TTT.O.P Collection

T.O.P of BIGBANG and his love for Art: A necessary Thread.

Let's start from the beginning. T.O.P (Choi Seunghyun) grew up in a family of artist in different fields. He stated in an interview that his mother and sister, aunt, older female cousin etc all majored in art. Seo Gunbae, a well known korean novelist was his maternal Grandfather.

Lee Insung, (1912-1950) Korea’s genius representative modern art painter was also his oldest maternal aunt’s father-in-law.

but his most well-known relative in the art field is Kim Whanki (1913-1974) South Korea’s pioneer of abstract painting and the artist with the most expensive Korean artwork to be auctioned in a foreign auction house.

He often posted about his great-grandfather's artwork through Instagram, owned one of his paintings and even featured one of his artwork in his music video for 'Doom Dada' with the permission of the Whanki Museum. (ss by TOP_oftheTOP)

T.O.P is well known among his fans as a collector, He said that he started collecting Lego bricks at age 4, sneakers during his teens, and Art toys and Bearbricks when Bigbang started often seen with it in docus, photoshoots, airport arrivals, and even in one of his MV Knockout.

Later on, he started collecting Chairs and designer Furniture which is also seen at his music video for 'Doom Dada'.

He developed a love for chairs and furniture which he often talks about in his interviews. Because of that, His members and even his former boss YHS started coming to him for advice when buying furniture.

T.O.P's private chair collection was also displayed at the Samsung Museum of Art in 2015 for a temporary exhibition which featured designer chairs made by Gaudi, Ron Arad and Charlotte Perriand.

It was because of his love for art & design that he won the Visual Culture Award at the Prudential Eye Awards in SG.
"Ciclitira explained that Choi was chosen because of the influence he has on the young generation in Asia with his passion for modern art, design, and music."

T.O.P also received a chair collaboration proposal with the Swiss furniture company Vitra.

It was also the same year when he started his first venture as a co-curator for the ArtScience Museum in Singapore.
http://www.moonrok.com/bigbangs-top-revealed-have-curated-exhibit-singapore-art-museum/

Now, His love for Artworks. T.O.P has a massive Art Collection that spans from blue-chip names in the art world to emerging, contemporary artists. His collection is often seen posted on his Instagram account, decorated around his Villa.

Unlike what someone said,Art is something that T.O.P is very passionate about.Often studying it whenever he has a free time, visiting museums and galleries, seeking out curators and the artist themselves to understand it more.He stated that Art is something that soothes his heart

T.O.P visiting museums all around the world (cr. to the pictures)

Some of the notable artists in his collection are Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, Rudolf Stingel, Paik Nam-june, Kim Whan-ki, Gokita Tomoo, Francis Bacon to name a few.

Some his favorite artist are Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jackson Pollock, Cy Twombly, Willem de Kooning, Alexander Calder and Mark Rothko to name a few which he often posts on Instagram and reference in his lyrics.

He also has a lot of friends and acquaintances in the art world, from curators, art critiques to artists and painters which he also owns an artwork from. (Mark Grotjahn, Jonas Wood, David Hockney, and Lee Ufan, a renowned Korean minimalist painter and sculptor)

Kohei Nawa, one of T.O.P's close friends whom he collaborated in the past. His Pixcell Art Sculpture was also featured in one of Bigbang's music video 'Bae Bae'. T.O.P also owns this sculpture.

Naoki Tomita, also one of his friends whom he commissioned paintings from for each of his members, YHS, and his nephew Yeonjun

T.O.P is not only an Art lover and collector but he's also an artist himself as he participated in Bigbang's 10th Anniversary Exhibition BIGBANG10 THE EXHIBITION: 'A TO Z'. (scans by ppwong)

For his 2013 solo single 'Doom Dada', T.O.P filled his music video with references of some of his favorites from art to film including A Space Odyssey, Salvador Dali, Dadaism, cult films, and much more.

In 2016 after a year of preparation, T.O.P announced his biggest venture in the art world yet, as a Curator for Sotheby's, the largest and most well-known art auctioneers in the world.

The news made noise in 2016 as this is the first time Sotheby's collaborated with a young private collector let alone a Kpop star.

T.O.P personally curated the whole auction which includes 6 specially commissioned works from different artists.

The auction features 28 works of art from renowned artist as well as lesser-known, emerging talents which also reflects T.O.P's eclectic taste in Art.

The auction was also covered by CNN. Check out the full video here.
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/t-o-p-tttop-sothebys/

All proceeds from the auction were donated to the Asian Cultural Council (ACC), an established foundation that supports the development of young Asian artists – which once supported Kim Whanki. http://www.ajudaily.com/view/20160725173813596

At the end of the auction, it was proven a success as it generated HK$136 million/US$17.4 million exceeding the pre-sale high estimate. The sale is also the highest-value sale of Western contemporary art ever held during a major auction series in Hong Kong according to Sotheby's

In the year 2016, T.O.P also collaborated with Pierre Et Gilles, two French artists known for their fusion of Art and Photography. The artwork was exhibited at the Galerie Templon in France and at KMCA in South Korea.

T.O.P also never failed to show his love for Art during Bigbang's concerts as he often worn a Mondrian-inspired suit for his solo stage for Doom Dada.

T.O.P also lent his voice to the audio guide for the Le Corbusier Exhibition in Seoul. (cr on the pic)
You can hear a snippet of the audio guide here.

He also worked at a museum for his mandatory military service (cr on the pic)

Even after his Military service, his love for Art never sizzled as he was immediately seen visiting VSF in Seoul, a gallery he supports even during his service.
. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/various-small-fires-esther-kim-varet-interview-1773888

T.O.P also never failed to show support to his friends' art exhibitions

Last year, T.O.P showed his art skills again in a series of Instagram stories posted by him

And in 2019, he was listed as one of the Top 200 Art World Influencers by The Art Gorgeous Magazine. The first idol to do so.

He was also listed as one of the Top 50 Art Collectors to Watch by U.S. ARTnews magazine alongside G-Dragon. The only Koreans on the list and is listed under Contemporary Art.

T.O.P continues to collect art most notably his commissioned artwork by Takashi Murukami base from his MV and art toy for Doom Dada and artworks by his late-friend Matthew Wong. (last ss by TOP_oftheTOP)

Sources of all the articles posted can be found here https://twitter.com/therapbasquiat/status/1305718734028304385?s=20