It’s been an enormously exciting season of art in Hong Kong – right from Art Basel in May to the Affordable Art Fair, Unscheduled, Digital Art Fair Asia Edition, the K11 Art Mall Design Fest to Happy Hours – there’s been an art fair for every collector and every budget in the SAR. With the return of the Fine Art Asia, one of the continent’s leading international art shows, it’s clear the Hong Kong art market is going strong despite the lack of international investors.
Check out the details of the latest, Fine Art Asia, for your weekend cultural fix.
Art and Antiques from East and West
This year’s Fine Art Asia is running from October 8–11, 2021 at its usual Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai location. An art and antique collector’s dream playground, this year the galleries – both local and from afar – are showcasing museum-quality fine art spanning 5,000 years of cultural history.
Despite the challenges presented by Covid, Fine Art Asia aims to deliver a tighter, younger, homegrown fair with a focus on contemporary artworks by Asian artists, masterpieces by UK photographer Emily Allchurch and 13th-century Yuan dynasty lacquer dishes amongst others. With travel and quarantine restrictions still in effect, overseas gallerists and collectors will largely be amiss. The fair has liaised with some international galleries to participate remotely with the help of trained local staff. The fair’s founder and director, Andy Hei firmly remains optimistic on the potential of the 66 Hong Kong-based artisanal talent to draw in both traffic and sales. More than 3,000 visitors turned up on day one, stormy weather not withstanding.
Hong Kong’s Ora-Ora at booth C3, known as a catalyst for innovation and openness of expression, has already sold a few opulent, key sculptures by Spanish figurative artist Cristóbal Gabarrón. Crafted in polychromed fibreglass, the figurines are an artist’s interpretation of history and philosophy bringing a fresh outlook and bridging the cultural divide between the East and the West.
A visit to booth A8, Tanya Baxter Contemporary is a must for any collector or enthusiast. With established galleries in both London and Hong Kong since the last 25 years, Baxter’s post-war modern and contemporary art collection is eclectic, featuring global icons from Anish Kapoor to Andy Warhol, Ai Weiwei, Frank Auerbach, Mark Rothko, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksy, Marc Quinn, Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst. Emin’s You Were Everything, Damien Hirst’s beautiful work of art, the Cherry Blossoms series, a powerful take on the beauty of life and death are few highlight pieces. “Our gallery showcases some of the finest international contemporary works from art from New York to Monaco, Hong Kong and Paris”, says Tanya Baxter Contemporary, and we couldn’t agree more!
Rasti Chinese Art dedicated to inspiring audiences with their classical Asian antiquities and contemporary artwork on China’s past is at booth C10 for your artistic perusal.
Like most fairs of the season, Art Asia is going blockchain, offering a series of works from ancient Chinese bronze sculptures to modern works of art to a wider audience through NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Witness limited-edition collectors items in the flesh at the fair and bid for them online at OpenSea.
Fine Art Asia runs until Monday, October 11.
Also Read: Summer crushing on art fairs in Hong Kong