Loyse de Pury – on Life, Art, Being a Late Bloomer and Nepotism
Loyse de Pury, sharing her journey, her fave objects and her passion project.
Around the Globe15 Nov 2024
Friends. Why is it we love a fifth generation bakery but yell “Nepo Baby” the second someone comes around with a certain last name/heritage in the art world.Since kindness is our super power, let’s take a look at this. Sure, some of the so-called Nepo Babes just got their job handed to them, but there are also those that fought hard to make it despite a certain last name, or family connections. Cause what if you want to make it on your own?
Loyse de Pury has such a name, and it obviously makes no sense to pretend we don’t know that. But in a recent conversation we discovered what path led her into the art world and how much she did not want to be in it initially and how it was not a straight line. We love someone who follows their intuition. We love someone who is hard working. And we love a squiggly line CV. Those are the best ones.
Let’s meet Loyse de Pury:
1. Who is Loyse ? Do take us through it :)
I was a late bloomer at everything—first kiss, career, you name it…Growing up, I was a painfully shy girl surrounded by three brothers in Switzerland, a classic “Heidi ” – even milking cows, raised by my English-French mother and Swiss father. Born in Locarno, I grew up immersed in art; my dad was a curator for the Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza collection at Villa Favorita (which is now in Madrid), and my parents’ passion for art was infectious, they even fell in love studying art at Sotheby’s.
Museums were my playground, and my first art awakening happened at the Sensation exhibition in 1997 at the Royal Academy, where Damien Hirst’s infamous provocative & iconic putrefied cow left an indelible mark . Surprised and overwhelmed, I began a lifelong quest to understand the meaning of art.
As a reaction I knew I was never going to work in the same field as my parents but for some reason I still studied art history briefly in Geneva university, with a professor who made Renaissance art feel like a sedative, so I escaped to Paris to study acting instead.
Theatre transformed me, pulling me out of my shell, curing my shyness and making me feel truly alive. My favorite role? Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The shyness does sneak back sometimes…
Life took another unexpected turn, I covered for a friend at Paris Photo, and just like that, I was back in the art world selling photographs, which felt like another kind of performance. The instant I walked in the fair, I knew I was in my element—like a fish finally back in water. Selling art felt like another kind of performance!
Soon, I was in London, selling beauty products. I smelled divine but lost a few brain cells, I felt like a tiger on a leash!
Then I was offered a role with a New York-based design gallery, and within minutes, I was back where I belonged. My boss who was a huge inspiration encouraged me to make videos about art, and as I grew more confident, I kept at it, eventually gaining a following on Instagram as #loysetalksart.
When a friend introduced me to a dynamic Frieze tour guide two years ago, I had a revelation— I knew right away that guiding art tours was my missing puzzle piece! I had just three months to practice before my first Frieze fair, so I started curating my own London gallery tours, mainly featuring female artists. It grew slowly, and eventually, I landed tours with 1 Hotel Mayfair, led artists’ studio visits and finally, my debut at Frieze London!
My Frieze baptism happened last year, and wow, what a challenge! 5 tours a day, 15 people per group, one hour each—it was pure madness navigating the art fair’s wild crowds while keeping everyone engaged! But I loved every second. It felt like performing; each group was a fresh audience, and I had to read the room, adapt, and keep the energy alive.
Right after Frieze, I reached out to Art Basel. Being Swiss with a grandmother from Basel, I have countless memories from that city—Christmas with my grandparents, trips to the Fondation Beyeler, and, of course, Läckerli biscuits! I did my first Art Basel tour last June, and it was unbelievable. Basel is a dizzying art monster, to see all the art & assimilate it would take a few years. Guiding my groups through it, keeping them inspired and intrigued, felt like where I was meant to be. It’s been a squiggly path, but every twist has led me to where I am now and I love working surrounded by creativity, my brain cells are finally dancing!
2) What is the thing you would grab from your burning apartment (goddess forbid it ever happens)?
If I could only grab one thing in a fire ( I’m clumsy enough to set one ; )), it would be the bronze sculpture my Swiss grandfather made of me at age 12. Every detail of him sculpting it is vivid—his concentration, the smell of plaster. He took up sculpting in his 60s, learning from Inoue Nobumiche while in Japan, where my grandmother became an ikebana master. That sculpture is a slice of my childhood, and reminds me of my inspiring Swiss grandparents.
This is my first time hearing it! I had to Google it! (laughs) When you have a successful parent, it’s inspiring but it can also be pressuring. Seeing my father love his work made me want a job that made me feel alive, not just a “normal” one.
I didn’t feel like “the daughter of” until I entered the art world in London 12 years ago. Suddenly, I understood his recognition—though he’s not as famous as Larry Gagosian 😉 ! People often assume doors open easily for me, but I’ve built my network myself. My parents share with me their addiction for art and music, but I navigated this path on my own terms.
Becoming “the daughter of” felt strange, and sometimes people tried to connect with me just for access to my father, which was disheartening. But every contact I have, I earned.
So, call me a “nepo baby” if you want, but I’m a hard-working, self-made one ;). Both my parents are true inspirations—they taught me to follow my instincts, passions & dreams!
5 ) What to expect if someone books a tour with you? Why do we need art fair tours?
Expect the unexpected, to get lost in the fair madness! My tours are like following Alice down the rabbit hole –intriguing, playful, engaging, and inspiring.
I always found art fairs terrifying & overwhelming…after 10 minutes my head would spin and I wouldn’t know what to look at the artworks or the people as it’s also a real fashion show especially in Miami! Fairs are like big artsy monsters or like an arena full of fashionistas, art nerds, collectors & gallerists battling it out….Art is like perfume after smelling so many scents you don’t know anymore what you are smelling. Everything blurs in your head and you saturate!
I will give you a good fix in one hour to propose you an overall idea or today’s trend creating a beautiful dialogue between all the works and artists I will have chosen for you! My tours will filter the chaos around you in order to see and feel things in front of a work of art. I will share with you some special details about each work. My choice will always be highly eclectic so you will leave my tour with at least one artist you will love and want to explore further or even want to collect!
My mission? To make it engaging and accessible to everyone as art fairs and art in general can be intimidating, we often think that art belongs to an elite, the one who has money to collect it or study it! Art is much more pure; it belongs to each one of us! We don’t need our brains to understand it but our body cells.
I keep it authentic and break down those gallery booth walls that can feel so daunting.
6 ) What is your art fair prep? Any rituals, specific things you do or need?
I am a professional procrastinator. It’s an art form in itself ;). I wait for the adrenaline to kick in. It’s my type of drug, it gets me high! Then, I dive into a focused frenzy in the members’ room at Tate Britain—there’s something about being surrounded by art that really helps me lock in! But the sweet smell of cakes is impossible to ignore, and before I know it, I’m treating myself to a scone with clotted cream!
I shut out the world and research all the artist info I can get my hands on. I dive into more than 280 press releases ( which most of the time make no sense : /),scribbling down key facts, and by the time I’m done, my poor computer’s & brain is on the verge of combustion.
I then map out my route, but the route will change everyday as works will change once they are sold they are taken out of the booth.
The real challenge is to make a selection out of them all. It’s so difficult to choose. I sometimes change my mind once I see the work in real life as it’s of course a totally different feeling even better if you can meet the artist in real life so they can tell you in a much more spontaneous way what their work is about!
At Art Basel South Beach, my ritual obsession is an early morning swim in the turquoise ocean— I always get a tiny bit scared about sharks or other wild creatures, but hey, they’re nothing compared to the “art creatures” I’ll face later hehe ; )
In London, my rituals are a warm magnesium-salt bath by candlelight for unwinding, and dancing is a must! Growing up, my dad made playlists for every trip, and now I keep the tradition alive with a new playlist each month. Morning dance sessions and my weekly Afrobeat ritual shaking the booty & away any bad vibes, making me feel empowered—it’s way better than therapy!
7 ) What is your most prized possession ?
A box of love letters between my English grandfather, a WWII RAF pilot, and my French grandmother, who lived under the German occupation. They met at Berkeley University after WWII,After falling in love my Grandfather was selected to be a Spanish teacher at Trinity College in Dublin. For 6 months they didn’t see each other but had an epistolary relationship with passionate letters oulala! After these 6 months my grandmother joined him in Dublin where they created my wonderful mother.They taught me what true love is.
8 ) What do you hope for the next year?
I’m very in-the-moment and not a planner, but I’d love to take my art tours & artist studio visits worldwide, maybe host a BBc or Netflix TV Art show about art, where I’d do fun interviews with artists, explore studios & review shows a kind of a modern Sister Wendy meets Joanna Lumley! I would be excited to consult young collectors and help them develop their collection !
I would also hope to continue curating art experiences for Amex or other brands , the first one was a few weeks ago at the Portrait restaurant on top of the National portrait gallery where I had invited guest artist Skye Ferrante all the way from NYC he would make these unbelievable wire sculpture live portraits of the guests while they would dine.
I was Loulou for the soirée, a kind of conductor, it was so much fun!
This month I was asked to give my first auction ever! It was the most surreal situation! I never thought I would give an auction in my life as it made me feel weird to do the same thing as my father. But When I was asked I said yes without a hesitation as I always love getting out of my comfort zone and challenges! I found that experience thrilling and If I would be asked again to lead one I would say yes straight away!
I have many more dreams but maybe not enough time on this planet but still I am going to take things step-by-step – as the guides said when I climbed Kilimanjaro earlier this year, “pole pole.” (slowly…slowly..)I trust the process & my destiny!
9 ) Best advice you ever got and from whom?
I had many but from my grandmother a week before she passed: “Don’t let the art world make you lose your mind”. It’s easy to get swept up in the glamour, but her words remind me to stay grounded and humble for this sometimes superficial scene.
10 )You have so much fun with your clothes, who’s your favorite designer, dressmaker?
Thank you! Funny enough, I hate shopping now. It would be a fantasy to have a personal shopper ;)!
At the moment I love Ganni, the puffed sleeves remind me of the main character in the movie Poor things and quirky finds from my travels, like a hat from Oaxaca, a pink skirt from Cuzco and an orange-blue dress from Tanzania.I love mixing souvenirs from my travels with everyday pieces but I also like to wear clothes created by designer friends, for example Zeitman, a just launched, new brand of hand knitted jumpers she is making me one bright pink I cannot wait to be all cozy for wintertime!
I would love to be crazier in my style…! My dream is to grow older and become one of those chic, eccentric ladies of a certain age with pink hair and wild sunglasses (heart-shaped YSL are my favorite!).
Loyse by Yamil Farah Sojo
11) What’s up with the one women show we heard about?
My side passion is acting, and I wrote my first solo show titled “Eggspiry Date” is a sweet-and-sour comedy about the Shakesperian choice to be a mother… or not to be a mother and the societal pressure on women to reproduce themselves. It was set for Fringe Edinburgh in 2020, but Covid intervened. I’m still itching to bring it back, especially since my “eggs” are a little closer to expiration these days… stay tuned!
