Mica Franco x Si Rong Li
Each month, Boutique Connection supports Sanderson Contemporary Art’s exhibition openings.
This is a collaboration of wine and art pairing where we pair a handcrafted New Zealand wine with the artist’s hero piece. The project explores how taste and texture can echo a visual experience and perhaps even enhance it.
I’m exploring the non-verbal dialogue between art and wine and pairing each artist’s hero piece with a wine that echoes its mood, energy, and emotion.
The aim is to translate visual expression into taste, inviting viewers to experience the artwork through another sensory lens. Each match is intuitive and collaborative, celebrating both the artist’s vision and the craft of our boutique producers.
Si Rong Li - Nowhere, Now Here
Nowhere, Now Here is a solo exhibition by Taiwanese-born, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland-based artist Li Si Rong, presented at Sanderson Contemporary.
Through her playful and thoughtful works, Si Rong explores ideas of belonging, memory and finding a sense of place in the world. She invites us to slow down, take notice of our surroundings and appreciate the simple moments we often overlook.
There's a lovely sense of calm throughout the exhibition, with recurring references to nature, home and the feeling of being present.
In The Air
In the Air began with the idea of a bird in flight. It's a delicate mobile that hangs above us, constantly moving and finding its balance.
Si Rong likens the experience of looking at the work to gazing up at the stars. We naturally lift our heads to see it, taking a moment to stop, rest and look upwards.
There's something wonderfully playful about the work, yet also quite grounding. Despite being suspended in the air, it's all about finding balance and being present in the moment.
As Si Rong beautifully writes in her accompanying exhibition poem:
"I am beneath this field of stars. I am on the ground. I am here."
To echo this feeling, I've chosen Mica Franco Cabernet Franc 2023 from Hawke's Bay, a collaboration between winemaker friends Josephine Perry and Tamra Kelly-Washington.
Mica Franco 2023
Cabernet Franc can be quite a structured, serious red, but Franco takes a lighter, more relaxed approach. Made from fruit grown at Howell Vineyard in Bridge Pa, it's a wonderfully refreshing expression of the variety, designed to be enjoyed with a decent chill.
What I love about this pairing is the balance between lightness and earthiness.
Si Rong's mobile floats above us, gently shifting and finding its equilibrium, while Franco offers that same sense of lightness in the glass. Its bright fruit and refreshing character give it lift, while the earthy, savoury notes keep it grounded.
Both challenge our expectations a little. A red wine that doesn't feel heavy, and an artwork that hangs in the air yet reminds us to feel grounded.
“Feet on the ground, head in the air.”
Enjoy!
- Renée Dale
—
Si Rong Li
Nowhere, Now Here
16 September - 11 October 2026Sanderson are delighted to present the exhibition Nowhere, Now Here by Li Si Rong.
Here is a collection of new canvases and their spinning, suspended clay cousins by the Taiwanese-born Tāmaki Makaurau-based artist Li Si Rong – the colours cheerful and deep, the subjects familiar but focused. This is an uplifting room; indeed, there are few words that more aptly describe Li Si Rong’s practice, her outlook, and her mission than the word ‘uplifting’.
And words are a good place to start, because this show’s playfulness pervades the title, too. Nowhere, Now Here is both a mantra and a fact. An artful pairing, the phrase contains the soothing reality of the present, and it sounds like a calming conversation one might have with oneself in a moment of reflection. In this way, the title reflects Li’s observation that with this series she has moved from the communal, the focus of last year’s Murmuration, to the individual experience.
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Read more from Amy Stewart here.
