Vincent Coppée – Tangier Art Collector
I have yet to reread Tintin in the Congo, but listening to Vincent Coppée speak, his eyes full of mischief, I can easily imagine him in 1985, a Belgian-born young man arriving in Kinshasa, Zaïre (formerly Léopoldville in the Belgian Congo). He began working in communications and advertising for his own agency and a large international corporation.
Vincent, looking for favourable places to carry out his work, found, among others, the Académie des Beaux-Arts of Kinshasa, where he met the young painter Aimé Mpane. There, Vincent encountered and began to delve into African art; with care and passion, he soon started to assemble a collection, avoiding mediocrity and works by ‘artists without an art’*.
In 1996, he returned to Brussels, where he diversified his collection with sculpture and photography, including works by Robert Mapplethorpe and Walker Evans. In 2007, he sold a large portion of his collection to take a year’s sabbatical, returning to Africa, with a first stop in Tangier. But his journey ended there: he had a home built, featuring beautiful lines that pay homage to his passion for art.
Daniel Aron, Tangier, May 2018
*Capote, Truman. Local Color. Random House, 1950.
Articles you also might like
For the first time since the pandemic, visitors in all regions of Finland have the opportunity to find routes along fascinating sites with a new website.
Hermès introduced H24, their new men’s fragrance for which introduces a new composition of fresh notes to design a scent with a lively, electric character.
Vitra Design Museum presents ‘Home Stories: 100 Years, 20 Visionary Interiors’, an exhibition showcasing the evolution of interior design in the past century. Adrian Madlener speaks with chief curator Jochen Eisenbrand about the exhibition’s focus on substance over style, moments of intense discourse, and creation.
PADesignartonline complements PAD Paris and PAD London, facilitating meetings and commercial exchanges for aficionados and collectors alike.