Following serial cultural entrepreneur Kevin Poon around Hong Kong on a typical working day can be an exhausting and Exhilarating business, as we discover.
Why don’t we meet at Unscheduled? We can chat then,” says Kevin Poon, during an unexpected call in the middle of a day whose blistering heat presages the imminent arrival of a tropical cyclone.
The Unscheduled he’s referring to is a pop-up organised by The Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, which asked around 50 local galleries to exhibit and sell a selection of their works at a temporary location in Central, where Topshop used to be. Poon’s Woaw Gallery, which he set up in 2019, is represented on the mezzanine floor and I find him addressing potential buyers about the work of American artist Charlie Roberts.
“Roberts is currently in Norway and you can see his inspiration from traditional art, pop culture, hip-hop, comics and folk art,” he tells them, as heads nod politely. “I really like all the watches in the paintings,” a masked face in the crowd says out loud. The socially distant gathering makes strangers of us all.
We amble around the space, Poon recognises most of the exhibitors and with the ones he doesn’t know he makes a point of going to shake their hand, letting them know he appreciates their efforts and collection. As a new gallery owner, albeit a long-time collector, has he been keeping track of what the average buyer is looking at?
“I’ve been working my entire adult life, I’ve set myself goals and ambitions early on, but if people want to think I’ve got bank, let them – I know my truth.”
Kevin Poon
“It’s interesting, because before, my perspective initially was more from a collector’s point of view,” he says taking pictures of sculptures he likes. “So I’d be visiting art fairs and galleries, looking at and buying things I personally like. But since I opened my gallery, I’m aware of what a lot of people are collecting and looking at. You know, many of the artists and buyers are my friends. There’s a lot of people who love art, collecting art, and I really feel it this year, especially in Hong Kong and China, people are respecting creativity, respecting the art, respecting intellectual property. It’s been amazing to observe what sells.”
It’s no secret that Poon hobnobs with artists and stars of all stripes. As we make our way through the space, it seems he’s on first-name terms with just about everyone, with fist-bumps for “homies” and bear-hugs for old friends – friends such as local artist Michael Lau, who’s poised to exhibit at his gallery in Central as we go to print.
“I buy things from artists I’ve been following. Usually, it’s like a friend, or a friend of a friend. Or something I saw online that captivated me. It’s very organic. I support everyone, but it comes from a very genuine space.”
Woaw Gallery has previously featured names such as Koichi Sato, Anna Weyant, Cristina Banban, Simphiwe Ndzube and Sam Friedman. Does Poon have to like the artists to like the art?
“That is an interesting question,” he says, pausing before quietly repeating my question to himself. “OK, so you know, sometimes what you like might not do well, and what you don’t like might actually sell well. So, I guess it’s a give and take. I’m learning more about it as I go along. But, generally speaking, everyone’s super nice. Obviously, if you like the art, then you’ll try to like the artist. But if you don’t like the artist as a person, that’s kind of … a bummer. Man, I really have to think about this.”
“I’m not really afraid of failure. Not everything has gone my way – I’ve been in business for
Kevin Poon
nearly two decades, and I’ve seen the tide go up and down. But I’m still around, right?”
The gallery in Central opened when the pandemic was raging. Did he commandeer the space as luxury brands were zooming out? “Yes, and no. Central has traditionally been for large multinational designer spaces, but my gallery – it’s such a small programme. When the opportunity came to open at that space, for a rate I could work with, why wouldn’t I take it up?
“With the gallery, making money isn’t really at the forefront, it’s not the number-one mission. With that being said, I still want to keep it relatively organic in the sense that I don’t have to do things because I’m chasing a sale. If that happens later down the road, when you have shareholders, then it’s a different question. I still can be very free to select things that I pick from my gut instinct. I go with what I feel is right and then just roll the dice.”
Poon strides out of the pop-up, and we head to the street where his car and driver are waiting. We jump in and race over to a space off Tung Street in Sheung Wan, where a pop-up of his streetwear brand Clot’s collaboration with Sacai is in the making. With construction full on to meet a looming deadline for a 500-guest event, the heady whiffs of wood chippings and fresh paint fill the air, but Poon barges through, nonchalantly surveying the work in progress. “Things fall into place at the right time,” he says.
As many in Hong Kong – including almost 130,000 social-media followers – know, Poon’s got multiple arrows in his quiver, His business ventures include Clot and Juice stores studded around China, Hong Kong and LA. His dining ventures include the Elephant Grounds cafes, restaurants La Rambla, Mashi No Mashi, Sushi Mamoru and Wagyu Mafia, and bars such as The Diplomat and Kyle & Bain – the latter, a martini bar that’s part of Margo, was recently voted one of the 50 best restaurants in town. He’s a designer and a restaurateur, he’s been a DJ and he’s organised music festivals. It begs the question: does he have attention deficit disorder?
“I’m sure I do. My wife thinks I do, my teachers in school couldn’t handle my energy,” he says with a loud guffaw. Last October, Poon married model Fiona McLeish, and the couple are now parents to a baby boy. Poon’s a wanted man – his phone doesn’t stop pinging and many strings pull him in myriad directions. “I have the opportunity to take my interests and make them into a business that works for me. Every brand or restaurant or bar is a reflection of some part of me. To be honest, I’m not that much of a drinker or partier anymore, but that may be the image some people have of me, because of what I do for a living, but that’s not the real me.”
I put it to Poon that there’s an urban legend surrounding him – that all his ventures are funded by a $100 million inheritance from his father when he was 21, and not the fruits of his own business acumen. “People think I have a hundred mil? That’s crazy!” he says, and he bursts out laughing. By this time, we’ve popped over to Margo where ace barkeep John Nugent whips up a cocktail for us. It’s three in the afternoon, and Poon swirls the ice in his cocktail, never really drinking.
“Please, let me make it very clear. My father worked in a tractor company. There were many difficulties in the early part of my life – my parents separated ages ago. I didn’t inherit a million or billion – I’ve been working my entire adult life, I’ve set myself goals and ambitions early on, but if people want to think I’ve got bank, let them,” he says with a shrug. “I know my truth.”
Poon’s rep is rock solid. The media has been charting the course of his career since 2003, when he first started making noise on the club scene as a DJ, and after that with streetwear brand Clot.
We pop next door to his gallery, which is also two doors down from the latest Juice store, set to open later this year. If he makes all the right moves, will every door that opens on 9 Queen’s Road have his stamp on it? Doesn’t it ever get overwhelming – and could it all come crashing down?
“Well, I’m not really afraid of failure. Everything has its ups and downs – you know, I did the music festival BloHK party, which took so much effort, time and money. It was pre-Clockenflap and I didn’t make money on it. Years ago, I went into businesses with my buddy and things didn’t work out and threw us off our path. Not everything has gone my way – I’ve been in business for nearly two decades, and I’ve seen the tide go up and down. But I’m still around, right?”
What’s his favourite part of the business? “My favourite part of my job is having things that I can add to. Yes, I know I have multiple responsibilities – you should see the size of my Excel sheets! But it allows me to switch gears: one track, it’s the fashion and then I switch to the art and then to the food and beverage, and then I go back to fashion. I think it actually helps me problem solve and think outside of the box. The most challenging part of my job is time management, my presence is required at some, my attention to others. Ever since my son was born, I’ve been trying to limit my screen time to be present with him and my wife. I think it’s the most common complaint in Hong Kong from every wife everywhere: ‘Put your phone down, we’re at dinner!’That work/life balance hasn’t been easy.”
Fatherhood seems to have done wonders for the forty-something, who has a new-found serenity about him. Poon has been in the eye of a media storm for years and used to handle things differently, so this zen avatar is a new one for us. “Well, that’s because I’m spending the day with Prestige and having a good time,” he says, before adding more sincerely, “OK, I do have days when I’m frustrated if things aren’t aligned. Things that are outside of my control, for example. When you’re doing cross-cultural business between the United States, Hong Kong and Greater China there’s always uncertainty. The laws are different, the governments are different. That keeps me up.
“And sometimes, I’m just off because I’m talking to people in New York, and then I’m waking up early to talk to people in LA and then in Europe, but I think having a positive mentality and getting a night’s sleep really helps.”
The phone rings again for the nth time, beckoning Poon back to the gallery space for a photocall with media partners. Walking back, he tells me how Covid grounded him in Hong Kong, how weekly flights between capital cities are no longer a priority when a Zoom call will do, and how his son has helped shift priorities in a seismic, soul-searching way.
Walking into the pop-up we discover there’s been a change since we left. Every single painting on display by Woaw has been sold, including Night Kitchen, a large oil on canvas.
Poon tells his team to pull out pieces that are in storage in the back – maybe call the main gallery and get other works to hang on the walls. There is more, I ask him? “There’s always more,” he says.
Kevin Poon Cover Story
ART DIRECTION
RICKY LO & JACKY TAM
PHOTOGRAPHER RICKY LO
STYLIST JACKY TAM
PHOTO ASSISTANT
ALSTON CHAN, AZEAL HO, KELVIN SIM
MAKEUP ARTIST LITTLEWHITE
HAIR STYLIST SAM KO
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