She describes herself as a matchmaker, but Maria Elena Rudolf doesn’t play Cupid by linking up lovelorn singletons. Rather, as vice president of Art Stage Singapore, spearheading VIP relations, she believes it is her job to kindle connections between art lovers of all stripes.

Photo: Ernesto Sempoll

A commercial art fair that has become a signature event of Singapore’s art calendar since it was launched in 2011, Art Stage is the brainchild of Rudolf’s husband, Lorenzo. He is widely seen as the man who pioneered the business model for contemporary art fairs thanks to his leadership role at the glitzy Art Basel Miami Beach in the early 2000s. Rudolf also credits him with inventing a VIP programme for art fairs, to cultivate collectors.

“What we do in Singapore is even more special because this VIP programme is a much more emotional programme,” she says. “It is not only to offer VIPs a visit to museums or invites to parties. We actively matchmake people and build up friendships. The personal factor is much, much bigger.”

Maria Elena Rudolf stands with Sheela Gowda’s And That Is No Lie (2015) at the Perez Art Museum Miami. Rudolf wears Roberto de Villacis (Trash Haute Couture for Arts). Photo: Ernesto Sempoll

Forging these personal connections can take the form of introducing art collectors to new artists. “For example, we brought renowned American art collector and property developer Jorge Pérez and his wife to Singapore. That was the start of them collecting Southeast Asian art and it opened an entirely new world for them,” she says.

“Our friendship with Indonesian art collector Deddy Kusuma and his wife also helped open all the doors in Indonesia. Through them, we became friends with their friends. I think that is the most beautiful thing in the art world — you become friends with people from all industries and backgrounds through this common passion.”

“It is not so much a feeling of being a foreigner in another culture, I feel like I am contributor to a multicultural place.” 

To do her job well, Rudolf travels extensively to fortify relationships with established artists, curators and galleries, and to hunt for fresh talent. “Many people think that the organisation of Art Stage starts in December and ends in January, but I am fully engaged 365 days a year. Working on relationships is an ongoing duty that has to happen throughout the entire year.”

Travelling also enables her to start building relationships in emerging enclaves. In Southeast Asia, Rudolf points to Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta as cities with art scenes to watch. Jakarta, in particular, has “many great artists and many great collectors”, she says. “The only weakness of Indonesia is the absence of a strong infrastructure. To become an important place, a strong infrastructure is needed.”

In August, Art Stage will launch its first Jakarta edition. Rudolf also recommends that art lovers look out for Jakarta’s upcoming Museum Macan (or Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara), the first museum in Indonesia dedicated to international modern and contemporary art. Slated to open next year , “it will be one of the most professionally run museums in Asia”, she believes. 

Rudolf engages with children who benefit from the programmes at ArtEducarte, a non-profit foundation in Ecuador that promotes learning and creativity through art education. Photo: Daniela Merino

Before she put down roots in Singapore in 2011, Ecuador-born Rudolf was a citizen of the world who had lived in Europe and the US. Her favourite travel destinations include Berlin, for its vibrant contemporary art scene; Miami, “because it is a place where the cultural and the social come together”; and Vienna, where she attends the Opera Ball every year.

When the mother of three is not travelling for work, she is likely to be found in one of the several places she is lucky enough to call home. She regularly travels to Switzerland and Ecuador — she was there when the earthquake struck in April but escaped unscathed — to spend time with family.

And Singapore felt like home almost immediately, she says. “It is not so much a feeling of being a foreigner in another culture, I feel like I am contributor to a multicultural place.”