Published May 22, 2021, 11:00 PM
Don’t miss your chance to catch some of the great works at the highly anticipated art fair ongoing right now in both physical and digital space
GETTING PHYSICAL Visitors exploring the Art Basel Hong Kong 2021 show floor, with Ben Brown Fine Arts’ installation of José Parlá work in the foreground
International events are pushing through amid the health crisis nowadays, most of which are being held in a new scale and in a hybrid format. Many organizations have begun to pivot to the new normal by pushing through with events in their annual calendar by making use of both physical and digital platforms. Take, for instance, some of the recent luxury events, the biggest in the world the prestigious watch-making trade fair in Geneva, Watches and Wonders, and international art and architecture exhibitions, the Venice Biennale and Art Basel, both of which are now currently running.
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‘It’s impossible to imagine that Hong Kong will no longer be an attractive place to show art,’ says Adeline Ooi, director of Art Basel Hong Kong. The fair is preparing for its ninth edition at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre this month, in the midst of a pandemic and in the shadow of the national security law passed in Hong Kong by the Chinese government last June. Asked about how the law might affect the fair, Ooi is sanguine. ‘There’s been a lot of speculation about it,’ she says. ‘But we haven’t been told to do anything differently.’
Ahead of next week’s physical and remote-viewing festivities, we’ve thrown together a series of curated features intended to arm you with the charm and (open university) diploma’s worth of theory you’ll need to navigate Hong Kong’s premiere art fair. First up: 4 of the leading contemporary Korean artists who we’re most excited about.
Myonghi Kang
Pictured: Kang, photographed near her studio on the South Korean island of Jeju. A recurring theme in Kang’s paintings is “reinforcement of our relationship with the natural world”.
From May 17 onwards, enthusiasts here on the ground will be able to catch a new exhibition at VILLEPIN gallery featuring the elusive work of painter Myonghi Kang. For over 50 years, the nominally abstract painter has split her time between Korea (her current studio is on Jeju island) and France, renowned for creating works that are “a sanctuary in which lively dialogue is still possible between [humans] and nature”. This solo exhibiti
Art Basel has announced that 104 galleries from around the world will participate in Art Basel Hong Kong, which is set to run from May 19 to 23 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Ongoing travel restrictions mean that 56 galleries who have committed to a booth at the fair will not be able to attend the event in person. These galleries have opted for what Art Basel describes as satellite booths , which will be staffed by a representative appointed by Art Basel.
Other galleries have joined forces for collective booths . For example, Manila-based Silverlens will share a space with Hong Kong-based Rossi & Rossi and, in one particularly ambitious instance, eight Italian galleries have banded together to take one booth.