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HOME&PROPERTY
24
Jun-Jul15
Acquiring art
Every piece of art in the apartment has
an interesting story behind it, and many
were found during holidays abroad;
John ruefully admits he can’t resist
sticking his head into curio, antique
and furniture shops whenever he’s
away. So the elegant, spindly sculpture
behind the sofa came from Paris; the
compelling photograph of the dancer
was a birthday present fromJen following
a trip to Angkor Wat; and a large abstract
in the hallway is from a buying trip to
China. “We were in Beijing in 1992 and
a Chinese friend of ours suggested she
take us to visit an artist colony based in
an abandoned pig farm,” recalls John.
“We felt obliged to buy something, so I
chose a painting by a little-known (at the
time) artist called Zhang Huan. Some
time afterwards I was reading an article
about an up-and-coming artist who was
pushing boundaries by painting with ash,
and wearing suits made out of raw meat,
and I realised it was the same guy!” The
painting is now worth much more than
he paid for it, but John isn’t interested
in resale value. “I don’t look at art as
an investment; I buy what I love and if it
increases in value, great, but I don’t plan
to ever sell my pieces,” he says.
Art and aesthetics have always played
an important part in John McLennan’s
life; he contemplated becoming a
fine artist himself prior to dabbling in
urban planning and architecture before
settling, late, on a career in interior
design. “I feel for my fourteen-year-old
son and his contemporaries, who are
already worrying about their future
careers,” he says. “I didn’t find out what I
wanted to do until I was 40!” McLennan’s