25 local galleries to feature in Art Basel HK 2019
Art Basel Hong Kong — the city’s annual flagship art event — unveiled the exhibitors’ list for its next iteration on Thursday. The 2019 edition of the art fair will run from March 29 to 31. The Art Basel brand (originally from Basel, Switzerland) was brought to Hong Kong in 2013 and since then has played a major role in connecting collectors, art galleries and artists.
Although international in character, the fair promises to continue its commitment to promoting art from Asia and the Asia Pacific. The fair’s “Insights” sector, featuring 21 galleries, is dedicated to illuminating the art history of these regions. More than half of the 242 galleries on the list are from nonWestern cultures, including Australia, India, Japan, Korea, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
The fair’s “Galleries” sector will feature 196 leading international galleries, showcasing painting, sculpture, installation, photography and video. The “Discoveries” sector, represented by 25 galleries, serves as a platform for emerging artists.
Twenty-five local galleries will participate in the fair. The list includes Galerie du Monde, whose managing director, Kelvin Yang, says he is pleased to be back and particularly excited at having made the transition from “Insights” to “Galleries”. Galerie du Monde will showcase specially curated works by a group of artists from Hong Kong and Taiwan, aiming to shed light on the advancement of ink art over the past 60 years. The artists featured include Liu Kuosung and Kwok Hon-sum, who were part of the Fifth Moon group who campaigned for modern art in Taiwan. There’s also Hong Kong’s Fong Chung-ray who has married ink art with collage techniques, while the millennial Wu Chi-tsung has adapted ink art to cyanotype photography and moving image.
Watch out for the Asian debut of New York-based artist Tishan Hsu, represented by Hong Kong’s Empty Gallery. Chinese-born Singaporean artist Cheong Soo Pieng, represented by Asia Art Center, will bring to life an imaginary artist’s studio. Richard Koh Fine Art which runs galleries in Malaysia and Thailand is bringing works by the Thai artist Natee Utarit.