Asia gets top billing at Hong Kong's third Art Basel
Artists and galleries from the region share the stage with big international players at prestigious art fair that will run until March 17
Swiss fair giant Art Basel opened its doors to VIP guests last night at the height of Hong Kong's art fever, with the event's new Asia director hailing prominent participation from the region amid exhibition halls flooded with major international players.
Galleries were optimistic about sales this year despite a strong US dollar, event organisers said at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai even as a high-profile satellite fair in Central vied for its share of the limelight yesterday with its own opening to VIPs.
Asia was well presented at Art Basel, including Hong Kong artists and 26 galleries that had exhibition spaces locally, Asia director Adeline Ooi said.
Ooi, meeting the media for the first time in her new role, succeeded Magnus Renfrew just 10 weeks before the Hong Kong fair opened. She had been Art Basel's Southeast Asia VIP relations manager for two years.
The presence of Japanese and Korean art was strong, she said, while contemporary artists resurfaced this year, making stronger references to historical content.
Among the fair participants are many Hongkongers - such as Trevor Yeung, whose photography-based works are featured in the Discoveries section, where emerging artists from around the world are highlighted.
Also in this sector is am space art gallery, which is making its Art Basel debut with works by sound artist Samson Young.
Ooi said the works on show had "gone beyond paintings".
"It's an interesting mix of media … a number of galleries present sculptures and objects."
The Tourism Board dubbed March the "art month" after Art Basel moved its dates from May to March, coinciding with the Hong Kong Arts Festival and Hong Kong International Film Festival and making this month culturally the busiest time of the year. Satellite fair Art Central was inaugurated at the Central harbourfront, showcasing edgier and more political works.
Art Basel director Marc Spiegler said it had taken two years to work on moving the dates to March to have a better fit with the international art calendar.
Spiegler said the gallery line-up was stronger, with 94 per cent of those that exhibited last year returning this year. A total of 233 galleries from 37 countries and territories are taking part - half of them from Asia.
Asked if Art Basel has maxed out its capacity, he said: "The halls are not getting any bigger."
Art Basel acquired part of Art HK in 2011 and launched the Hong Kong edition of the Swiss fair three years ago. It bought the rest of the stake last year. Organisers of Art HK then launched Art Central this year.
The fairs opened under an economic outlook made grim by the mainland's anti-corruption campaign and lowest growth target in the past two decades, of 7 per cent. The strong US dollar has also caused the Japanese yen and South Korean won to depreciate.
In the Film sector of Art Basel, the nearby Hong Kong Arts Centre on Harbour Road is displaying works of moving images for free at its agnes b Cinema. Reservations are required.
The sector is curated by Li Zhenhua, a multimedia artist and curator based in Beijing and Zurich who reprises his role this year. He has lined up 38 works, including 1960s and '70s creations by Marina Abramovic and Michael Craig-Martin.
Art Basel has also commissioned a video installation by mainland Chinese artist Cao Fei featuring images inspired by video games from the '80s.
Unveiled last night, the work, , was projected onto the facade of International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon, accompanied by music offered via a smartphone app. This will run every night until March 17, when the fair closes.
