ART HK 2010 - Successful As Asia’s Premier Art Fair

Written by Winston Murray Friday, 03 February 2012 21:06

HONG KONG.- Million dollar sales of artworks by Zhang Xiaogang and Damien Hirst, plus high-priced sales of works by Anish Kapoor and Yoshitomo Nara, reconfirmed ART HK’s status as Asia’s premier art fair. The 4-day art fair, which ran from 27-30 May at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), attracted 155 galleries from 29 countries presenting works by more than 1,000 artists – with total visitors at 46,115, up 65 percent on 2009. Commenting on his experience at ART HK, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director of Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of International Projects at the Serpentine Gallery in London, said: “It’s a totally dynamic and energetic moment in Hong Kong – the Hong Kong miracle.”

Art collectors jetted in for the Fair from China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, across Europe and the United States. High-profile collectors in attendance included Thomas Shao and Li Bing (China); Sir David Tang and Monique Burger (Hong Kong); Richard Chang (New York); Dr. Gene Sherman of the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation and Judith Neilson of the White Rabbit Foundation (both Sydney); Susan Hayden and Nigel Hurst, Director of the Saatchi Gallery (London); and Sidonie Picasso and Diana Picasso.

Hauser & Wirth, Emmanuel Perrotin and James Cohan Gallery were notable galleries debuting at the 2010 Fair. They joined established ART HK galleries, such as Gagosian Gallery, Lisson Gallery, White Cube and SCAI THE BATHHOUSE.

Among the many cultural highlights at ART HK 10 was the installation of a major new collaborative work by filmmaker Baz Luhrmann and artist Vincent Fantauzzo, The Creek 1977. Rikrit Tiravanija installed a major sculptural piece at the entrance to the Fair. Other artist visitors included Liu Ye, Takashi Murakami, Qiu Anxiong, Tsang Kinwah, and Aya Takano. Antony Gormley, Zhang Xiaogang and Martha Rosler gave specialist art talks.

Major sales to Asian based collectors at ART HK 10 included:

• The Inescapable Truth, by Damien Hirst (2005) – the first formaldehyde work by the artist to be shown in China – was sold by White Cube for £1.75 million.
• Green Wall - Husband and Wife, by Zhang Xiaogang (2010) was sold by Pace Beijing for US$1 million.
• Galerie Lelong sold Sean Scully’s More Light (1988) for US$750,000.
• Anish Kapoor’s Untitled (2010) was sold by Lisson Gallery for £550,000.
• Sperone Westwater sold Liu Ye’s Composition with Bamboo and Grass (2007-08) for US$650,000.
• Yoshitomo Nara’s Rock’n Roll the Roll (2009) was sold by Marianne Boesky Gallery for US$350,000.

Following his talk at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Antony Gormley praised the Fair and its host city: “I’m impressed with the diversity and quality of the work on show, but also the context within which it is shown. The talks and art screenings, special projects, and the Intelligence Squared Asia debate allowed a wider, more informed interest in contemporary art at an increasingly important hub for money and information.”

Magnus Renfrew, ART HK 2010 Director, commented: “From galleries to government, curators to collectors there is genuine excitement that ART HK has put Hong Kong firmly on the international cultural map. We have formed a great partnership with our lead sponsor Deutsche Bank and we would like to thank them for their positive and committed support for the Fair.”

ART HK 10 was attended by some of the world’s most influential museum directors, including Richard Armstrong, Director, Guggenheim Museum; Michael Govan, CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Joseph Thompson, Director MASS MoCA; Olga Viso, Director, Walker Art Centre; Elizabeth Ann MacGregor, Director of the MCA in Sydney and Jock Reynolds, Director, Yale Art Gallery.

Alexandra Munroe, Senior Curator of Asian Art, Guggenheim; Maxwell Hearn, Douglas Dillon Curator, Department of Asian Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Jan Stuart, Head of Asia, British Museum were among the specialist Asian curators at ART HK 10.

Shazia Sikander was awarded the SCMP | ART FUTURES Prize 2010. Her work was shown at a solo exhibition at Pilar Corrias Gallery.

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