2015-10-29

Preview (by Invitation Only)

Tuesday, March 22, 2016, 3pm to 8pm

Wednesday, March 23, 2016, 1pm to 5pm

Vernissage (by Invitation Only)

Wednesday, March 23, 2016, 5pm to 9pm

Public Days

Thursday, March 24, 2016, 1pm to 9pm

Friday, March 25, 2016, 1pm to 8pm

Saturday, March 26, 2016, 11am to 6pm



Art Basel in Hong Kong 2015 – General Impression © Art Basel
Photo by Jessica Hromas/Art Basel 2015

Art Basel has announced the details of its fourth edition in Hong Kong, taking place for the second time in March. The Hong Kong show of Art Basel, whose Lead Partner is UBS, will feature 239 premier galleries from 35 countries and territories, presenting works of the highest quality that range from the Modern period of the early 20th century to the most contemporary artists of today. Once again, Art Basel will be a showcase for art from the region of Asia and Asia-Pacific, where half of its galleries have exhibition spaces. Art Basel Hong Kong will open to the public from Thursday, March 24 to Saturday, March 26, 2016, and will take place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).



Art Basel in Hong Kong 2015 – General Impression © Art Basel
Photo by Jessica Hromas/Art Basel 2015



Art Basel in Hong Kong 2015 – General Impression © Art Basel
Photo by Jessica Hromas/Art Basel 2015

Art Basel stages the world’s premier art shows for Modern and contemporary works, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. In addition to ambitious stands featuring leading galleries from around the globe, each show’s singular exhibition sectors spotlight the latest developments in the visual arts, offering visitors new ideas and new inspiration.

Art Basel in Hong Kong 2015 – General Impression © Art Basel
Photo by Jessica Hromas/Art Basel 2015

Art Basel in Hong Kong 2015 – General Impression © Art Basel
Photo by Jessica Hromas/Art Basel 2015

Art Basel in Hong Kong 2015 – General Impression © Art Basel
Photo by Jessica Hromas/Art Basel 2015

Alongside a strong presence of returning galleries from across the globe, this year’s edition features 28 galleries that will participate in the Hong Kong show of Art Basel for the first time. Nine new galleries join from Asia including Antenna Space (Shanghai), galerie nichido (Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Karuizawa, Kasama, Paris), Gallery 100 (Taipei), Ink Studio (Beijing), Lawrie Shabibi (Dubai), Longmen Art Projects (Shanghai), MEM (Tokyo), Vanguard Gallery (Shanghai) and Yeo Workshop (Singapore). Art Basel Hong Kong will also see the addition of 18 leading Western galleries showing for the first time including Cardi Gallery (Milan, London), Carlos/Ishikawa (London), David Kordansky Gallery (Los Angeles), Galerie 1900 – 2000 (Paris), Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi (Berlin), Galerie Jocelyn Wolff (Paris), Galerie Nagel Draxler (Berlin, Cologne), gb agency (Paris), Greene Naftali (New York), In Situ – fabienne leclerc (Paris), Kewenig (Berlin, Palma), Metro Pictures (New York), P.P.O.W (New York), Sabrina Amrani (Madrid), Société (Berlin), team (gallery, inc.) (New York, Los Angeles), Xavier Hufkens (Brussels) and Zeno X Gallery (Antwerp). Selma Feriani Gallery (Sidi Bou Said, London) joins Art Basel as the first African gallery outside of South Africa to ever participate in an Art Basel show.

Galleries 2016: Tokyo Gallery + BTAP, Ushio Shinohara, Samurai Sword, 1967. Courtesy the artist and the gallery

Galleries 2016: Project Fulfill Art Space, Sung-chih Chen《Untitled-Room 1》mixed media installation, 300x300x240cm,2008 (Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei) Courtesy the artist and the gallery

The upcoming edition features a particularly strong representation of galleries with exhibition spaces in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, in addition to those with spaces in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The participating galleries have exhibition spaces in: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mainland China, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Galleries 2016: de Sarthe Gallery, Zao Wou-Ki, Untitled, 1963. Courtesy the artist and de Sarthe Gallery

Galleries 2016: Gallery Exit, LUI Chun Kwong. Courtesy of the artist and the gallery

Galleries, the main sector of the show, will feature 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 include Marianne Boesky Gallery (New York) and Applicat-Prazan (Paris), while many Asian galleries have moved from other sectors of the show into Galleries, where they will present a wider range of their gallery programs. These galleries are: Athr (Jeddah), Blindspot Gallery (Hong Kong), Chambers Fine Art (Beijing, New York), Galerie Ora-Ora (Hong Kong), Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde (Dubai, Brussels), 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) are also showing for the first time in the Galleries sector.

Insights 2016: 1335Mabini, Kiri Dalena, Erased Slogans. Courtesy the artist and the gallery

Lawrie Shabibi, Farhad Ahrarnia, Intuitive Notion of a Rotation, 2015. Courtesy The artist and Lawrie Shabibi

The Insights sector will be dedicated to curatorial projects by 28 galleries with spaces in Asia and the Asia-Pacific region and will feature solo shows, exceptional historical material, and strong thematic group exhibitions. This year’s edition features a particularly strong presentation of Modern work, with around half of the galleries presenting material from this period. This year’s Insights will provide 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 include eight large photographic works by Michael Cook (b. 1968, Australia), forming a panoramic narrative reflecting on colonial histories and drawing on the artist’s Bidjara heritage, presented by This Is No Fantasy + dianne tanzer gallery (Melbourne); Antenna Space (Shanghai) presents sculpture by artists Guan Xiao (b. 1983, Mainland China) and Yu Honglei (b. 1984, Mainland China) each responding to themes of ‘postproduction’ and ‘reproduction’; a new body of work by Stella Zhang (b. 1965, Mainland China), a continuation of her existing series ‘0-Viewpoint’ and comprising sculptural paintings and an installation, brought to Art Basel by Galerie du Monde (Hong Kong); experimental ink work by Li Huasheng (b. 1944, Mainland China), presented by Ink Studio (Beijing); ceramic sculptures by Kimiyo Mishimo (b. 1932, Japan), many of which will not have previously been seen outside of Japan, brought by MEM (Tokyo); performative video work by Tadasu Takamine (b. 1968, Japan), an artist whose work draws attention to the societal effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, presented by Arataniurano (Tokyo); and, brought by Pi Artworks (Istanbul, London), new sculptures by Tayeba Begum Lipi (b. 1969, Bangladesh) reflecting on her childhood, accompanied by video and audio work.

Discoveries 2016: Thomas Erben Gallery, Newsha Tavakolian. Mahud, climbing the wall of the abandoned empty swimming pool, which is the only quiet place he can find to practice singing, 2014. Courtesy the artist and the gallery

The Discoveries sector will present its strongest showcase of emerging artists so far with solo- and two-person exhibitions presented by 24 galleries. For this year’s edition, five of the galleries will be completely new to the show, while another six return after a brief hiatus. Highlights of the sector include intricate ink drawings by Pakistani artist Waqas Khan (b. 1982, Pakistan), presented by Sabrina Amrani (Madrid); Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi (Berlin) showing parts of Wu Tsang’s (b. 1982, United States) new body of work ‘Duilan’, exploring the close female relationship between revolutionary poet Qin Jin and calligrapher Wu Zhiying; an installation by Jess Johnson (b. 1979, New Zealand) presented by Darren Knight Gallery (Sydney) which will comprise 13 works on paper and one video work overlaid on a wall covered with wallpaper designed by the artist; Gallery Side 2’s (Tokyo) installation of work by Yusuke Saito (b. 1981, Japan), an artist usually known for his sculptures of food, who will be presenting boxed collages and resin sculptures surrounding ideas of digestion; Experimenter (Kolkata) offers a joint installation of work by Ayesha Sultana (b. 1985, Bangladesh) and Rathin Barman (b. 1984, India) who will share the theme ‘Sculpting in Time’; a focus on the abstraction located at the heart of today’s industry and society, featuring work by Sean Raspet (b. 1981, United States) and Ned Vena (b. 1983, United States), presented by Société (Berlin); and Joel Kyack’s (b. 1972, United States) sculptural installation presented by Workplace Gallery (Gateshead, London), which will explore the conflicts and parallels between intense consumerism, cultural conditions and the historical conditions of Hong Kong.

Discoveries 2016: 11R Eleven Rivington, Evan Nesbit. Courtesy the artist and the gallery

Discoveries 2016: Night Gallery, Mira Dancy, 2015 Blue Angel. Courtesy the artist and the gallery

Last year saw the inaugural BMW Art Journey, a collaboration between BMW and Art Basel to support emerging artists, awarded to Hong Kong-based artist Samson Young (b. 1979). At the 2016 show in Hong Kong, first works from Samson Young’s project, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls: A Journey Into the Sonic History of Conflict‘ will be on view and the next shortlist for the BMW Art Journey will be announced.

The Encounters sector will show artworks on an institutional scale, presenting largescale sculptural installation pieces and performances, sited in prominent locations throughout the two exhibition halls. Alexie Glass-Kantor, Executive Director of the contemporary art institution Artspace in Sydney, will return for this edition to curate the sector for the second time. Further information on the works in the Encounters sector will be released in the coming months.

The popular Film sector will return this year, and will once again be curated by Beijing and Zurich-based curator, multi-media artist and producer Li Zhenhua. The program will be presented in collaboration with the Hong Kong Arts Centre adjacent to the HKCEC. The program will also be expanded to include feature-length and documentary films, with screenings taking place at the HKCEC for the first time.

Conversations, the long-established morning program of talks and panel discussions offers audiences first-hand access to renowned cultural speakers and opinion-formers from across the international art world. Complementing the Conversations program, the afternoon Salon series serves as a platform for shorter, more freestyle presentations, including artist talks, panel discussions, lectures and book launches. Full details on the talks program will be released in the coming months.

Beijing Art Now Gallery
Art Basel in Hong Kong 2015 © Art Basel

In addition, Art Basel is working 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 that takes place during the week of the show. Once again, Art Basel will be collaborating with Hong Kong’s International Commerce Centre (ICC), which will see a new light installation by an internationally renowned artist to be projected on to the side of the 108-storey skyscraper. This November, Art Basel will support the annual Hong Kong Art Gallery Week organized by the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, and will once again collaborate with the association to organize the gallery night prior to the opening of the show in March.

Selection Committee in Hong Kong

The Selection Committee for Art Basel‘s show in Hong Kong is comprised of renowned international gallerists: Emi Eu, STPI, Singapore; Shireen Gandhy, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai; Suzie Kim, Kukje Gallery, Seoul; Atsuko Ninagawa, Take Ninagawa, Tokyo; David Maupin, Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong; Urs Meile, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing and Lucerne; Massimo De Carlo, Massimo De Carlo, Milan and London; Zhang Wei, Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou and Beijing. The experts for the Discoveries sector are Finola Jones, mother’s tankstation, Dublin, and Patrick Lee, One and J. Gallery, Seoul. The expert for Modern Art is Mathias Rastorfer, Galerie Gmurzynska, Zug, Zurich and St. Moritz.

UBS, global Lead Partner of Art Basel, has supported the organization for more than 20 years. As Art Basel’s global network has expanded, so too has UBS’s commitment and lead partnership, which includes all three shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong.

In addition to its support of Art Basel, UBS has a long and substantial record of engagement in contemporary art: as a holder of one of the world’s most distinguished corporate art collections, as an active partner in global contemporary art projects such as the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative, and as a source of information and insights through the UBS Art Competence Center, UBS Arts Forum and its new contemporary art news-focused app, ‘Planet Art‘.

Art Basel Hong Kong is supported by the Davidoff Art Initiative, Audemars Piguet and NetJets as Associate Partners. Additionally, Ruinart supports the Hong Kong show as a Lounge Host, BMW as the Official Automotive Partner, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong as Official Hotel Partner and Swiss International Airlines as Official Carrier.

Art Basel’s Media Partner is The Financial Times. For further information on Art Basel’s partners, please visit www.artbasel.com/partners.

Filed under: Arts & Culture, Fine Arts, Museums & Exhibitions Tagged: Alexie Glass-Kantor, Antenna Space (Shanghai), Applicat-Prazan (Paris), Arataniurano (Tokyo), Art Basel Hong Kong 2016, Asia Art Archive (AAA), Athr (Jeddah), Atsuko Ninagawa, Ayesha Sultana, Blindspot Gallery (Hong Kong), BMW Art Journey, Brussels), Carlos/Ishikawa (London), Chambers Fine Art (Beijing, Chemould Prescott Road, Cologne), David Kordansky Gallery (Los Angeles), David Maupin, Emi Eu, Experimenter (Kolkata), Finola Jones, Fukuoka, Galeria Plan B (Cluj and Berlin), Galerie 1900 – 2000 (Paris), Galerie Gmurzynska, Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi (Berlin), Galerie Jocelyn Wolff (Paris), Galerie Nagel Draxler (Berlin, galerie nichido (Tokyo, Galerie Ora-Ora (Hong Kong), Galerie Urs Meile, Gallery 100 (Taipei), Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde (Dubai, Gallery Side 2, gb agency (Paris), Greene Naftali (New York), Guan Xiao, Guangzhou and Beijing, Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative, Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, Hong Kong Art Gallery Week, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), In Situ – fabienne leclerc (Paris), inc.) (New York, Ink Studio (Beijing), Jess Johnson, Joel Kyack, Karuizawa, Kasama, Kewenig (Berlin, Kimiyo Mishimo, Kukje Gallery, Lawrie Shabibi (Dubai), Lehmann Maupin, Li Huasheng, Li Zhenhua, Longmen Art Projects (Shanghai), M+, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, Marianne Boesky Gallery (New York), Massimo De Carlo, Mathias Rastorfer, MEM (Tokyo), Metro Pictures (New York), Michael Cook, mother's tankstation, Nagoya, Nanzuka (Tokyo), Nature Morte (New Delhi), Ned Vena, NETJETS, New York, One and J. Gallery, P.P.O.W (New York), Palma), Patrick Lee, Pi Artworks, Project Fulfill Art Space (Taipei), Ruinart, Sabrina Amrani (Madrid), Samson Young, Sean Raspet, Selma Feriani Gallery (Sidi Bou Said in London), Shireen Gandhy, Société (Berlin), Spring Workshop, STPI, Suzie Kim, Swiss International Airlines, Tadasu Takamine, Take Ninagawa, Taro Nasu (Tokyo), Tayeba Begum Lipi, team (gallery, the Asia Society; Para/Site Art Space, The Financial Times, This Is No Fantasy + dianne tanzer gallery (Melbourne), TKG+ (Taipei, Urs Meile, Vanguard Gallery (Shanghai) and Yeo Workshop (Singapore). Art Basel Hong Kong will also see the addition of 18 leading Western galleries showing for the first time including Cardi Gallery (Milan, Vitamin Creative Space, Waqas Khan, Workplace Gallery, Wu Tsang, Wu Zhiying, Xavier Hufkens (Brussels), Yavuz Gallery (Singapore) and Yumiko Chiba Associates (Tokyo). Francesca Minini (Milan), Yu Honglei, Yusuke Saito, Zeno X Gallery (Antwerp), Zhang Wei

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