Joel Chen Talks Collecting Habits, Celebrity Clients, and His Greatest Finds

For nearly four decades, Joel Chen has presided over a veritable Circus Maximus of antiquities and art in Los Angeles. His namesake shops and galleries, which currently total 65,000 square feet, are must-visit destinations for top design talent and tastemakers from around the globe. Chen’s curatorial eye and connoisseurship are, in a word, unimpeachable. On February 13, Christie’s will host an auction of centuries-spanning treasures from the Chen collection at Rockefeller Center in New York. In advance of the celebratory sale, AD PRO sat down with the inimitable design guru to find out more about the man behind the legend.

AD PRO: Let’s start with some basic biographical information. Where were born and how did you get to Los Angeles?

Joel Chen: I was born in Shanghai and educated in England. I came to California in the early 1970s to study anthropology at UC Northridge. After college I went to work for my father, who was a wholesale jeweler in downtown L.A. It was a cutthroat business. I hated it.

AD PRO: So how did you get your start in design?

JC: One day, I was driving around town and I passed all these antiques stores on Melrose Place. I stopped at one that had a lot of Chinese porcelains in the window. I knocked on the door but the man there wouldn’t let me in. He said the shop was only open to the trade. I said, "What’s the trade?" I took it as a racial issue. I told my father I wanted to open my own antiques store. So we went to the bank and co-signed a $6,000 loan. You have to remember, this was 40 years ago.

__AD PRO:__What was the first shop like?

JC: I went to Hong Kong and amassed a whole shipping container full of absolute junk. I had no clue what antiques were all about. But I started learning from people like Paul Ferrante, who was the nicest guy in the world. He’d explain what things were and why they were valuable, and that was the beginning of my learning process.

AD PRO: Los Angeles must have been a very different place back then.

JC: At that time, L.A. was called the armpit of the world. It didn’t have much art per se, the museums were mediocre, and there weren’t a lot of serious collectors. But, of course, that all changed drastically.

AD PRO: What are some of your greatest finds?

JC: About 20 years ago I stumbled upon a pair of Chinese Imperial-style throne chairs in a garage sale. I was already veering away from Asian, especially the deeply carved Chinese stuff. But they said that the price for the pair was $450, so I couldn’t pass them up. I put them in the shop, even though they didn’t go with anything, but nobody bought them. So I took them to my garage. Then Sotheby’s came by and asked me to sell some stuff. I showed them the throne chairs and they estimated they would bring between fifty and seventy thousand dollars. I jumped for joy. They eventually sold for $150,000.

AD PRO: Would you call your collecting habits an obsession?

JC: Many would call it a sickness. I hate to put it that way, but that’s what it is. I’ve tried to find a cure and I’m in the process of doing that—with not much success. My compulsive buying stems from an overabundance of design knowledge logged in my head. If I recognize things during travel and establish a potential selling price, I just need to buy it. If I see something rare, I have to buy it or I might never get a chance in my lifetime. Somebody needs to start an Acquisitions Anonymous.

AD PRO: Who are some the celebs who’ve passed through the shop over the years?

JC: In the old days, I had Betsy Bloomingdale, William Holden, Barbra Streisand, Gene Kelly, Nancy Reagan. Now the new generation includes Kanye West, Robert Pattinson, Ellen DeGeneres, the Kardashians, the Olsen twins, Adele, Lady Gaga. Recently I have not been able to recognize any of the celebrities because they get younger and younger. I have to pinch my daughter Bianca to find out who they are.

AD PRO: And of course you’ve worked with many of the great decorators of the world.

JC: Years ago Mario Buatta used to come into the shop. One time, he was writing a check for some purchases and he hinted to me that anyone in the business—designer or shopkeeper—who was married was potentially actually gay. He listed a few famous decorators at the time, then he looked at me with a giant smile, expecting me to confess. I told him, “Mario, believe me, if I were gay, I could quadruple my business!” I stand by that today!

AD PRO: I’m sure your wife is relieved. Your daughters have both been involved in the business over the years. Now Bianca seems to be a bigger presence there.

JC: Bianca and Fiona were raised among the antiques. From the day they were born they learned not to touch anything. They’d wiggle their way around the antiques, but nothing was ever broken. It was incredible—and kind of cruel, too. Now, Bianca is taking a much bigger role in the business. I prefer not to be out on the floor too much. Also, I’m very bad with things like the Internet. Googling is something that’s new to me. Bianca is building a website. So we are moving forward with new artists, many of whom Bianca has befriended.

AD PRO: And are you still out there, looking and buying?

JC: Not as much as I used to, but yes, still buying. It’s out of my control. I told you—it’s a sickness.