The show’s success proves that the art scenes across Asia are dynamic enough to sustain and support a truly global and world-class art fair, despite a dates conflict that prevented some major Western collectors and galleries from attending this year.
The quality of artworks brought to the show and the high level of presentation excited new and returning collectors from across Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, including: Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mainland China, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. Asia's strong collectors turnout was complemented by collectors travelling from as far away as Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Directors, curators, trustees and patrons from leading museums and institutions came to the show, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Asia Society, New York; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; Louvre, Paris; MoMA PS1, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; OCAT, Shenzhen, Beijing; The Royal Academy, London; Tate Modern, London; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing. Artists from across the world attended the show, including: Nadim Abbas, Miquel Barceló, Wim Delvoye, Gu Wenda, Lee Kit, Lee Wen, Liu Kuo-Sung, Ahmed Mater, Mariko Mori, Oscar Murillo, Takashi Murakami, Carsten Nicolai, The Propeller Group, Tobias Rehberger, Fabienne Verdier, Zhang Wei, Su Xiaobai, Sun Xun and Zeng Fanzhi.
The show was accompanied by a strong public program, including the Asian debut of Art Basel's popular Film sector – a three-day program of 49 films by 41 artists, represented by 31 galleries participating in the fair. Screened at the agnès b. CINEMA at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, the program was curated by Li Zhenhua, the Beijing- and Zurich-based curator, multi-media artist and producer. Highlights included works by international artists such as Sookoon Ang, Takashi Ishida, John Latham, Dinh Q. Lê, Roman Signer, Nina Yuen and Hong Kong artists, Kwan Sheung Chi and Christopher Doyle.
The public opening of the show was marked with a special audio-visual installation by the internationally renowned German artist Carsten Nicolai. Commissioned by Art Basel, the artwork generated light patterns pulsating across the entire façade of Hong Kong’s iconic 490-meter high International Commerce Centre (ICC), the 7th-highest building in the world. Like a lighthouse, the tower sent its pulses into the city, visible to hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents and visitors, while an accompanying mobile phone application allowed audiences across the city to participate in one of the largest artworks to be presented in Hong Kong.
Throughout the city, Hong Kong‘s galleries and cultural organizations hosted over 150 cultural events to coincide with Art Basel, including the openings of two new internationally prominent galleries in the Entertainment Building – Pace Gallery and Axel Vervoordt.
About Art Basel
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.
Selection Committee in Hong Kong
The Selection Committee for Art Basel's show in Hong Kong is comprised of renowned international gallerists: Emi Eu, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore; Shireen Gandhy, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai; Suzie Kim, Kukje Gallery, Seoul; Maho Kubota, Scai The Bathhouse, Tokyo; David Maupin, Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong; Urs Meile, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-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 Atsuko Ninagawa, Take Ninagawa, Tokyo, and Finola Jones, mother's tankstation, Dublin. The expert for Modern Art is Mathias Rastorfer, Galerie Gmurzynska, Zurich.
Partners
UBS is Art Basel's global Lead Partner, supporting all three shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. The firm has been the Lead Partner of the Basel show for the past 20 years and of Art Basel in Miami Beach since the show's inception in 2002, and for Hong Kong beginning in 2014. UBS has a rich history of supporting cultural and artistic endeavors across the world, with a focus on promotion, collection and educational activities in the world of contemporary art. The Art Basel show in Hong Kong is supported by Davidoff, Audemars Piguet and Absolut as Associate Partners. The Conversations series is supported by Absolut.
Ruinart, Freeports and Swire Properties are the show's Lounge Hosts, with BMW supporting as Official Automotive Partner, AXA ART as Official Insurance Partner, Swiss International Air Lines as the Official Carrier and Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong as Official Hotel Partner. Quintessentially Lifestyle is the Official Concierge Partner. The Financial Times and Modern Media Group are the show's Media Partners. For further information on Art Basel's partners, please visit artbasel.com/partners.
Art Basel’s dates 2015
From 2015 onwards Art Basel in Hong Kong will take place in March. The new timing will be significantly more convenient for participating galleries, collectors, curators, and the artworld in general, enabling an even broader international audience to attend the leading fair in Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.
The 2015 show dates for Art Basel in Hong Kong are:
Preview (by invitation): Friday evening, March 13, and all day Saturday, March 14, 2015
Public Show Dates: Sunday, March 15 to Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Further details on the opening times will be released in due
- Tags: Art Basel's Hong Kong UBS_Lead Partner Art Gallery of New South Wales_Sydney Asia Society_New York Institute of Contemporary Arts_London Louvre_Paris MoMA PS1_New York Museum of Contemporary Art Australia_Sydney OCAT_Shenzhen_Beijing The Royal Academy_London Tate Modern_London Smithsonian American Art Museum_Washington Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum_New York Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art_Beijing Nadim Abbas Miquel Barceló Wim Delvoye Gu Wenda Lee Kit Lee Wen Liu Kuo-Sung Ahmed Mater Mariko Mori Oscar Murillo Takashi Murakami Carsten Nicolai The Propeller Group Tobias Rehberger Fabienne Verdier Zhang Wei Su Xiaobai Sun Xun Zeng Fanzhi Hong Kong Arts Centre Li Zhenhua Sookoon Ang Takashi Ishida John Latham Dinh Q. Lê Roman Signer Nina Yuen Hong Kong artists Kwan Sheung Chi Christopher Doyle International Commerce Centre Entertainment Building–Pace Gallery Axel Vervoordt
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