Pearl Lam

Pearl Lam is a Hong Kong-born gallerist, patron, and curator. She is recognized as a leading authority on Asian contemporary art and design. In 2021, Tatler recognized her as one of Asia’s most Influential people. She is regarded as one of the most instantly recognizable gallerists globally due to her unique personal style.

Her commitment to art and design aims to promote cultural exchange between East Asia and the world, and present Asia’s art and design contributions to a global audience. In 2008, she founded the China Art Foundation, which showcases the rich history of Chinese culture and traditions on a global stage.

The Financial Times has described Lam as “A Powerhouse Of China’s Art World”. She founded the Pearl Lam Galleries (formerly known as Contrasts Gallery) in 2005, a notable entity in Asia’s contemporary art scene with spaces in Hong Kong and Shanghai, known for its cultural ambition that re-evaluates perceptions of cultural practice in China. Lam frequently participates in speaking engagements, focusing on contemporary issues such as inclusivity in the art market, promoting cultural exchange, and the acknowledgment of Chinese contemporary art and design.

Life and career
Lam was born in Hong Kong, which was then a British mandate. Lam is the daughter of Lim Por-yen, a Hong Kong real estate tycoon and founder of the Lai Sun Group. At the age of eleven she was sent to be educated in the United States and the United Kingdom, where she eventually studied accountancy and law. Following her graduation she returned to Shanghai to help her family oversee a real estate project. Not wanting to follow in her parents' footsteps, Lam soon became involved in the Chinese contemporary art scene.

In 1993, Lam started organising pop-up exhibitions in Hong Kong.

In 2004, Lam was asked by the French Cultural Attache to organise and curate a major exhibition in Shanghai as part of a year of cultural exchanges. The exhibition was called ‘Awakening: La France Mandarin’ and travelled to Beijing, Hong Kong and Paris that year. Lam was nominated as the Chinese design ambassador to France by the French Foreign Ministry and Culture Ministry. From 2000 to 2008, Lam authored the column, "The Rave", for Baccarat Magazine (then known as 'Talkies').

In 2005 Lam opened her first permanent gallery space in Shanghai, in the early years of its rise as a centre of contemporary art. Focusing on design, Lam used the gallery to introduce Chinese collectors to the international art market. Her exhibition for French designer Andree Putman in Shanghai was also shown in Hong Kong's Design Centre. The same year, Lam participated in the Forum Talks at the Foire de Paris Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain, and at a conference for the French Senate on Luxury as a guest speaker.

In 2006, Lam opened a new gallery on Middle Jiangxi Road in Shanghai where it remains today. In 2009, the design gallery was moved to Xianggang Road Gallery. In 2012, she opened a permanent branch of Pearl Lam Galleries in Hong Kong's Pedder Building. The gallery's debut exhibition was curated by Gao Minglu. It was named the best gallery show of the year. The gallery then changed its name from Contrasts Gallery to Pearl Lam Galleries.

In 2008, Lam founded the China Art Foundation. The foundation aims to foster global interest in contemporary Chinese art.

In early 2014, Lam opened a Singapore branch of Pearl Lam Galleries in Gillman Barracks. To inaugurate the new outpost, Lam hosted a group show curated by the author and broadcaster Philip Dodd. Her works extends to sponsoring exhibitions of western art in China and funding an artist-in-residence programme in Shanghai for Western and Asian designers.

In 2015, a second gallery space in the Sheung Wan district of Hong Kong was opened with a focus on nurturing younger talents. The inaugural exhibition featured beeswax sculptures by the Beijing-based artist Ren Ri. The exhibit highlights Lam's support for young Chinese artists. Born in 1984, Ren creates beeswax sculptures by removing the artist's subjectivity and allowing bees, nature, and chance to take over the creation process.

One of the artists Lam represents is London-based Philip Colbert, a self-titled “pioneer of the metaverse” who launched NFT project The Lobstars. Lam also enjoys exclusivity with Mr Doodle, aka British artist Sam Cox, who covered his entire Kent home in his graphic, graffiti-like imagery.

In 2023, Pearl Lam launched The Pearl Lam Podcast, featuring thought-provoking discussions with influential figures from around the world, aiming to inspire, inform, and push the boundaries of conventional thinking.

Recognition

 * 2008: One of 100 Women of the Year in 2008 by Corriere della Sera
 * 2012: One of the "2012 Art Power 100" by L'Officiel Art
 * 2012: "Design Power" list by Art+Auction
 * 2013: One of the most powerful women "Asia's Women in the Mix" by Forbes magazine
 * 2014: One of the top twenty-five women in the art world by artnet news
 * 2016: "The 2016 Power List: High-Wattage Women of the Art World" by Blouin Art Info