Launching next Wednesday and Thursday, the exhibition features new works by many of its long-standing artists.
Founder/director Pauline Bianchi nowadays has three CBD lakefront galleries — Artbay, in part of the historic masonic lodge, Virut Flagship Gallery, in the Eichardt’s building opposite, featuring Thai artist Virut Panchabuse’s "hyper-real" portraits made from thousands of tiny magazine clippings, and Lightworx Gallery, upstairs, showcasing fine art powered by light.
Having been a luxury clothing company HR and retail manager, but also a passionate art collector, Bianchi says she woke at 3.30 one winter’s morning in 2004 from a vivid dream.
She’d had a clear vision for Artbay including the name, concept and logo.
With no pen or paper to hand, she reached for her red lipstick and black eyeliner and sketched the original Artbay logo, still used today, on a nearby receipt.
Bianchi says her journey since, starting with eight years in The Mountaineer building, has been "shaped by creativity, resilience and a deep connection with artists, collectors and the wider creative community".
She represents about 50 artists, not only in NZ but also overseas, including Europe.
"Our artists are carefully selected for more than just their talent — they each carry a distinctive voice, a story woven through truly original mediums."
She says she’s also weathered shifting markets, complex logistics and the unexpected setbacks of global recession and Covid.
Responding, Bianchi’s raised her online presence and grown her art consultancy.
She’ll often work with designers on large homes from the get-go.
"So there’s walls that have been specified for art, and then we work with the client on what they’re looking for, and we give them options.
"We superimpose those options and we also have work commissioned for size."
In recent years, Bianchi says clients have become interested in various mediums, "so not just your traditional oil painting".
For next week’s anniversary exhibition, running till January 21, she’s promising "a dynamic mix of painting, sculpture, collage and mixed media reflecting the evolution and enduring creativity of Artbay’s renowned artists".
Bianchi’s also displaying art she recently brought back from Mexico.
Next Wednesday’s and Thursday’s exhibition launches run from 11am till 5pm.
