“I think you design your life. Everybody has choices , and it’s up to you to make the choices that resonate with you.” 

The multifaceted Michele Li, wedding planner extraordinaire and founder of the Wedding Company, avid hiker, yoga lover, wife and mother of two, shared her secrets for a balanced life. We commissioned celebrated fashion illustrator David Downton to illustrate a limited edition cover, our first.

“Chinese society is currently in a transitional period from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’ because of the efforts of billions of peasants.”

Known as the “explosion artist” for his fireworks display at the Beijing Olympics and his gunpower paintings, Cai Guoqiang had a lot to say about Chinese peasants (like himself) and their enormous contribution to the mainland’s modernisation.

Photographed at the site of the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai, the artist talked about his life and his exhibition, which transformed peasants’ inventions into highly collectible works of art.

See also: Art Talk: Chinese Artist Zhu Tian On Being Her Own Guinea Pig

“We are the kind of gallery that respects artists... we’re not going to interfere with the creative process.”

In this two-cover issue inspired by Irving Penn,  the mother-and-daughter team behind the Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery talked about the benefits of working together in an artistic and professional capacity, and their efforts towards gaining greater recognition for Hong Kong artists.

“Art just explodes out of me, in big abstract splashes of colour.  It’s very spontaneous, intuitive and raw.”

In a wide-ranging interview, we discovered Adrian Cheng to be a man of many talents, which as well as his business acumen include singing, painting and thinking up incredible projects that fuse his businesses with his love of art, such as K11 art malls.

The cover shoot took place at Place Vendôme in Paris following a conceptual fashion and jewellery show he organised there for Chow Tai Fook after the fall/winter fashion week.

See also: 5 Ways Adrian Cheng Is Changing The Game

“For me, it’s really been about a fascination with people who have big ideas.” 

Just five years after moving from London to Hong Kong, the larger-than-life Yana Peel (now CEO of Serpentine Galleries) had made her mark on the burgeoning art scene.

She told of her journey from the trading floor at Goldman Sachs to co-chair of Para Site and Intelligence Squared, sitting on the advisory board of the Asia Art Archive, and becoming a partner at Duddell’s, which was under construction at the time and was used for the shoot. 

See also: Wolfgang Tillmans And David Zwirner Land In Hong Kong

“Issues of identity have helped shape who I am and what I have achieved at Asia Art Archive... I am driven by my belief  in a universal museum, where we break out of national politics and share objects and knowledge across borders.”

We wandered the streets of Sheung Wan for our shoot with Claire Hsu. The founder of the Asia Art Archive shared how the eclectic neighbourhood has become an inspiration to her and the foundation she leads, which, apart from supporting artists and promoting creative freedom, boasts one of the most valuable collections of material on the recent history of Asian art. 

“Everything is external to me except art, which is with me all the time. Even at my lowest and darkest ebbs, art has saved me.” —Tracey Emin

The late entrepreneur and bon vivant David Tang interviewed his friend Tracey Emin. The irrepressible pair met at a London cultural hub, the China Exchange, to swap views on creativity and romance, and to tell the humorous tale of the one time they “slept” together.

“I aim to provoke. I want to break taboos and challenge ideas that are out of date using objects and concepts in an unexpected way.”

In a shoot that involved being drenched in paint and showered with funeral paper, G.O.D. founder Douglas Young talked about his creative upbringing, why Hong Kong’s art scene needed Occupy Central (and his Lennon Wall-inspired installation), and his vision for the city as an amazing cultural hub. 

“We took on Zeng Fanzhi to show goodwill to China’s art-collecting public. It was a political statement. But I wouldn’t have taken the artist on if I didn’t like or wasn’t impressed with his work.”

Getting Larry Gagosian and Zeng Fanzhi together for our cover story was a Herculean effort, but it finally came together, thanks to William Zhao, our editor-at-large for art and design, who was able to secure a shoot at the Gagosian Gallery library in New York. The influential art dealer and celebrated contemporary artist discussed their relationship and Asia’s art ecosystem.

See also: 50 Biggest Art Collectors In Asia