Despite his busy schedule, Art HK director Magnus Renfrew takes the time to meet us at Wagyu Lounge on Wyndham Street in Central for a leisurely chat. He's impeccably dressed in a bespoke suit he had made in Shanghai, yet he gives off an approachable and relaxed air.
Renfrew is arguably the most important international art world figure in Hong Kong. Under his guidance, Art HK - which runs from May 26-29 this year - has expanded greatly since the event was first held in 2008. The growth has been so tremendous that MCH Group, which organises the top fairs Art Basle and Art Basle Miami Beach, recently bought a majority stake in Asian Art Fairs, owners of Art HK.
'The purchase of a majority stake in Asian Art Fairs Ltd by MCH Group is a resounding endorsement of our activities and the firm foundations that we've laid to date for building a major international art fair for Asia,' says Renfrew. Next year's fair will take place February 2-5 to best fit with the schedule of the other fairs in the MCH stable. Art HK will retain its name and continue with Renfrew at the helm. This is a huge coup for a fair that didn't begin with such lofty aspirations.
'[The owners] initially had an idea for the fair that was more of a mid-range fair,' Renfrew says. 'I saw that there was huge potential for a major international art fair in Hong Kong, perhaps slightly more ambitious than their initial thoughts. Together, we came up with this idea to really go for the high end.'
But first, they had to bring in galleries. Without them, there would be no exhibitors, and no fair. '[Art HK was] good enough to give me a travel budget,' he says. 'It was a tough six months. I was on 40 flights in six months. I was everywhere: New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Melbourne, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Delhi. You name it, I've been there to try to persuade galleries to come. We managed to assemble a respectable number of galleries in year one.
'We had 101 galleries from 19 different countries,' he continues. 'We had great visitor attendance of 19,000 in the first year. Sales seemed to go well, galleries seemed to feel that they were making interesting contacts, and there was a real energy about it. That was right at the height of the market in 2008. In terms of timing that worked well for us. Each year it has kind of progressed. We've improved the quality of the galleries and increased the geographical diversity of the fair quite dramatically over the three years.'