A dynamic conversation between the internationally renowned French artist Xavier Veilhan and the legendary collector Hubert Neumann W’52, moderated by Emily Zimmerman, Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs at the Arthur Ross Gallery. Known for creating unique visual universes that bring together classical forms with technology and abstraction, Xavier Veilhan has produced major exhibitions at the Palace of Versailles (2009), the French Pavilion of the Venice Biennale (2017), and set designs for Chanel Haute Couture shows (2022-23). What kinds of cultural achievements are possible when collectors dedicate themselves to supporting visionary artists with expansive and ambitious artistic programs? Hubert Neumann (W’52) began collecting art as a teenager and is still actively adding to his collection. Over the past eight decades, he has developed strong relationships with dozens of contemporary artists whose work he owns and whose visionary work he has sought to support, including Ashley Bickerton, Jeff Koons, Karen Kilimnik, Nina Chanel Abney, and Xavier Veilhan. Hubert is dedicated to the study of philosophy and mathematics, finding the work of French theorists Alain Badiou (on immanence) and Quentin Meillassoux (on finitude) to be particularly helpful in understanding the “Aftermoderism” impulse in contemporary art that pushes into the space of the viewer with an openness that fails to easily resolve itself. Xavier Veilhan (born in 1963, lives and works in Paris) has since the late 1980s created an acclaimed body of work (sculpture, painting, installation, performance, video, photography) at the intersection of classicism, modernity, and technology. His exhibitions question our perception and often generate an evolving ambulatory space in which the audience becomes an actor, like for Veilhan Versailles (2009), the series Architectones (2012-2014), Studio Venezia (2017), his proposition for the French Pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia. His projects often involve collaboration with artists from other fields, such as architecture, music and fashion. He designed the visual universes for three Haute Couture shows for Chanel (2022-2023).