My name is Ellie Lai
I’m an art lover
And a collector as well
Actually I have been living in this area since I was a child
It’s a new district of Taipei
The apartment is located opposite Songshan Airport
You can see Taipei 101 from here
And the whole city view
In fact
I have never calculated the number of my collection items
I think it may be over one thousand
The love for art has been in my blood
I wasn’t forced by my parents
To learn playing the piano
Later I was enrolled by the music college to learn playing the flute
And then flute became my favorite
It is the happiest period in my life
When I worked in the symphony orchestra
I had the chance to perform with lots of the world’s top musicians
When I was about 26 or 27
Pavarotti came to Taiwan to give a performance
I was running a fever
So I blew the wrong note
He shook his handkerchief
And continued to sing naturally
I was so shamed that I wanted to hide myself in a hole
Speaking of collecting
I started from antiques
I was inspired by Cai Chenyang, the former owner of Humble House
This is a enamel bowl
I bought it from an auction
It was made in the Qianlong Emperor’s reign of Qing Dynasty
In around 2005, I began to pay attention to modern art
Most of the paintings at home are modern works
They’re closely related to our life
James Casebere
He’s one of my favorite photographers
He first built an architectural model
Then took pictures of the model
Under certain lighting conditions
To create scenes
I have two paintings hung in my study
One is a portrait of woman by Fujita Tsuguharu
He combines the style of Ukiyoe with his paintings
He uses really thin water-ink pens
The other is painted by Xu Hualing
It’s also a portrait of woman painted with delicate strokes
I also know some artists
And we’re good friends
Mr. Weng Xuesong
When I visit Beijing
I often go to his home, and he cooks spicy fish for me
In fact I have collected many of his works
This is the only black-and-white one
Ms. Yuan Jai is in her old age
I often visit her
I remember they love desserts
So I bring them delicious desserts in Taipei
Home is for relaxation and rest
So I’m casual about the interior design
I didn’t intentionally do any artistic design
The furniture has been used for a long time
These sofas are even more than 20 years old
I also love collecting Northern European furniture
To achieve a mixture of styles
Taiwan abounds with bamboo
The chair is made by an old craftsman in the south of Taiwan
In cooperation with a French designer
I love plants very much
People are surprised to hear about “plant auction”
Usually the auctioned plants don’t look really nice
They’re small and require much care and attention
Like taking care of a treasure
I love visiting artists’ studios
I have been to the studios of Mr. Zhang Xiaogang
Mr. Liu Ye and Mr. Zhou Chunya
I can see how they create art works
And chat with them in their studios
I think that’s the most interesting
Mr. Zhou has been a good friend of mine
I also assist in his solo exhibition in Taipei
The communication between collectors is interesting too
I have some friends
Who are also the members of Tate Gallery
We go to the Europe of Japan together
Including the modern exhibition in Taipei this time
We go to exhibitions together
And we often feel the same
About the beauty of art and how it touches us
I like these modern art works
They bring me peaceful power
And they can calm me down