s auction in 2013. Today, Chiu has “around 100 pieces”, most of which are Japanese contemporary art. The former equity analyst left her job after a decade to start the Onfinitive Art Foundation. It began as a way to display the artwork she had collected over the years, but she soon realised that it was a great way to support emerging artists through residencies, exhibitions, and the like.
Chiu is also considering setting up a base in Singapore. She recently held a weeklong exhibition titled “Neo Japan: Pop Art Explored” at Artspace@Helutrans in Singapore. Together with curator Kutsuna Miwa, they selected 60 works by emerging and established Japanese contemporary artists. She contributed 10 pieces from her personal collection.
Unlike most art collectors, Chiu doesn’t need to meet the artists before buying their works. She prefers letting her emotions and instinct guide her purchases. “If I had met Mr., a young Japanese artist and former protégé of Takashi Murakami, before viewing his art pieces, I don’t think I would have bought them,” she says, laughing.
For Chiu, anything below US$50,000 (S$67,786) is an easy purchase, as long as she likes the work’s aesthetic.
She begins researching only when the piece exceeds that price. Along with other things, she studies the artist’s history, the market prices for other pieces they have created, and their fundamentals. Usually, this process takes several days.
Which work from her collection would she keep if she could only keep one, I asked. Without hesitation, she pointed to the Murakami piece (above). “In the Japanese contemporary art scene, he’s an established figure.”
