Its next exhibition Takashi Murakami+, opening Thursday in a temporary space in Central, showcases prints by the Japanese artist, whose work is collected in museums and galleries around the world. The gallery also plans to exhibit works by Damien Hirst next year.

According to Coxall, the success of the Banksy show affirms there is local demand for edgy international contemporary art.

'Twelve hundred people attended the opening and many queued to see the show. It appealed to everyone - locals, expats and overseas visitors came. For many, it was their first encounter with works by a graffiti artist,' he says.

The positive response also gave the partners confidence to rent a small space in Central to display their own collection.

'There is very little being done in Hong Kong related to western contemporary art. We feel the time is right and the public is ready to see more. People are already coming to us. And we want to bring the world's most exciting art to Hong Kong, display it to the public and offer it for sale,' says Abergas.

Fabrik was born out of the trio's love of contemporary art. None of them had run a gallery before, nor are they art dealers; they all have 'day jobs'. But Hong Kong-based Coxall and Saunderson are avid collectors whose collection has grown so large they have had to sell some of it off.

Coxall's interest in art began at home. His father was a professional sign painter.

'In his day, signwriting was all manual and took skill. He was very talented and also painted images of British and coastal scenery and had exhibitions. As I was growing up I was exposed to art through my father and by visiting art shows. Our house was full of art,' says the 43-year-old.

Although Coxall took art courses in school, he realised he needed to have a practical background to make an income, so decided to work in a more commercial trade. In the past few years Coxall has become interested in buying and collecting art. His first purchase was a print by Andy Warhol. 'I have always been fascinated by Warhol,' he says. 'He was the first to put famous celebrities and soup cans into contemporary art - his works are timeless. They don't date.

'Warhol drew me into collecting and I continued to buy Warhol, and from there works by Keith Haring, Damien Hirst and Robert Indiana,' Coxall says.

Saunderson, 49, shares his taste. 'A chance meeting with Warhol back in the 1980s got my attention, prompting an early interest in contemporary modern art.

'The rest, collecting, came pretty easily. My partner's own focus broadened my horizons beyond Haring, Hirst and more recently Banksy, to Murakami.'

Abergas, a 29-year-old-year old graphic designer who studied at London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, will be overseeing exhibitions and the operations of the gallery. He was invited to join Fabrik because of his creative skills. 'I appreciate art and want to help promote it,' says Abergas. 'Before, I dabbled in a lot of creative activities. Working with an art gallery allows me to express myself creatively.'

For the Murakami show, which features big-eyed cartoon girls and patterned motif surfaces with winking, squinting eyes, Fabrik is not working directly with the artist; the works in the show - around 30 prints - are part of the gallery's collection. The signed limited-editions prints have starting prices around US$4,000.

'This makes it easy for people wanting to buy their first piece of art. It's definitely a great way to start,' says Abergas.

'Murakami's works are still affordable, although they have increased in value in the past two years [doubling and trebling in price], and there's still plenty of room to go up. Murakami+ is unique in that we are holding it in our own space - basically to help launch the fact that we're here. Beyond this show we still plan more guerilla exhibitions in temporary locations.'

Fabrik Contemporary, Rm 412, 4/F Yip Fung Building, 2-18 D'Aguilar St, Central. Thu-Sept 30, Tue-Sun, 12pm-7pm. Inquiries: 2525 4911