THE NEW YORK ART ITINERARY

Fresh from the opening of his Hong Kong space, powerhouse gallerist David Zwirner gives PAUL KAY a tour of his favourite New York art hotspots

Gallerist DAVID ZWIRNER gives us the ultimate New York art tour

在藝術界地位足重舉 輕 的畫廊創辦人大衛卓納最近在香港開設首間畫廊，並跟Paul Kay分享多個他最愛紐藝喜 的 約 術熱點

BORN IN COLOGNE, David Zwirner fell in love with New York when his father took him there for the first time as a child. It was a relationship that blossomed when he returned, aged 15, to study in the city. ‘It’s that great moment as a teenager when you really open up to the world, and I was in New York, and – boy – what a world I saw there,’ says Zwirner, who now owns three galleries in the city that has been his home for more than 30 years. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART ‘I love New York’s museums and I visit them all quite frequently, but if I had to take one away with me to a lonely island it would be The Met – it would keep me busy for the rest of my life. The Met is not where contemporary art necessarily is front and centre, even though it’s making a big push. I just love that it’s encyclopaedic and you can lose yourself in some temple or in medieval history or in the Byzantine rooms.’ metmuseum.org

CENTRAL PARK

‘ There’s a very active public art programme in New York, though most of the works are temporary. There’s the Public Art Fund, which is maybe the most famous organisation, and it has a beautiful space on the corner of Central Park where it presents big sculptures. Recently, one of our artists, Isa Genzken, had a big orchid sculpture there, and you get to see that for six months, then something else happens.’ nycgovparks.org/art-map

THE HIGH LINE

‘One of the most incredible developments in the city over the past 20 years. It was just an old rail track and now it’s a beautiful city park connecting Chelsea to the Lower West Side. It has a really vibrant public art programme that changes all the time. The curators are great: they’re friends, and that’s something I just absolutely love. I walk on the High Line almost every day.’ thehighline.org

THE EAST VILLAGE

‘ The East Village is very young. Where we live, it’s really driven by the sprawling New York University campus. When you go out it’s very vibrant and lively.’ As well the art dinners Zwirner and his wife, Monica, host at their home, he’s also a partner in Italian restaurant Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria ( ilbucovineria.com), where he often dines with clients and friends. ‘It’s very rustic, almost like a Tuscan townhouse, and has excellent food but it’s very informal, so it’s a fun place to have lunch or dinner.’

CHELSEA

‘ The epicentre [of the New York art scene] is Chelsea,’ says Zwirner, who has two galleries in the area. A new US$50 million (HK$393 million) gallery designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano is also under construction and will open in the area in 2020. ‘ We’ll have exhibitions on three floors, and the spaces will be unique. Each floor will have its own character.’

THE UPPER EAST SIDE

‘ The other traditional New York art market place. The gallery world that drove that great moment of abstract expressionism [in the 1950s and ’60s] now called the New York School was almost exclusively uptown. There’s a long tradition of beautiful smaller spaces in more domestic settings.’ Zwirner opened a gallery there in 2017 and previously had a space with Iwan Wirth, where a memorable encounter took place in 2005 when his staff alerted him to the presence of a ‘dishevelled but distinguished’ gentleman in the gallery. It was abstract expressionist Cy Twombly.

大衛卓納在德國隆科 出生，童年時首次隨親父 往紐約，隨即愛上了這個城市。15歲時，他到紐約讀書，從與此這個城市結下不解之緣。卓納說我：「 當時正值青少年時代，對世界的一切都感到好奇，而我當時在紐約，老天，那真是個精采萬分的世界。」如今大衛卓納在紐約住了30多年，並且在城中開設了三家畫廊。

大都會藝術博物館

「我喜歡約紐 的博物館，因此經常到不同的博物館參觀。但假如我流被 放到一座無人荒島，只可以將一家博物館搬到島上的話，我選會擇The Met（大都會藝術博物館的簡稱）。這家博物館館藏非常豐富，我的餘生將忙於欣賞，無暇到寞感 寂 。The Met並非蒐藏當代藝術品的重，鎮 雖然他們在這方面作了不少努力。不過我喜歡博物館包羅萬有、方科全書式的藏品，既有來自古廟的文物，也有中世紀與拜占庭帝國的專題展 廳，讓人可以忘我地神遊其中，飽覽不同年代與地方的藝術精華。」metmuseum.org

中央公園

「儘管紐約市大部分公共藝術品都只作短期展覽但， 這個城市在推動公共藝術方面可謂遺不 餘力。約紐 公共藝術基金可說是藝術界著極 名的機構，基金在中央公園一個美麗的角落內，設有展覽間空 ，可以陳列巨型雕作塑。品 最近我們藝廊其中一位藝術家Isa Genzken的巨型蘭雕作花 塑，那品 就在 裡展出。作品會在那裡展覽六個月，然後又會有其他新作品出」現。nycgovparks.org/art-map

High Line高架公園

「High Line高架是公園約紐 市過去20年來最令人讚歎的發展項。目 昔日荒廢的舊鐵路軌道，現在變身成為麗美 的城市公園，將切爾西區至下城連起西 區 接來。High Line高架公園內有很多公共藝術品，而且經常更，換 令人目不暇給。公園策展人是我的朋友，他們為帶遊人 來很精多 采的藝術品，我也十分喜歡些這 藝術品，幾乎每天都在High Line高公架 園散」步。thehighline.org

東村

「東村是洋個 溢青春氣息的地方。我們居住那一帶，要主 受到不斷向外擴展的紐約大學帶動。當你走到街上，就會感受到一股輕快活潑的氣氛。」卓納與他的太太Monica除了不時在他們位於東村的家舉行藝術晚，宴 亦經常與客戶及好友前往意大利餐廳Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria（ilbucovineria.com）享受美；食他也是這家餐廳的股東。「餐廳的佈置十 分簡樸，看上去就像一間托斯卡納的住宅；這裡的食物非常色出 ，氣氛輕鬆自在，是餐午 或晚飯的好去處。」

切爾西區

卓納表示：「切爾西區是紐約藝術界的中心。」他在這一區擁有兩家藝廊。此外，他還在這裡再興建另一家全新的藝廊由大，意 利建築師Renzo Piano設計，耗資5,000萬美元（ 3.93億港元） ，計預於2020年落成。「我們的展覽廳共佔三層，些這 展覽間常空 非 獨特，每一層都各具特色。」

上東城區

「上東城區是另一個傳統的紐約藝術市場集中地。在1950及60年代全力推動象抽 表現主義藝術運動（現在被稱為紐約畫派）的藝廊，幾乎全部都集中在上城區。傳統上那一區的藝廊大多小巧舒適，帶親有 切的家居氣氛。」卓納於2017年在區開內 設了一家藝廊，在此之前，他曾與Iwan Wirth共同開設另一家藝廊，而且有過一次極為忘難 的經歷。那是2005年的時候，有一天職員告訴他藝廊來了一位「衣著不甚整齊但氣度不凡」的男，士 他出去一看，竟然是著名的抽象表現主義畫家Cy Twombly。