Cover Zao Wou-ki, ‘L'Aurore (Aurora)’ (Photo: courtesy of Asia Art Archive)
Zao Wou-ki, ‘L'Aurore (Aurora)’ (Photo: courtesy of Asia Art Archive)
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With the online bidding now open, Asia Art Archive patrons Jonathan Stone, Tiffany Soong and Brendan Fitzpatrick reveal their favourite artworks from this year’s auction
Get your paddles ready, as Asia Art Archive’s (AAA) annual fundraising auction is back, with the online bidding open from today, October 30 to November 10, 11pm HKT. This year’s auction features more than 55 artworks by leading artists such as New York-based visual artist Angel Otero, Hong Kong-based artist and curator Ellen Pau and German contemporary artist Neo Rauch, with all works being donated by artists, galleries and individuals from around the world.
Along with the online auction, AAA is also hosting a gala dinner and live auction on November 10 at Hong Kong Country Club. The non-profit organisation works to preserve and document Asian art history, and to make it accessible to the public. Proceeds from previous years’ fundraisers have gone towards building AAA’s library and research collections, as well as towards keeping the materials free and accessible for education purposes.
Here we have asked three AAA patrons - Jonathan Stone, Tiffany Soong, and painter Brendan Fitzpatrick—to talk us through their favourite pieces this year.
Jonathan Stone’s picks
Kary Kwok, “Untitled (Self Portrait) #2” (Photo: courtesy of Asia Art Archive)
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Kary Kwok, Untitled (Self Portrait) #2, (1993)
“I hugely respect the artist’s readiness to make themselves so vulnerable. I also admire their willingness to expose themselves, literally and metaphorically, to the viewer’s gaze. Photography has an immediacy that is accentuated here by the subject’s control of the shot. I recently had the pleasure of meeting the artist in Hong Kong and they retain tremendous relevancy as well as recalling a past time and place.”
Zao Wou-ki, L’Aurore (Aurora), (1956)
“I am fascinated by transition. This work by Zao reveals his deliberative evolution from the figurative to the abstract. Here there is also a transition in medium with Zao’s exploration of printmaking techniques. Prints can be an under-appreciated medium but have a potency in their own right. Zao is renowned too for his blending of the east and the west, something that speaks very strongly to me.”
Tiffany Soong’s picks
Gabriel de la Mora, “1,059” (Photo: courtesy of Asia Art Archive)
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Gabriel de la Mora, 1,059, (2023)
“I had the opportunity to visit Gabriel’s studio in Mexico this year. I was impressed by the meticulous and almost meditative process he had adopted to create his works. This piece was created by eggshell fragments—by de-contextualising the broken eggs, this work explores the relationship between patterns of nature, abstraction and time. I found a sense of peace and tranquility looking at his work.”
Kenneth Tam, Theo, (2022)
“I came across his works at Art Basel Hong Kong this year. The story behind this work is an overlooked [piece of] Chinese history. Thousands of Chinese labourers worked under arduous conditions in the late 19th century in the American West. Kenneth’s approach to explore race and masculinity through the Western cowboy is intriguing.”
Brendan Fitzpatrick’s picks
Hao Liang, “Variations on a Theme of Donatello’s Saint John (Sketch)” (Photo: courtesy of Asia Art Archive)
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Hao Liang, Variations on a Theme of Donatello’s Saint John (Sketch), (2023)
“Establishing the temporal counterpoint to [Renaissance Italian sculptor] Donatello’s aged sculpture of St. John the evangelist, the strength in the simplicity of the line work harmonises with the natural tone and texture of the paper—harking back to the marble legacy located in Florence.”
Gabriele Beveridge, Distant Peak, (2022)
“Subverting the expectations of the medium of glassware, the artist masterfully evokes the challenges of the insurmountable peaks we project into/onto our lives.”
Sebastian Black, Come Along, (2023)
“Confident in its composition, the undulating rhythmic forms within the painting bounce the eye between its centres of focus, beckoning you to reflect on the nature of the piece’s invitation.”
Aaina was the Arts and Culture Editor of Tatler Asia. A passion for history and all things visual led her in the pursuit of art history. With extensive experience in the art world working for a range of art institutions, she combined her passion and expertise in the form of art and culture journalism. Prior to Tatler, Aaina worked as a culture reporter for South China Morning Post and editor at the online art platform Cobo Social. Additionally, she has contributed to a variety of prestigious art publications including Art Review, The Art Newspaper, Ocula, Art Agenda, Artsy, Design Anthology, and Artomity. Follow her on Instagram.
