Art Basel announces a premier list of galleries for its seventh edition in Hong Kong

Today Art Basel announced the list of 242 leading international galleries selected for its 2019 Hong Kong show. From 36 countries and territories across Asia, Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa, the exhibitors will present Modern and contemporary works of the highest quality by emerging and established artists.

Alongside a robust roster of returning galleries, this year's show features 21 galleries participating in the Hong Kong show for the first time – among them nine galleries in the main sector that have been highly influential in defining the art scenes in Europe and the United States over the past decades including: Galerie Greta Meert from Belgium; Galerie Bärbel Grässlin and Galerie Max Hetzler from Germany; and Luhring Augustine, Matthew Marks Gallery, Paula Cooper Gallery, Regen Projects, Andrew Kreps Gallery and Richard Nagy Ltd from the United States.

At the same time, Art Basel reinforces its ongoing commitment to showcasing exceptional art from Asia and the Asia Pacific, with over half of the participating galleries having exhibition spaces in the region. Seven galleries that previously exhibited in the Insights sector, dedicated to artists from Asia, or in the Discoveries sector, the platform for emerging artists, will be showing for the first time in the main Galleries sector, including from Asia: ROH Projects from Jakarta, Galerie du Monde from Hong Kong, Gow Langsford Gallery from Auckland, and Tang Contemporary Art with spaces in Beijing, Hong Kong and Bangkok among others.

Once again, Hong Kong will be strongly represented at the fair, with 25 galleries having exhibition spaces in the city. While galleries from Australia, India, Japan, Korea, mainland China and Taiwan will continue to have strong presence at the show, this year's edition will also feature great presentations by galleries from Southeast Asia, including Richard Koh Fine Art with spaces in Malaysia and Thailand as a first-time participant presenting ‘Your Past is My Future’ by Thai artist Natee Utarit; Nova Contemporary showing a new series of works by Burmese artist Moe Satt; and the Indonesian gallery ROH Projects presenting their program in the Galleries sector. Furthermore, New Zealand will be represented by Fox/Jensen, Gow Langsford Gallery and Starkwhite in the Galleries sector, and by Hopkinson Mossman showing a new film by Shannon Te Ao and Michael Lett showing works by Imogen Taylor in Discoveries.

Galleries

The main sector of the show features 196 of the world's leading galleries presenting the highest quality of painting, sculpture, drawings, installation, photography, video and digital works. This year’s Galleries sector sees several solo presentations, such as Fifth Moon Group at Galerie du Monde; Chinese contemporary artist Liu Xiaodong at Eslite Gallery; Christopher Wool at Luhring Augustine; a new installation by Simon Starling specifically created for the show at The Modern Institute; and works by visionary abstract painter Wu Da-Yu at Lin & Lin Gallery, including oils, cartoons, ink, gouache, encaustic, pastels, watercolors, fountain pen and pencil drawings that reflect his exploration of different styles from Impressionism, Cubism and Fauvism. 

Insights

This unique sector features presentations by one or two artists with exceptional historical materials and strong thematic exhibitions by 21 galleries. Insights illustrates Asian art history by presenting works of important artists from Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. Highlights include first-time participant Empty Gallery from Hong Kong with a presentation titled ‘Tishan Hsu: 1984 - 1997’, the Asian debut of New York-based artist Tishan Hsu’s works from his most prolific period; Asia Art Center’s presentation of an imagined artist studio by Chinese-born artist Cheong Soo Pieng, who later moved to Singapore and became one of the founding fathers of contemporary Singaporean art; Shanghai's Bank presenting a dialogue between Taiwanese artists Richard Lin and Michael Lin; Don Gallery, also from Shanghai, showing a solo exhibition of Beijing-based painter Li Shan, who has been exploring urban and natural landscapes in her practice for more than four decades; and New Delhi's Gallery Espace showcasing the last three decades of work by Zarina Hashmi. 

Discoveries

Focused on solo shows by emerging artists, Discoveries this year will feature 25 galleries, such as Sabrina Amrani presenting South Korean artist Jong Oh and Indian gallery Jhaveri Contemporary showcasing new work by Lubna Chowdhary. Highlights from first-time participants include Chateau Shatto featuring Los Angeles-based artist, writer and curator Aria Dean’s new works created for the fair, and hunt kastner—first Czech exhibitor in the Hong Kong show—presenting an installation by Czech artist Anna Hulačová entitled ‘Pathetic Poetic’ that offers an insight into the artist's worldview. Other first-time participants include: Christian Andersen, Galerie Crèvecoeur, Nova Contemporary and Tabula Rasa Gallery. 

Further details on the project-based sectors such as Kabinett and Encounters, as well as the Film and Conversations programs will be available in the coming months.

Museums Shows and Institutions

Visitors to the show will have the opportunity to view Hong Kong's leading museums and institutions:

•    Asia Art Archive

'Notes on the Lee Wen Archive'

•    Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT) 'Unfolding: Fabric of Our Life'

•    Hong Kong Arts Centre

'“CINEMA 2.0” Media Arts Exhibition'

'5th Collectors’ Contemporary Collaboration on Chinese Private Collection'
'Sightlines'

•    M+ Pavilion

'Noguchi for Danh Vo: Counterpoint'

•    Para Site

'An Opera for Animals'

•    Videotage

'VMAC 2017-18 Acquisition Showcase'

Reflecting a long-term commitment to the local art scene, Art Basel continues to support the annual Hong Kong Art Week organized by the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, taking place from November 9 to November 17, 2018.

South Island Cultural District will once again hold a special Art Day in during the Art Basel show in March.