AFIH X Ai International Art Gallery Interview

Ai International Art Gallery has participated in the art society of Beijing many times. What do you think is the difference between the art market of Auckland and Beijing?

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, with 1.5 million people, but its population is still much smaller than that of Beijing, and the market is relatively small.

The local art atmosphere in Auckland pays more attention to the localization, family and personalization of art, which is dominated by personal appreciation and collection. In contrast, the proportion of art investment is relatively small, and its price increase results from letting nature take its course.

In contrast, the art market in Beijing is huge, and people's demand for works of art is more diversified, not only for personal appreciation and collection but also for art investment, public decoration of works of art and so on.

Therefore, I also believe that with the development of the economy and the improvement of the degree of internationalization, the art market of the two cities will be larger, more diverse and more mature.

Ai International Art Gallery works with artists of different ethnic groups in New Zealand. What are the differences in the way these artists think and create?

As the artists of different ethnic groups in New Zealand have different life backgrounds and original cultures, they have distinct and unique personalities in the thinking and forms of artistic creation.

European artists in New Zealand are referred to as KIWI artists for short. Their works are relatively simple in thought and pay more attention to the beauty of their artworks. They usually create with bright colors to faithfully reproduce the beautiful life of New Zealand.

Maori artists pay more attention to the performance of national history, mythology and traditional totems, reflecting the characteristics of aboriginal culture, and they use more artistic materials, such as flax plants as wood printmaking materials.

The works of Asian immigrant artists pay more attention to the different understanding and cultural collision of art between the East and the West and pay more attention to the expression of the ideological connotation of the works.

Auckland International Art Space regularly invites Asian artists to come to New Zealand for art exchange exhibitions. How do these artists feel most about New Zealand, and how do residents react to their exhibitions?

When Asian artists come to New Zealand to collect inspiration, their most incredible feeling is that "New Zealand is a beautiful island country with beautiful mountains and rivers, diverse regions, harmonious natural ecology, rich species and diverse cultures. It is worthy of the 'last pure land in the world' to live in harmony among different ethnic groups.

Residents are full of curiosity and appreciation of Chinese art. They think it is an entirely different oriental culture, art and aesthetics, but because the two do not communicate much, they do not have a deep understanding of Chinese art.

The pure land of New Zealand has given birth to more than 50 generations of Maori. How is the charm of their unique cultural heritage Taonga reflected, and what efforts has Ai International Art Gallery made to help them integrate into contemporary life?

New Zealand Maori culture has a long history, with rich historical connotations and cultural heritage. These historical cultures have been well inherited even after thousands of years, and a variety of arts and stories have been preserved. Its art forms include Maori wood carving art, jade carving art, painting art and weaving art, which combines traditional and modern.

Auckland International Art Space is committed to introducing Maori artists to China, hoping to open up a new art market by actively promoting the combination, reference, and innovation of Maori culture, art, and Chinese art.

What adjustments did Ai International Art Gallery make to participate in international cultural exchange activities during the epidemic?

Since February 2020, the epidemic has seriously affected people's everyday life and international artistic exchanges.

To cope with this change, we have also actively adjust the mode of operation of the art space, including actively carrying out online art exhibitions and transnational online art exchanges and increasing cross-regional art cooperation and businesses in New Zealand.

At the same time, we have established the New Zealand contemporary art space and operation team in Beijing, forming a new cross-border and cross-border form of cooperation and a unique pattern of art exchanges, new business type.

2021 Beijing Art Fair In Hotel theme is "Art, Design and quality of Life". What surprises have you brought to the audience of the Art Fair?

We are delighted to participate in the third Beijing Art Fair In Hotel held at the Wangfu Peninsula Hotel.

More than 20 years ago, I opened my first art gallery in this hotel to return after many years, and my heart was full of emotion and kindness.

We will show New Zealand's artistic way of life and provide a variety of experiences.

I hope you can come to the scene to experience the international and artistic quality of life, appreciate different works of art and experience New Zealand's unique creative way of life.