DAVID HARTNELL: ONE MINUTE INTERVIEW

LOCAL NEWS DAVID HARTNELL: ONE MINUTE INTERVIEW WITH DAVID ALSOP

The creator and owner of the art gallery {Suite} in the heart of Ponsonby.

When did your interest in art start? It really kicked off during university when I saw a few works at the Dunedin Art Gallery by Trevor Moffitt. They stopped me in my tracks and led me to investigate the artist further, which lead to my first acquisition: a 1974 work by Moffitt titled 'Thank God You're Home’.

Tell us about {Suite} Art Gallery. {Suite} is my passion - I started out in 2007 after a career in law and aviation, not really knowing how to run a gallery, and am now the only person to have a gallery in Auckland and Wellington. I manage the archive and copyright for New Zealand artist Ans Westra and represent 16 other artists including Jeffrey Harris, Wayne Youle, Tia Ansell, Richard Lewer, the Peter Peryer estate, Daniel Unverricht and Angela Singer. There's not a day goes by when I don't look forward to getting up to go to work.

What do you like most about Ponsonby? I love the vibrancy and friendliness of Ponsonby. The gallery feels like it has been a great addition to the Ponsonby scene and it’s nice to think that we are contributing to the cultural fabric of the hood through our street front premise.

How have you survived the pandemic in your business? Uumm, ask me again in two months time. I’ve been doing okay personally, and the gallery has been supported well online, which has been pleasing as so many livelihoods depend on the success we have with placing works.

What was your childhood like? I grew up in Rotorua and had an interesting childhood. My dad and grandparents were lifetime residents of Rotorua so I couldn’t go far without my surname being recognised. Being in the centre of the North Island, Rotorua has good access to coastal Bay of Plenty, Auckland, and the central North Island (skiing). I enjoyed living in what was in those days a truly bi-cultural city, which has been invaluable in terms of the role that I play as manager of the Ans Westra archive.

Tell us what is the most Kiwi thing about you? My capacity for fish and chips.

What do you most dislike about your appearance? I’ve recently had to start wearing glasses and wish I didn’t have to.

What's a saying that you really disapprove of and would never use? Half-ass attempts.

Your biggest disappointments? My tennis backhand.

If you won a million dollars what is the first thing you would do? Get a full-time tennis coach and yoga teacher.

So what really motivates you? I don’t need much motivation to get cracking. I get really enthused when new artwork arrives at the gallery that I want to share with our peeps.

What do you think happens when we die? I believe in some separation of body and spirit. I’d like to reconnect with my parents ‘up-there’ one day so they know what moi and my heirs have been up too.

What is your favorite time of the day? I’m a morning person. I get a lot done before I leave the house.

Tell us about your dream home. Something modern that’s dry, warm, efficient, has a view of the water, plenty of wall space, a spa pool and located near friends.

What is your most treasured possession? My 1972 watch collection.

What is your greatest fear? Sadly, dying.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction and why? Henry Sugar. The wonderful story of Henry Sugar by Roald Dahl is one of my all time favourite yarns. Levitation and seeing through objects are two of my life goals.

What superpower do you wish you had? To look into the future.

Which talent would you most like to have? To be able to draw or paint.

What cliché do you most hate? ‘It is what it is’. Aarrgghh. I tear my hair out hearing that.

What gizmo can you simply not live without? My iphone has annoyingly become a permanent fixture on me. I rely on it for everything and would be lost without it.

What is your favorite comfort food? Cheese. Five years living in the Netherlands sampling some of Europe’s finest cheese ruined me.

If you could change one law or policy in New Zealand, what would it be? I’d like to see an artist resale royalty scheme introduced in whereby artists receive a small percentage of upside when one of the works sells for a profit. (DAVID HARTNEL MNZM)  PN

RETRO CITY… FEELS FAMILIAR

Retro City opened last August in Ponsonby and are enjoying this new location. The store is full of interesting art and objects. Tell owner Heath we sent you…

Please tell us the back story about Retro City. Where did it all start? Retro City was established by myself and my partner Suwei He back in 2016. The idea grew from my lifelong interest in foraging for vintage, mid-century, antique and collectible items and from there a shop was opened on Karangahape Rd. We developed a very busy and popular shop however at the end of our lease (mid Covid) we decided to pull the pin and relocate when the time was right. And here we are now established in bright fresh premises at 33 Ponsonby Road.

Are you a collector? Yes, I am. My mother worked in the antique furniture business for many years and from there my interests developed. Collecting is in my blood and the thrill of finding great items still gives me a buzz. If anything it’s an occupational hazard, although as time passes I find myself whittling my collection down to a selection of premium pieces that I will never sell. My collection is actually quite varied and includes a selection of quality European glass, ceramics, art prints, collectable books, LPs and a wide array of assorted collectables and ephemera.

What would people expect to see instore? People can expect the unexpected! Don’t be fooled by the shop name, as we run the gamut from Georgian furniture to contemporary leather armchairs. There is no real pattern to my buying. I buy what I find visually appealing regardless of age, design or style. Nevertheless, we usually have a good stock of armchairs and selected furniture pieces as well as hand knotted rugs, art glass, collectibles, art prints and objet d’art. The store selection is curated to provide a pleasant shopping experience with room to move.

Do you offer any interior design suggestions or advice? Buy what you like. Fashions change but good style is timeless. Buy quality and don’t be afraid to mix it up. Buy from independent retailers; most of us are owner operators and genuinely care about what we do.

Do you have new items coming in regularly? Yes, we have new stock arriving daily. Our turnover is fairly high and premium items don’t stick around long. We also sell on behalf, which adds to the variety. Recent arrivals include an Ercol armchair, an early 18th century chest of drawers, a Slim Aarons print, some Murano Sommerso glass, an aesthetic movement side table and a selection of Persian rugs. At this time, we don’t offer online buying so the best option is to pop in for a look or follow us on Instagram or Facebook to keep up to date with stock arrivals, pricing and shop information.

Anything else you’d like to tell our readers? We are thrilled to finally establish ourselves in Ponsonby and look forward to meeting more of the locals who have so far welcomed us with open arms.

Retro City is open Wednesday through Sunday – please see our website for details.

DEMOCRACY IS DEAD IN WAITEMATĀ LOCAL BOARD I have been following the activities of the Waitematā Local Board since October 2019 to identify and publish examples of both good and bad governance. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many examples of good governance but plenty of bad.

My aim by exposing examples of their governance was that this would lead to an improvement in their woefully low standards. There were two absolute lowlights.

Firstly, Chair Northey claiming mileage from his holiday home to a regularly scheduled meeting in Auckland. He made no apology for his behaviour. If he had been honourable, he would have resigned.

Secondly, the board would not accept Gael Baldock’s nomination by eight community members as a finalist in the recent Good Citizens Award. Gael works relentlessly in support of her community unpaid for more hours that most board members work. Because she is often critical of the board, she obviously didn’t qualify!

Up until October 2021, there were six City Vision members and one C&R member. With the six City Vision votes and led by an experienced politician, Chair Richard Northey could have ‘whipped them into shape’ easily. They had the power to do whatever they wanted, and have done so.

Constituents could take some small comfort that the one nonCity Vision member, Sarah Trotman, was able to ask questions both at board meetings and when locked away in workshops, which are not open to the public.

Since Sarah has resigned, and the board is totally City Vision members, the community have been kept in the dark on the activities of these civil servants.

Having thought about the situation over the holiday break, I have concluded that the board as constituted serves no meaningful purpose other than allocating community grants, advocating for their supporters and rubber-stamping council decisions, all of which they can do without ever having to hold a board meeting. They used to caucus prior to meetings, now they no longer have to hide their blatant one sided view.

Reluctantly, I have decided to re-calibrate and to pursue the running of council which, after all, has much greater impact on our daily lives.

I remain hopeful that at the forthcoming election (October 2022) the voters of Waitematā will vote in candidates from more than one party so we can see some semblance of democracy in our part of the city.

Keith McConnell, www.keithforwaitemata.com

Since writing this letter to the editor we received sad news that Keith passed away unexpectedly in hospital on 6 March.

UNCONSIDERED PEST CONTROL Auckland Council’s ecologists apparently didn’t anticipate that the wild rabbits from around the Western Springs lake would feed on the newly planted seedlings where the former forest once dwelt, and therefore needed to cull the rabbits.

There are several problems with this. The consequences of Auckland Council using ‘preferred contractors’ is that they can get complacent and do not do the professional level of job that a contractor hungry for follow up work might do. And the consequences of a wild rabbit pest control shoot in a reserve where domestic bunnies have been dumped is that the public might not respond favourably.

New management of reserves at Auckland Council however has meant more friendly ears from the public servants in charge than we experienced during the battle to save the forest ecosystem. Community concerns were heard and they agreed to postpone the shoot for five weeks to allow time for rescues to occur. This was not an easy job and took many attempts. Volunteers were not armed with thermal imaging goggles that the paid shooters use which can identify the shape different between the thin wild rabbits and the ‘butterball’ shaped domestic rabbits.

The rescue group were aware of at least six dumped pet bunnies in the park. Deno and Caleb caught two in two consecutive morning rescues. After spending $2 million to get rid of 200 ‘colonial trees’ and killing 15,000 natives in the process, this cull now includes 27 rabbits. We have been assured that none of those shot were domestic and we’re waiting for the photographic proof.

In the meantime the real vermin, the rats, have increased in numbers and were even bold enough to do a wee ‘dance’ for the cameras when the media filmed the rescue group.

Gael Baldock, Community Advocate