Catalogue October 2019 by The Art Society : Tribal and Asian

JOE LOUX

Joe Loux is an art dealer based in San Francisco. He has over 20 years experience dealing in art of the non-Western world. He began his career collecting jewellery in North Africa. As his travels broadened, his interests and expertise expanded to encompass textiles and sculpture. Joe bought what he was drawn to, from the magical to the curious, the beautiful to the macabre. Today, Joe’s focus has shifted from buying in the field to buying from private collections. He exhibits at prestigious art fairs across America, and he participates in Parcours des Mondes in Paris. He is a member of ATADA (American Tribal Art Dealer’s Association) and was formerly on the board of directors. He is a member of San Francisco Tribal, and served as the organization’s president for two years. Joe works with his wife, Katie Loux who was formerly Deputy Editor of HALI magazine, the leading international publication on antique textiles and Islamic art. Katie continues to work for HALI and Cover Magazines as a freelance writer. We are always interested in buying rare, and visually exciting objects from all over the world, with an emphasis on the traditional arts of Oceania and Southeast Asia. 594 Clipper Street - CA 94114 San Francisco - U.S.A. Mobile : +1 505 695 6626 Email : joe@joeloux.com Web : www.joeloux.com

INTERVIEW

WHEN WAS YOUR FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH TRIBAL ART? WAS IT IN A MUSEUM OR IN A GALLERY? WHAT TRIBAL ART OBJECT ATTRACTED YOU FIRST? Growing up in the Midwest of the United States, I was first exposed to tribal art at The Field Museum in Chicago. In my early 20s, I lived in Guinea-Bissau for two years, working as a teacher in the Peace Corps. I owned a sea-faring canoe, and travelled around the Bijagos Islands on that boat. I saw initiation ceremonies on the islands, including masks and traditional dance. Those early experiences on the Bijagos Islands got me hooked on remote travel. As I was leaving West Africa, I spent two months in Morocco. At the tail end of my stay I had the classic experience of going into a rug shop in Fez. I had no intention of buying anything, but wound up spending all my money on two rugs. That money was supposed to get me home. I had to sell my camera in Malaga to raise funds for my airfare back to the US. HOW DID YOU BEGIN SELLING TRIBAL ART? I fell in love with Morocco, and I went back and started to buy jewelry because it was portable. At this point, I discovered the thriving flea market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and I made Santa Fe my home in 1995. As I was spending my winters in Morocco, I decided to ship containers of vintage pottery, textiles and other decorative objects to Santa Fe during the flea market during the Summer. After five years, I stopped doing the flea market and started to travel in Asia. Initially I was buying jewelry, and gradually my inventory expanded to include tribal art of Southeast Asia. Around 2000, areas in Southwest China were opening up to foreigners, and interesting objects were coming out. I was buying masks, textiles and objects from Yunnan, Sichuan and Hainan. It was one of the few unexploited areas of the world for discovering material culture WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A DEALER. DID YOU HAVE A MENTOR? I was basically self-taught, particularly in the early days of dealing. My education began in the flea-markets, and these were unruly places, and as my career developed, I did seek out mentors. I would say that Jim Willis was a good friend to me, and someone I looked to for wisdom. Tad Dale is esoteric and eclectic in his interests, and he was the premier tribal art dealer in Santa Fe. I paid attention to his inventory in my youth.

ARE WE SEEING A NEW GENERATION OF COLLECTORS EMERGING IN THE TRIBAL ART MARKET? Yes – I have been seeing young collectors acquiring objects, but there are forces acting against us. In the US, gallery spaces are expensive in good cities, so it’s hard to court new collectors. The trade fairs themselves are faltering. Parcours des Mondes is the only show that is still full of energy. When we find a young collector, we try to support them with good information. Simply put – we love this art, and we hope to share this passion with young collectors. DO YOU COLLECT ANYTHING YOURSELF OR DO YOU JUST ENJOY TURNING DEALS? Once upon a time, when I was doing a show, the walls of my house would be empty. I’m at the point in my career when I can hold back pieces that I love, but I would not call myself a collector. I have an Eskimo parka in my living room that I’m not ready to sell – but I will likely be ready one day. That tends to be my relationship to objects. WHAT ARE THE AESTHETIC ASPECTS THAT GUIDE YOUR CHOICES? We find beauty in a wide range of ethnographic material. We love textiles with natural dyes as they inject colour and a certain richness into our inventory. We love utilitarian objects and jewelry. We are drawn to objects that show great design, in form, pattern or colour. We are also drawn to objects with raw power. WHAT KINDS OF OBJECTS ARE MOST SUITED TO THE FRENCH MARKET? I think that in European cities, people tend to live in small spaces. I would say that small, refined pieces often do well in the French market. Yet, it’s also true that big, high profile pieces sell well in Paris. WHAT ART FAIRS DO YOU CURRENTLY PARTICIPATE IN AND WHICH SEEM TO BE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL? We participate in Parcours des Mondes in Paris, the Indian and Antique Indian & Ethnographic Art Show in Santa Fe, and the San Francisco Tribal and Textile Art Show. Parcours des Mondes is the center of the world for tribal art, but the other shows have their own unique character and audience. They’re all successful for us in different ways. WHAT IS YOUR NEXT PROJECT/PUBLICATION ? Increasing our presence on social media platforms is our primary goal at the moment. This is also key to attracting younger clients. IF THERE WERE NO SHORTAGE OF GREAT MATERIAL FROM ONE CULTURE OR REGION (AFRICAN, OCEANIA, N. AMERICA) WHAT WOULD YOU PREFER TO SPECIALIZE IN?

If I could find enough good objects, I would specialize in the art of the Northwest Coast of the USA. However, I’m eclectic by my very nature. I love the interconnectedness of Austronesian art. ‘Crossroads of the Continents’ is one of my favourite books. DOES YOUR FAMILY SHARE YOUR PASSION OR IS IT YOUR PRIVATE UNIVERSE? DID YOU TRANSMIT YOUR ENTHUSIASM AND YOUR PASSION TO SOME FRIENDS? My wife Katie Loux is my partner in the business. She was Deputy Editor of Hali magazine, which specializes in antique textiles, rugs and Islamic art, so she had an interest in non-Western art. It was easy for her to become interested in the business. She has the travel bug, like me. Our children are young (ages 4 and 7), but they are already interested in the art that they live around. My son Oscar develops a strong attachment to particular pieces and gets upset when they’re sold. YOU’VE BEEN ON THE MARKET FOR A TIME NOW. DO YOU SEE AN EVOLUTION IN THE TRIBAL ART MARKET? I’ve seen trends come and go. Classical tribal objects are in constant demand, but more decorative objects are subject to the tides of the market. Provenance is increasingly important for clients when purchasing objects. DO YOU THINK A COLLECTOR FEELS MORE REASSURED WHEN HE BUYS AT AUCTIONS THAN FROM A DEALER? A good dealer builds trust with clients. Each dealer is unique, and attracts their own clientale. My clients buy from dealers and at auction. I don’t know any client who buys exclusively at auction. I have good relationships with auction houses from a buying and selling standpoint. CAN YOU IMAGINE DOING ANYTHING ELSE FOR A LIVING? IS THIS A BUSINESS YOU RETIRE FROM? I love to travel and to learn languages. I love tribal art. I can’t imagine being as intellectually gratified in any other career. I’ve built up a large knowledge base from this profession, so it’s hard for me to utilize that in another field. WHAT ARE FOR YOU THE TWO OR THREE GREATEST EXHIBITIONS AND WHICH BOOKS DO YOU CHECK MOST OFTEN? I find myself returning to the Musée du Quai Branly catalogue for the exhibition ‘Philippines. Archipelago of Exchange’. It’s become the Bible on the subject. I love having the de Young Museum in my back yard, and visit the Jolika Collection regularly. IS THERE ANY OBJECT IN YOUR COLLECTION THAT YOU LIKE MORE THAN OTHERS? I just sold a panel from a Konyak Naga Morung House from Northeastern India. It is rare to see such large-scale, fine Naga figurative art.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM OBJECT, THE PIECE THAT SHOULD NOT BE MISSING IN YOU IMAGINARY MUSEUM? My dream-piece would be a temple image figure (ki’i) from Hawaii, particularly from the British Museum in London. If that’s impossible, how about a Hawaiian feather-work cape please? THE LAST QUESTION. IF THERE WAS A FIRE IN THE HOUSE, WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU WOULD SAVE? Luckily all the objects in my house are insured, so I would go and save my wife and children. I hope they would save me too!

SALE

TAS is a group of international dealers widely acknowledge for their expertise, which since June 2011 sells tribal art through a website. TAS Membership is by invitation only and reserved exclusively to experts in their field and who participate in major tribal art events and fairs. Pieces are published and changed at the beginning of every month. The objects are presented from different angles with a full description and corresponding dealerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contact information. In order to guarantee the quality of pieces available on the site, objects are systematically validated by a pool of experts from the best specialized companies in the field. Collectors are therefore encouraged to decide and buy with complete confidence. In addition to this, Tribal Art Society proposes a seven day full money back return scheme should the buyer not feel totally satisfied with his purchase. This website is regularly updated with press articles, interviews and news of each of its members in order to keep amateurs well-informed and further contribute to their understanding and appreciation of tribal art More on: www.tribalartsociety.com

BAMANA MASK

01 Suruku mask - Kore Society mask Bamana (Bambara) people, Mali Carved wood Early 20th century Height : 56 cm Price: 3.500 euros

Object presented by: Julien Flak M.: +33 6 84 52 81 36 E.: contact@galerieflak.com

This type of animal mask called « Suruku » appeared during the initiation of young men. During these ceremonial performances, the new initiates had to symbolically die in order to be reborn in their new identities as adults, thus renouncing the privileges of childhood. This mask depicts the stylized head of a hyena. Among the Kore secret society, this animal symbolizes the efforts to acquire and enrich one’s knowledge. This animal mask was inspired by the symbolic ambiguity of the hyena, “at once heedless and wise, voracious and thirsty for knowledge, a thaumaturgic animal both feared and respected,” (see Colleyn, Bamana, 2009, p. 124, pl. 17). This mask is a perfect illustration of the intelligence of forms that was celebrated by pioneering artists at the beginning of the 20th century. William Rubin (« Primitivism in 20th Century Art : Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern », 1984, p. 290), in his study of African art as a source of inspiration for Picasso, identifies the deeply concave plans of the Bamana masks as one of them: « a form of rather idiosyncratic concavity is found in Picasso’s ‘Etudes d’une tête de femme’ (studies of a woman’s head), summer of 1908. The profile versions of the head [...] recall [the forms] of the Bambara masks of a type probably visible in France at that time. »

LOBI BUST

02 Bust Lobi Burkina Faso Wood Early 20th Century or before Heigth: 23 cm Provenance: Old Private collection, Spain Price: 2.900 euros

Object presented by: David Serra T.: +34 (0) 667525597 E.: galeria@davidserra.es

LOBI FIGURE

03 Figure Lobi Burkina Faso Wood Height: 18,5 cm Provenance: Bordier collection Published in : Lobi, monumentales miniatures, F. MetgĂŠ et E. Bordier, Toguna Editions, 2015, p. 26-27 Price: 800 euros