From the humorous to the grotesque, here is everything you should look out for at the city’s biggest art fair in March
Art Basel Hong Kong is back in its biggest iteration since 2019, and will take place from March 23 to 25, 2023, now that restrictions for travelling and social gatherings have been lifted. More than 170 galleries from 32 countries and territories will present artworks across two storeys at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Here are all the artists, artworks and galleries you need to look out for.
The fair’s Encounters section is back after a three-year hiatus, curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor, the executive director of Artspace Australia and curator of the Australian pavilion at last year’s Venice Biennale. Featuring large-scale works interspersed throughout the fair, this year’s Encounters spotlights two local artists: Trevor Yeung and Jaffa Lam.
Yeung will present Mr. Cuddles (2023), an installation which builds on his practice of creating botanical sculptures and inanimate objects that articulate human emotions and relationships, thereby abstractly commenting on social interactions. And Lam is set to create an “oasis” in the middle of the fair constructed from 14 metres of patch-worked recycled umbrella fabric emerging from six factory trolleys. The art piece, Trolley Party (2023), will reflect the social engagement aspect of her work as the fabric was stitched together by female labourers.
"Every project in this year’s sector considers in some way how we can hold space, how we might be present," says Glass-Kantor, "both individually and collectively to nurture connection in this moment.’
Encounters will also feature installations by international artists.
For example, Ukrainian artist Stanislava Pinchuk’s The Wine Dark Sea (2022-23), which consists of two marble works that visualise the similarities between stories of displacement and explores the idea of home through the lens of Homer’s The Odyssey—considered the first “migrant” story. And South Korean artist Gimhongsok will present Solitude of Silence (2017-19), consisting of dummies or sculptures of human bodies with animal faces where their heads should be—through this, the artist questions the value of labour and explores the meaning of the term “worker”.
This section also includes art by Indian-Singaporean artist Shubigi Rao (who represented Singapore at last year’s Venice Biennale), Danh Vo and David Altmejd.
Don’t miss: How is Maurizio Cattelan’s duct-taped banana art?
