Intense Appreciation

New Zealand filmmaker and artist Vincent Ward’s multimedia exhibition “Breath: The Fleeting Intensity of Life” is drawing attention from China. “During the Govett-Brewster exhibition, we had a professor of art from the Shanghai Institute of Design of the Chinese Academy of Art come to see the work,” Ward said. “She is very keen on bringing the show to Shanghai with a large exhibition next year.” Ward said “Breath” seems to have resonated with Chinese audiences, both in its form and content. He noted the similarities between his paintings with Chinese artistic traditions: “They’re very similar to Chinese scroll paintings.” A preview event in China is planned for November. New Zealand publisher and architect Ron Sang is to release a book on Ward and his work in June. Ward is best known internationally for directing the Oscar-winning 1998 feature What Dreams May Come.