Tucked away in an old apartment building, a short stroll from her gallery at Ferguson Lane on Wukang Lu, Leslie Kuo’s cheerful, comfy home pays homage to her career in the world of art. New England-born Leslie arrived in Shanghai four years ago and is the current manager at Leo Gallery, one of the city’s premiere contemporary art galleries.

Before moving into her apartment in the old diplomatic quarter a year ago, she says it was a challenge to find suitable housing, and more importantly, appropriate accompanying furniture in the rental market. After a two week full-time search, she finally settled on her present address in what she terms as “the least hectic part of the French Concession”. However due to the combination of a male landlord and a previous male tenant, originally the space was “very masculine” and needed to be softened up.

The weathered, grey exterior of the concrete apartment block gives way to a       comfortable home adorned with a diverse collection of paintings, sketches and photographs, repurposed items and colourful flowers. The apartment has no grand unifying theme, instead Kuo says, “I take what I like and try to create order out of chaos.”

Numerous works of art on display are gifts or purchases from artists she has helped curate in the past. The living room features two large oil paintings by Sichuan artist Liu Ye; they control the tone of the room, immediately drawing the eye, yet have enough subtlety not to overpower the balance of the space. Several of Liu’s paintings were recently featured at Leo Gallery’s Young Artist show.

Her bedroom is dominated by an award-winning photograph by Lu Jun – another affiliated artist – from a show they did together in Bangkok. Lu innovatively reinterprets traditional Chinese landscape art by mixing ink in water and merging the resulting images into stunning and complex compositions. The picture in question helped snag him first prize in the photography category at the Florence Biennale. Mirrored on the opposite wall are three framed pieces of calligraphy paper. Kuo says, “As I travel around China I always like to visit local calligraphy shops, I love to buy different examples of the paper they sell.”

There are a few surprises as well – Kuo’s dining room table was actually a baby’s crib in a former life. One day while visiting a street tailor she spotted its green slats peeking out from inside the store. When told by the proprietor it was junk, she paid RMB 20 and had it rebuilt into a table and matching bench by a handyman who works for her gallery. She laughs as she admits that one of the perks of her job is great deals on all sorts of framing, printing and handiwork.

Above the table hang two incredibly intricate, quirky sketches she found in a leather makers shop across from Manifesto on Julu Lu, drawn by the owner Hu Zi. Scattered throughout the apartment are bottles – translucent greens, blues, browns – often filled with cheery flowers which Kuo explains are important for feng shui. The apartment is completed with the odd soft touch, a Tibetan rug and horse blanket here, a fun little bird cage there.

Kuo has no major future plans for her home, but readily admits her next apartment “will have to have the old Shanghai charm of a villa or long tang and enough space to accommodate more found objects and repurposed items”. There’s no doubt that wherever she ends up, Leslie Kuo’s home will always reflect her fresh, inimitable style as well as her career as a gallerist.

Web: www.leogallery.com.cn