The Auckland dealer gallery Hopkinson Cundy certainly hit the ground running. Barely open (were they even open?) and they were at the Walters Prize presentation dinner sharing a table with Michael Lett and guests, including the Chair of CNZ. That certainly said something about a new way of operating with Sarah Hopkinson having worked for Lett and one of his rising star artists Fiona Connor having defected to her only weeks before. More recently Hopkinson Cundy has finessed a sell-out show at Liste, the youthful end of the Basel Art Fair, placing their entire Nick Austin exhibition with a Belgian collector.
So why, you might ask, is this gallery not got a berth at next month’s Art Fair in Auckland? They certainly applied to be included but were apparently told they were too young (that’s in gallery years). Too young? Feels kinda weird in a world where everyone is searching for what's new and interesting. The end result is that the Art Fair will open minus one of Auckland’s liveliest galleries.
And you have to wonder about the 'young-thing' as a criteria. Robert Heald's Wellington gallery opened just six months before HC and quite rightly got the tick from Art Fair bureaucrats.
Looks like if you want to get a full taste of what’s available in our contemporary art world come Art Fair week, you're also going to have to schlep over to 1/1 Cross Street off K-Road where Hopkinson Cundy will no doubt be open for business.
