Charlotte Mui, 0 The Fool, 2021, Generously donated by the artist and Alisan Fine Arts, Photo: Courtesy Asia Art Archive
Cover Charlotte Mui, 0 The Fool, 2021, Generously donated by the artist and Alisan Fine Arts, Photo: Courtesy Asia Art Archive

The non-profit’s annual auction is now open for bidding. Its patrons Patrick Sun, Dee Poon, Chantal Wong and Georgina Hilton reveal their top picks of what’s on offer

It’s time to get those paddles out: Asia Art Archive (AAA)’s annual fundraising auction, which features works by more than 50 artists from around the world, is open for online bidding through November 3. 

The event supports the organisation’s endeavours in documenting and making Asian art histories accessible. Proceeds from fundraisers in previous years had gone toward building the AAA’s library and research collections, as well as renovating its library, which is currently open by appointment and will fully open after November 23.

Here, four patrons of the AAA—Sunpride Collection founder Patrick Sun; Dee Poon, managing director of brands and apparel at Esquel; Chantal Wong, co-founder and director of culture at Learning Together; and Georgina Hilton, Christie’s vice president, director and head of classic art, Asia Pacific—talk us through their favourite works the auction offers.

Dee Poon

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Photo 1 of 3 Silence is the new music, donated by the artist. Photo: courtesy Asia Art Archive
Photo 2 of 3 Nibha Sikander, Orange Underwing Thyas Swatch, 2022, donated by the artist and Experimenter. Photo: courtesy Asia Art Archive
Photo 3 of 3 Dee Poon

Silence is the new music, 2019, Doris Wong Wai Yin

“Doris Wong engages humour and wit to address complex topics of gender and identity, which are often not discussed openly enough in Hong Kong. The pastel palette and playful imagery—executed in an aesthetic reminiscent of vintage posters from the 1950s—contrast cleverly against the depth of her subject matter.”

Orange Underwing Thyas Swatch, 2022, Nibha Sikander

“Through a meticulous process of cutting, sticking, and layering coloured paper, Nibha Sikander creates the fabricated swatch of an Orange Underwing Thyas moth. The work creatively bridges art, craft, science, and imagination in a delicate and inspiring way.”

Patrick Sun

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Photo 1 of 3 Sin Wai Kin, The end of her act, 2017, generously donated by the artist and Blindspot Gallery. Photo: courtesy Asia Art Archive
Photo 2 of 3 Maria Taniguchi, Untitled (room of phases), 2021, donated by the artist and Silverlens, Photo: courtesy Asia Art Archive
Photo 3 of 3 Patrick Sun, Photo: courtesy Patrick Sun and Asia Art Archive

The end of her act, 2017, Sin Wai Kin

“Aren’t those luscious red lips on the face wipe alluring? Sin Wai Kin attended [events by] Dollar Baby, a party organiser [that ran events in London from 2016 to 2019] and cultivated a lot of queer artists in London, and documented their participation with this work. It is probably one of the very few available works that Sin Wai Kin created when they were still [known as their alias] Victoria Sin.”

Untitled (room of phases), 2021, Maria Taniguchi

“In 2019, Maria Taniguchi made her first signature brick painting in purple for Sunpride Foundation’s exhibition Spectrosynthesis II in Bangkok. I am excited to see she picks up the inspiration and is willing to experiment with different forms and colours. This painting clearly shows Maria’s continuous growth and vision as an artist by her use of new pattern and colour contrast.” 

Georgina Hilton

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Photo 1 of 3 Liu Jianhua, Color-1 & Color-2, 2016–19, donated by the artist. Photo: courtesy Asia Art Archive
Photo 2 of 3 Charlotte Mui, 0 The Fool, 2021, donated by the artist and Alisan Fine Arts, Photo: courtesy Asia Art Archive
Photo 3 of 3 Georgina Hilton. Photo: courtesy Georgina Hilton, Asia Art Archive

Color-1 & Color-2, 2016–19, Liu Jianhua

“Liu Jianhua’s pastel porcelain mounds are somehow at once reassuring and playful. The blobs are characterised by chance and remind me of the works produced by my own unruly 7 years old hands. We also can’t help but remember the Chinese tradition of porcelain production, and I’m always there for a nod to an ancient craft.”

0 The Fool, 2021, Charlotte Mui

“The whimsical world of Charlotte Mui is my other choice. As someone who likes old things, I enjoy the message of a new dawn full of promise that’s presented with symbols to assure a sense of remembering our traditions and roots while moving forward.”

Chantal Wong

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Photo 1 of 3 Movana Chen, Imagined Geographies #01, 2017, donated by the artist and Flowers Gallery, Photo: Courtesy Asia Art Archive
Photo 2 of 3 Mona Hatoum, Untitled (fence, black) II, 2018, donated by the artist and White Cube, Photo: courtesy Asia Art Archive
Photo 3 of 3 Chantal Wong. Photo: Courtesy Chantal Wong, Asia Art Archive

“Historically, infrastructure and hardness are associated with men. I’ve chosen works with architecture-like weight and physicality by women.”

Imagined Geographies #01, 2017, Movana Chen

“Movana cleverly and critically reuses maps, man-made tools to control and occupy space, people and things, and reappropriates to transform them into more solid forms of their original materiality. In the process of weaving strength is inherently built-in creating a foundation for a new type of architecture constructed through women’s craft.”

Untitled (fence, black) II, 2018, Mona Hatoum

“Hatoum’s work references the trauma of living under state oppression and in exile. A fence, made from weaving metal, is designed to produce effects of exclusion, incarceration and control, but here it is interpreted on paper with a human-softness. An object of horrific violence is rendered impotent and beautiful, creating an uncanny poetic effect.”

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