First Look: Galerie Perrotin Hong Kong

Galerie Perrotin is the latest gallery to announce their arrival in Hong Kong in time for ARTHK 2012. Following hot on the heels of announcements by the Pearl Lam Gallery and the Simon Lee Gallery, it seems that if you’re to open a gallery in Hong Kong, it’s probably wise to do it in May, when the arts gain the most momentum here in the SAR.

Shortly after the announcement, we were invited to take a sneak peek of the new gallery in the Robert Stern-designed 50 Connaught Road building, before its anticipated opening in mid-May.

Click here to read more about 50 Connaught Road and the architect behind the project, Robert Stern.

Set on the 17th floor of 50 Connaught Road, the 8,000-square-feet gallery, who shares an address with the newly opened White Cube Gallery, was only 90 percent complete at the time of our visit. Similar to most of the newly opened galleries in Hong Kong, Galerie Perrotin is fortunate in finding a fitting location with space and high ceilings.

 

Andre Fu, the designer behind the gallery design and also best known for his work at Upper House and the restaurant Bettys Kitschen in IFC, is no stranger to design as he also had a hand in designing gallerist Ben Brown’s Pedder Building space. “The key is to understand the thought process of the gallerist, it’s not simply about creating art. Galerie Perrotin’s founder Emmanuel is all about innovation and creativity, so I try to communicate this in my design,” explains Fu.

The space itself is very different from the original one in Paris’ Marais district, the Hong Kong version has a much more contemporary appeal. It adopts thick slabs of untreated matte oak for its floors – a somewhat unconventional approach to flooring. In fact, the only similarity found between the two locations is the reception desk, a small but notable effort.

Divided into five rooms, Fu told us that there are two salons, one main exhibition hall and two private viewing rooms. However, Emmanuel Perrotin, founder and owner of the gallery, who was in town along with Pharrell Williams for Liberatum Hong Kong presented by Carrera, relayed in a separate conversation that there is actually one main room, one salon and three private viewing rooms. We suspect that the information disparity is a reflection of the versatility of the space.

While we were in one room, we spied Hong Kong-based photographer Wing Shya prepare for a shoot on another side of the property while Pharrell Williams, who is in town for Liberatum Hong Kong, was in the opposite room in an interview. All parties proceeded through their activities largely uninterrupted, thanks to the intelligent partitioning of the space.

In terms of design, the great thing about this new rectangular-shaped gallery is the fortunate circulation by the window against the wall: the space benefits from natural light thanks to its floor-to-ceiling windows along the length of the gallery that look onto Victoria Harbour and the Four Seasons Hotel. This window space also presents itself as a 30-metre corridor, which will be the gallery shop where visitors are welcome to casually sit along the window sills. All this can also be easily interchanged as a dinner and party venue.

Perrotin famously collaborated with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and hosted Damien Hirst’s first solo exhibition in 1991, and has since worked with contemporary artists including Maurizio Cattelan, Sophie Calle, Xavier Veihan and Jean-Michel Othoniel. Perrotin shares with us that when he first met the young Murakami, they had no common language. Once, he faxed three English questions to Murakami only to be faxed back pages and pages of drawings and images as a reply.

Separately, Perrotin is also known for his parties, or what we would call an astute eye for business: he has hosted gallery parties with Massive Attack, Feist and N.E.R.D to name a few, fusing the art world with music world, demonstrated best with his collaboration with Pharrell Williams who designed two chairs for the gallery and collaborated with Murakami through the gallery’s network.

Despite its contemporary appearance, the gallery content is of the same nature as its Paris flagship. “We will not adapt the programme to suit the context, but we will make refinements within,” says Perrotin. In other words, expect a lot of parties and fantastic contemporary art from emerging markets at Galerie Perrotin, with a particular focus in Japan.

Photography by Terry Tsui

 Click here to see our visit to Galerie Perrotin's neighbouring White Cube Gallery.