ART WITH HEART
Get your paddles ready for Asia Art Archive’s annual fundraising auction
Always a highlight of the arts calendar, the Asia Art Archive (AAA) auction features more than 70 works this year spanning painting, drawing, sculpture, prints and more. The works have been donated by artists and galleries to support the archive’s library, online platforms and the myriad events it organises and hosts—including residencies, workshops and conferences—to preserve and promote contemporary Asian art.
“Every year we are incredibly grateful to all of the artists and galleries who so generously donate artworks for the auction, as well as our sponsors,” says Claire Hsu-vuchot, co-founder and executive director of the AAA. “It is a wonderful opportunity to acquire works by some of the most creative minds of our day and at the same time to support the making of new art histories.”
This year’s auction features a particularly strong lineup of works by female artists. Among the highlights are a lithograph by the late Japanese-american artist Ruth Asawa, who is best known as a sculptor but who drew every day, and works by rising stars such as Maria Taniguchi from the Philippines and Hong Kong painter Cheng Tingting. This focus mirrors the academic work over the past two years by the AAA, which is expanding its research into work by female artists around the continent, partly thanks to a dedicated new fund led by art patron Dee Poon.
The coming fundraiser is key to making sure such pioneering research can continue. “The annual fundraiser is the single most important source of support for AAA as it raises more than half of AAA’S annual operation budget, which makes it possible to grow and keep our library and website freely accessible to the public,” says Hsu-vuchot. “These materials are crucial for education, scholarship and new research of art from Asia.”
The AAA’S fundraising dinner and live auction will take place at the China Club on November 2, and all the works destined to go under the hammer can be previewed in the James Christie Room at Alexandra House from October 14 to 17. aaa.org.hk