With its mask mandate dropped, Hong Kong was awash with jet-setters returned for Art Basel. “Hong Kong is finally back,” Adrian Cheng declared at the opening dinner of the “City as Studio” graffiti exhibition at K11 Musea.
Angelle Siyang-Le, director of Art Basel Hong Kong, said while the fair is no bigger than the pre-pandemic size, which was about 240 participating galleries, the “enthusiasm for returning to the show is incredibly high throughout the region.”
People visit the Art Basel Hong Kong 2023 at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on March 22, 2023 in Hong Kong, China.For art collector Alan Lo, cofounder of the Yenn and Alan Lo Foundation and the Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Duddell’s, the busy fair “goes to show how important a cultural hub we are.”
Multi-disciplinary artist Oscar Wang, who recently launched a limited run of teapots with Daniel Arsham, said the fair provides a great opportunity to see “so many people gathering and exploring what’s new. Connecting with other creatives and catching up was very motivational.” In addition to her perennial favorites Tokyo and Taipei-based gallery Kaikai Kiki, co-founded by Takashi Murakami, and Japanese gallery Nanzuka, she “found it interesting that the space between galleries was used to showcase installations, including a happening where the artist encased participants in bamboo scaffoldings, a feature that always stuns in Hong Kong.” She was referring to a work titled “The Constructor” by Indonesia-based artist Mella Jaarsma.
Toting Hermès Himalaya Kelly handbags, visitors take in at an artwork by Nigerian artist Chib?ike ?z?ma at Art Basel in Hong Kong on March 21, 2023.Fair-goers dressed to impress, toting their rarest Hermès Birkin or Kelly bags.K11 Musea, for example, unveiled ’s first major exhibition of graffiti and street art ahead of the art fair.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Crowds swarm Art Basel Hong Kong as galleries report sales bonanzaThousands of people thronged on Thursday into Art Basel Hong Kong, one of Asia's largest contemporary art fairs, to view large-scale installations from hanging money trees to a pumpkin 8 feet (2.4 m) tall.
Read more »
Breakingviews - Hong Kong sharpens fine art edge over SingaporeChinese collectors are piling into Hong Kong for Art Basel this week. That is good news for an industry that saw turnover slow last year thanks to lockdowns and border restrictions. As the financial hub jostles with rival Singapore, its vibrant art market could help it grab a bigger slice of Asia’s wealth management pie.
Read more »