ASIAN RESURGENCE
Injecting a much-needed dose of excitement into the international art scene is Art Basel Hong Kong 2021, which ended on a high with sold-out tickets and strong sales.
Injecting a much-needed dose of excitement into the art scene is the recent Art Basel Hong Kong 2021. Here’s our report on its resurgence
After the cancellation of last year’s Art Basel Hong Kong, the highly anticipated fair finally returned to the city for its 9th edition on May 21 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Showcasing a hybrid format, the show was a three-day affair that featured a strong line-up of 104 galleries that were represented either physically or online.
This 2021 edition placed a greater emphasis on historic Asian works and the talent of younger artists. Among the latter were Hong Kong’s Firenze Lai, Belgian painter Harold Ancart and Mexico’s Gabriel de la Morta. Prominent international galleries were back, too, including David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Gagosian and Lehman Maupin, alongside Alison Fine Arts and Blindspot Gallery from Hong Kong, and regional players such as China’s Beijing Commune, Taiwan’s TKG+ and Japan’s Ota Fine Arts.
Giving the physical fair a wider appeal and running in parallel to it was Art Basel Live: Hong Kong, launched as a digital initiative to amplify participating galleries, artists and city-wide cultural programming to a broad global audience. There were daily broadcasts, live-streamed events and a host of virtual experiences, including a series of VIP virtual walkthroughs that were live-streamed from the exhibition halls directly to private collectors from over 30 countries and territories. Among them were representatives of leading global institutions, including the Museum MACAN (Jakarta), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), and Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo (Vienna).
While the mood felt surreal to most visitors emerging from months of social distancing, the excitement in the air was palpable – thanks to the months of online viewing room (OVR) teasers on ArtBasel.com, and the exuberance of the gallerists. Occupying one floor of the exhibition centre (instead of two at the 2019 edition), the atmosphere was a more intimate one. Spotted among the art lovers and collectors were socialites, influencers and celebrities who showed up in support of the art scene.
The organisers have reported strong sales across all levels of the market and throughout the duration of the fair. Iwan Wirth, president of Hauser & Wirth, said, “There is an electric atmosphere in Hong Kong as people embrace real life along with the global community tapping into the energy via the OVR. We’ve seen an incredible response to our presentation at Art Basel Hong Kong. Ninety per cent of our first day sales of works by our artists have been placed in truly superlative collections across the region which shows that the art market in Asia is on a high.”
Hauser & Wirth sold Paul McCarthy’s “White Snow” sculpture (2016) for US$575,000 (S$773,509), Gary Simmons’ painting Hangfire (2019) for US$175,000, and George Condo’s painting Blues in A Flat (2021) for US$1.75 million. The deal for a Keith Haring creation, offered by Gladstone Gallery, was closed for a figure between US$1.5 to 2 million. The biggest sale at Art Basel Hong Kong was a 1962 Joan Mitchell painting once owned by the late American collector Barney Ebsworth – sold by Lévy Gorvy for US$20 million.
Feedback from participating gallerists was glowing too, buoying hopes for an even better show next year and setting the stage for more innovative formats in the future. Wendy Olsoff, co-founder of P.P.O.W from New York who participated as a digital exhibitor, said, “We found the support of the fair and the collecting community to be robust. The help on the ground – from the installation team to the VIP programme – made the effort feel seamless. If this can become a model for future opportunities, it would definitely help our carbon footprint!”