Art Basel's fourth edition in Hong Kong: a record year at all levels

This year’s Art Basel show in Hong Kong attracted over 70,000 visitors, among them directors, curators, trustees and patrons from over 100 leading international museums and institutions. The show, which closed today, Saturday, March 26, 2016, featured a new floorplan, spotlighting strong performances by galleries from Asia and the West. Confirming Art Basel’s standing as the leading international art fair in Asia, galleries across all sectors reported strong sales throughout the week. Despite recent doubts surrounding the robustness of the international art market, Art Basel proved that there continues to be strong demand when high-quality work from premier galleries worldwide is presented to an audience of highly engaged collectors and museum directors. The continuing expansion and sophistication of the collector base from Asia's many regions was widely noted by gallerists.

This year’s edition of Art Basel in Hong Kong, whose Lead Partner is UBS, offered its visitors 239 galleries with exhibition spaces in 35 countries and territories. Over half of the galleries have exhibition spaces in Asia and the Asia-Pacific, signifying Art Basel’s commitment to representing the continent at its Hong Kong show. Consolidating Insights, the sector dedicated to galleries and artists from across Asia, on the third floor and rearranging the distribution of smaller and larger galleries across both halls created a more balanced floorplan that ensured visitors navigated the show more extensively.

28 galleries exhibited at Art Basel in Hong Kong this year for the first time, including 18 leading Western galleries, alongside nine key Asian galleries and Selma Feriani Gallery from Tunisia. Art Basel’s show in Hong Kong is a unique presentation of the art scenes that are developing across Asia and the Asia-Pacific, showcasing their diversity and rapid development. In addition, the show presented more historical material of exceptional quality, as well as leading contemporary art by international artists. This year’s edition also saw the return of an ambitious Encounters sector comprising 16 large-scale installations, including six entirely new works and four site-specific works. The popular Film sector was doubled to include feature-length documentary and feature films.

The show was attended by over 70,000 visitors, a new record for Art Basel in Hong Kong. Gallerists reported meeting many new collectors from across Asia and the West, including representatives from museums who had visited the show for the first time. Directors, curators, trustees and patrons of leading museums and institutions came to the show including 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney; Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; Fondation Beyeler, Basel; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC; Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London; Long Museum, Shanghai; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; National Gallery Singapore, Singapore; Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Tate, London; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Participating galleries spoke positively of their experience at this year’s show in Hong Kong:

‘This was certainly our most successful Hong Kong fair ever, with a super positive response from collectors all over the region, including Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, and Taipei. We were fortunate to have Belgian artist Michaël Borremans join us in Hong Kong for the week, where he entrusted us with five new paintings for the fair, which were all sold within the first few hours.’

David Zwirner, Founder, David Zwirner, New York, London

‘This year’s show has been one of the best fairs in Pace’s 55-year history. The exhibition sold out and we placed a Rauschenberg masterpiece in a great Asian museum.'

Arne Glimcher, Founder, Pace, Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Menlo Park, New York

‘This year has been another incredible edition of Art Basel in Hong Kong. The show impresses every year, but this year in particular, we’ve consistently sold work by both our Asian and Western artists.’

Pearl Lam, Founder, Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore

‘It’s particularly rewarding to see real engagement with the artists we have been showing here for a number of years. Our clients from Taiwan and Korea were all at the fair, and we’ve made some important new contacts with significant collectors and institutions from China and Malaysia.’

Polly Robinson Gaer, Executive Director, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, Pantin, Salzburg

‘We are thrilled about the fair this year as all the works on the booth have been sold. We brought younger artists like Peng Wei for the first time, which also received a great response. Apart from collectors from Mainland China, Europe and Taiwan, buyers from Philippines and Indonesia are particularly strong this year as well.’

Tina Keng, Executive Director, Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Beijing

‘This is only the second year we are exhibiting at Art Basel in Hong Kong and the response we have received this year has been beyond positive. We have met a number of Asian collectors, but also institutions and museums. The fair within itself is impressive, and we have noted how in just a year visitors are so much more informed.’

Regina Fiorito, Director, Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne

‘With its attraction of the top international collectors, Art Basel in Hong Kong continues to be one of the most important fairs for us, and this year we were delighted to see new and familiar faces. We placed works, in prominent Chinese and Asian collections.’

Patricia Crockett, Director, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, London, Los Angeles

‘We are very certain that Art Basel is the biggest platform for the primary art market in Asia and the show attracts the most exciting artists, collectors, and visitors every year.’

Emily Chao, Director, Eslite Gallery, Taipei

‘We have had a successful fair this year. We brought a solo presentation by Glenn Ligon, which for many in Asia has been the first opportunity to view the work and to understand its physicality. The booth has generated an extremely positive response and we have placed works in important collections in the region.’

Thomas Dane and Martine d'Anglejan-Chatillon, Partners, Thomas Dane Gallery, London

‘We are delighted that all of the works on the booth have gone to great collections within the first three days of the show. We also met a few good overseas institutions who are interested in our program at the gallery.’

Simon Wang, Director, Antenna Space, Shanghai

'The fair has been great this year, with a wonderful buzz. We’ve spoken with returning clients who we first met years ago in Basel, as well as collectors from Shanghai, New York, Australia, and across Asia, from private collectors to institutions.’

Neil Dundas, Senior Curator, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, Cape Town

‘We've sold works by both emerging artists of the gallery and historical material. We are excited to have forged so many new relationships with important collectors in this region and look forward to continuing to focus on developing our presence here.’

Trina Gordon, Director, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York

‘Art Basel’s reputation as the world’s greatest art fair and Hong Kong’s fast growing reputation as the cultural hub of the Asia-Pacific region gives Art Basel in Hong Kong the power and multi-faceted edge we look for on the circuit. It performs perfectly as an art fair, but also opens up a space between the art museum and the art market where galleries can present exhibitions and projects that are aimed at curators and exhibition-makers as well as collectors. Under the new directorship of Adeline Ooi, Art Basel's Hong Kong show has lifted its game.’

John McCormack, Co-Director, Starkwhite, Auckland

‘We've had a really phenomenal response to Tiffany Chung's work in our booth, with large crowds every day, including several international museum groups. The project’s Hong Kong focus has struck a particular chord with local audiences, and we are thrilled that the acquisition by M+ will allow the main installation to remain here.’

Tyler Rollins, Founder and Owner, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York

‘There seems to be a growing interest in the contemporary Greek art scene, and we have received some serious attention from collectors who are looking to build a long-term relationship with the gallery. We noticed a growing quantity of more confident Mainland Chinese collectors at this year's fair and we have made a number of new contacts with these collectors, as well as with major museums from the region, as well as the United States – giving us a real opportunity to talk about our artists.’

Roupen Kalfayan, Co-Founder, Kalfayan Galleries, Athens, Thessaloniki

‘We’ve exhibited with Art Basel in Hong Kong since the beginning. Being here is unparalleled in terms of the ability to cultivate relationships with new audiences. Collectors we have met here have become year-round followers of the gallery program. This year we have made sales to new collectors from Hong Kong and Mainland China.’

Simone Battisti, Associate Director, Gladstone Gallery, New York, Brussels

‘We’ve had some great sales and had incredible conversations with people from the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Tokyo, Australia and New Zealand. Attendance has been strong past the VIP preview.’

Kevin Scholl, Director, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles

‘Once again, Art Basel has had an enormous turnout. Galerie Ora-Ora has had an exceptionally strong year for sales, with works going to collectors from America, United Kingdom, Australia, Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and more. We have completely sold out of one of our artists.’

Henrietta Tsui, Founder, Galerie Ora-Ora, Hong Kong

Galleries, the main sector of the show, featured 187 Modern and contemporary art galleries, presenting the highest quality of painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, photography, video and editioned works. Exhibitors returning after a brief hiatus included Marianne Boesky Gallery (New York) and Applicat-Prazan (Paris), while many Asian galleries moved from other sectors of the show into Galleries, where they were able to present a wider range of their gallery programs. These galleries were: Athr (Jeddah), Blindspot Gallery (Hong Kong), Chambers Fine Art (Beijing, New York), Galerie Ora-Ora (Hong Kong), Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde (Dubai), Nanzuka (Tokyo), Nature Morte (New Delhi), Project Fulfill Art Space (Taipei), Taro Nasu (Tokyo), TKG+ (Taipei, Beijing), Yavuz Gallery (Singapore) and Yumiko Chiba Associates (Tokyo). Francesca Minini (Milan) and Galeria Plan B (Cluj, Berlin) also exhibited for the first time in the Galleries sector. Strong presentations of solo booths and significant historical materials from Asia were highlighted throughout the show, including Ryuzaburo Umehara (b. 1888, Japan) at galerie nichido (Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Karuizawa, Kasama, Paris); Jiro Takamatsu (b. 1936, Japan) at Yumiko Chiba Associates (Tokyo); David Diao (b. 1943, Mainland China) at Eslite Gallery (Taipei), Ni Haifeng (b. 1964, Mainland China) at In Situ - fabienne leclerc (Paris). Other solo booths of note by international names included Frank Stella (b.1936, United States) at Marianne Boesky Gallery (New York); Glenn Ligon (b. 1960, United States) at Thomas Dane Gallery (New York); and William Kentridge (b. 1955, South Africa) at Goodman Gallery (Johannesburg, Cape Town). For the full list of galleries, please visit artbasel.com/hongkong/galleries.

The Insights sector – dedicated to curatorial projects by galleries with spaces in Asia and the Asia-Pacific region – featured 28 solo shows, exceptional historical material and strong thematic group exhibitions. This year’s edition was a particularly strong presentation of Modern work, with around half of the galleries presenting material from this period. Insights also provided a particularly diverse and in-depth overview of art from across the region with featured artists from Australia, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Japan, Mainland China, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Turkey. Highlights included Michael Cook (b. 1968, Australia) at This Is No Fantasy + dianne tanzer gallery (Melbourne), Guan Xiao (b. 1983, Mainland China) and Yu Honglei (b. 1984, Mainland China) at Antenna Space (Shanghai), Stella Zhang (b. 1965, Mainland China) at Galerie du Monde (Hong Kong), Li Huasheng (b. 1944, Mainland China) at Ink Studio (Beijing), Kimiyo Mishima (b. 1932, Japan) at MEM (Tokyo), Tadasu Takamine (b. 1968, Japan) at Arataniurano (Tokyo) and Tayeba Begum Lipi (b. 1969, Bangladesh) at Pi Artworks (Istanbul, London). For the full list of galleries and artists, please visit artbasel.com/hongkong/insights.

The Discoveries sector presented its strongest showcase of emerging artists to date, with solo- and two-person exhibitions presented by 24 galleries. For this year’s edition, five of the galleries were completely new to the show. Highlights included Wu Tsang (b. 1982, United States) at Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi (Berlin), Jess Johnson (b. 1979, New Zealand) at Darren Knight Gallery (Sydney), Wan Lee (b. 1979, South Korea) at 313 Art Project (Seoul), Alvin Zafra (b. 1978, Philippines) at Artinformal (Mandaluyong City) and Waqas Khan (b. 1982, Pakistan) at first time exhibitor Sabrina Amrani (Madrid). For the full list of galleries and artist, please visit artbasel.com/hongkong/discoveries.

Samson Young, the winner of the first BMW Art Journey, presented a new work titled ‘So You Are Old by the Time You Reach the Island’ at this year's Art Basel show in Hong Kong. The work took the form of a multi-media walk that led participants on a journey through the streets of the Admiralty and Wan Chai districts in Hong Kong. Art Basel and BMW also announced the second shortlist selected from the Discoveries sector by an international jury during the show. The shortlist consists of Abigail Reynolds (b. 1970, United Kingdom) with Rokeby (London), Newsha Tavakoljan (b. 1981, Iran) with Thomas Erben Gallery (New York) and Alvin Zafra (b. 1978, Philippines) with Artinformal (Mandaluyong City). All three artists have been invited to submit their proposals describing their ideal journey. The winner will be announced in the early summer of 2016. For further information, please visit artbasel.com/partners.

Alexie Glass-Kantor, Executive Director of Artspace in Sydney, returned for a second time to curate Encounters. The selected artists and works demonstrated unprecedented ambition, with six of the art works premiering at the fair, while four were site-specific for Art Basel’s show in Hong Kong. This year’s curation included work by Brook Andrew (b. 1970, Australia), Charles Avery (b. 1973, United Kingdom), Hans Berg (b. 1978, Sweden) and Nathalie Djurberg (b.1978, Sweden), Roberto Chabet (1937-2013, Philippines), Chen Zhen (1955-2000, Mainland China), Isa Genzken (b. 1948, Germany), Kyungah Ham (b. 1966, South Korea), Arik Levy (b.1963, Israel), Peter Liversidge (b. 1973, United Kingdom), Richard Maloy (b. 1977, New Zealand), Tintin Wulia (b. 1972, Indonesia), Tromarama (Indonesia), Keiji Uematsu (b. 1947, Japan), Lawrence Weiner (b. 1942, United States), Pae White (b.1963, United States) and Zhang Ding (b.1980, Mainland China). For the full list of artists and supporting galleries, please visit artbasel.com/hongkong/encounters.

The third edition of the Film sector expanded to show over 70 films. Beijing and Zurich-based multi-media artist and producer Li Zhenhua returned once again to curate the sector, which centered around six diverse themes. For the first time the program included five feature-length films, which were screened at the HKCEC. Highlights of this year’s program included the Asian premier of ‘The Chinese Lives of Uli Sigg’ by Michael Schindhelm, ‘Zeng Fanzhi: YOU Art Project’ by Shi Li-Sanderson and Philipp Stölzl,

Takashi Murakami’s ‘Jellyfish Eyes’, ‘Poet on a Business Trip’ by Ju Anqi and finally a series of ten animated films by William Kentridge. The Art Basel film program was attended by over 1,500 visitors and shown at the agnès b. CINEMA at the Hong Kong Arts Centre and at the HKCEC and remained free to the public. For the full list of galleries and artist, please visit artbasel.com/hongkong/film.

Conversations and Salon, Art Basel’s talks program, attracted over 2,000 visitors over four days and presented renowned cultural figures from Asia and across the international art world. This year’s Premier Artist Talk featured Chinese American artist David Diao in conversation with Pauline J. Yao, Curator, M+, Hong Kong. Anne Pasternak, Defne Ayas, N'Goné Fall, and Thomas J. Berghuis joined a discussion titled ‘Building Platforms’, moderated by András Szántó, exploring the various ways in which independent institutions might flourish as contemporary platforms. The final Conversation, ‘Collecting as a Radical Practice’, featured Aaron Cezar, Hideaki Fukutake, Phillip Keir, Sara Puig, and Roobina Karode. The Conversation was moderated by Alan Lau. The afternoon Salon program, which consists of more informal and often shorter presentations, featured talks and panel discussions with artists, curators, museum directors, academics and critics. Videos of all Conversations and Salon panels will be available to watch online at artbasel.com/hongkong/talks.

Internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima (b. 1957, Japan) collaborated with Art Basel and Hong Kong’s iconic 490 meter high International Commerce Centre (ICC) on the Kowloon harbor front to present ‘Time Waterfall’, a largescale public light installation that comprised the natural numbers one to nine, which cascaded down the building’s facade, never reaching zero. The project will continue with two screenings each night until April 2016.

Art Basel continued to work closely with key cultural organizations across the city, including Asia Art Archive (AAA); the Asia Society; Para/Site Art Space; Spring Workshop; and M+, Hong Kong’s future museum for visual culture, offering an associated program of events onsite and throughout the city during the week of the show.