Australian + International Contemporary Art from the Collection of Shannon Bennett, Melbourne
‘Collecting art started out as an organic progression from being a chef and restaurant owner. Feeding people is part responsibility, especially nourishing people’s souls – it’s restorative, similar to the way diners feed my ego. I always felt like I was the dumbest person in the room, especially around artists and their gallery owners. Incredibly social, the gallery owners would pick up where the artists would leave it, and through this type of contact I found owning a piece of art was one of the most aspirational things someone can do. A work tells so many stories, particularly if the work has been produced locally. Stieg Persson for example, created the work Alsace after dining at Vue de Monde during the Carlton days. I served him a main course of frenched lamb cutlets that were then filled with a mushroom mousseleine, topped with truffle, then wrapped in , crépinette, (pig’s stomach), steamed and served with a sauce bercy. Doesn’t sound like a great dinner, but trust me, the work that went into this dish was immense. Stieg took the remaining bones after finishing the dish and arranged them on the plate, coming up with the idea for Alsace. I have a story for every single work being offered for sale here and I’m happy to share them all! I am a very strong believer that works of art should not be locked away in an air-controlled storage room somewhere – and so, when downsizing from four homes to one, I decided that these works also need new homes. I hope you enjoy…’
– SHANNON BENNETT
The foundation for Shannon Bennett’s international reputation was laid in 2000 with the opening of Vue de Monde in Carlton. Awards and accolades soon followed, with the final iteration of the restaurant opening in 2011 on the 55th floor of the Rialto Tower on Collins Street, Melbourne. A culinary journey that began with an apprenticeship at the Hyatt in Melbourne, complemented by stints in the household-name restaurants of Albert Roux, John Burton Race and Marco Pierre White, not only established the bedrock of his cuisine, but informed an international view of the world that encompasses food, wine, art and design. Accordingly, Vue de Monde championed the cause of local Australian produce within a context of European fine dining traditions and consummate skill, in a restaurant that showcased an edgy marriage of both contemporary Australian and international art and design. Significantly, this same bold attitude of ambitiously (and at times, contentiously) combining Australian and International talent spilled over to his personal art collection with British and American artists such Yinka Shonibare and David LaChapelle, juxtaposed alongside local contemporary figures such Tony Albert and Peter Booth.