Passion surrounds opening of gallery in Hong Kong
When Arthur de Villepin decided to open his art gallery in Hong Kong in March, he knew he was taking a gamble.
After all, the city had just gone through a difficult year and the COVID-19 pandemic was starting to take hold.
But De Villepin, the son of the former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin, who co-owns the gallery, was determined to go ahead with the launch.
“No, I have no regrets at all opening when I did,” he said.
“I have always found Hong Kong to be a ‘feel-good’ city and firmly believe it has a bright future.”
Arthur de Villepin grew up surrounded by art and artists. His mother is the celebrated sculptor Marie-Laure Viebel de Villepin and his sister, Marie de Villepin, is an established and successful artist.
During his childhood, he was introduced to many leading artists, including Zao Wou-Ki, Anselm Kiefer, Myonghi Kang, Pierre Soulages and Miquel Barcelo, all of whom trained him to see art through the eyes of artists, rather than the market.
This experience had a profound and lasting effect on him, nurturing a passion for collecting based on close friendships with artists.
The launch of the Villepin gallery in Hong Kong was a natural progression for him.
Based in the city for 10 years, Arthur de Villepin cemented many of his earlier artistic contacts, especially with some of China’s leading contemporary artists.
“It was only natural we opened by showcasing the work of Zao Wou-Ki,” he said.
“He was someone I had known for a long time and his work is greatly admired around the world.
“Despite COVID-19, the public response to the exhibition was better than we anticipated.”
Arthur de Villepin passionately believes in Hong Kong’s future.
“When I arrived in Hong Kong, I was drawn by its vibrancy and energy … its balance with nature and sense of community. It is a place where you can do a lot of things,” he said.
“Despite what some people say, I firmly believe it has a great future as an art center.”
He also said the city has to be more than just a bridge for artists to connect China with the rest of the world.
“The art scene here is very vibrant, but Hong Kong needs to look forward. It doesn’t have to be a platform just for buying art, but a place where art can be created and a place that brings together different ways of looking at art,” he added.
“I think this is the challenge, and to do this will mean bringing innovation and new people forward.”
He said exhibiting the works of Zao Wou-Ki not only showed something of the man behind the art but also of someone who had been “a bridge” — born in China and worked in Europe.
Considered one of China’s pioneering new-wave artists, Zao once said: “Everybody is bound by a tradition. I am bound by two … a lifetime of experimentation, and negotiation between Chinese and Western artistic traditions.”
Working in oils, Chinese ink, lithography, engraving and watercolors, Zao traversed cultural boundaries and created an everevolving synthesis of Chinese and Western art.
This is Arthur de Villepin’s vision for his gallery in the years ahead.