Nova Jiang's "Vessel" (2022) (Photo: courtesy of Union Pacific)
Cover Nova Jiang's "Vessel" (2022) (Photo: courtesy of Union Pacific)

Heading to Art Basel Hong Kong? Here are 9 smaller artworks to look out for

The halls of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre were charged with an electric energy as hordes of visitors—both local and international—descended upon Art Basel Hong Kong. Sounds of festive reunions, successful business transactions and art world chatter echoed through the high-ceiling halls. It’s no secret that art fairs are not the best backdrop in which to view art, but rather a space for discovering a wide range of artists and artworks. Usually, it’s the loud, colourful and sensational works that catch the eye—the volume of which—can sometimes feel overwhelming. However, sometimes the smaller pieces can get lost in the chatter. So, here’s Tatler’s pick of smaller, delicate, softer pieces, perfect for the city’s small spaces, which you might have missed.

Read more: Art month 2023: Tatler’s ultimate guide to exhibitions across Hong Kong during Art Basel

1. Tammi Campbell’s ‘Painting Bitten by a Woman with Gum Sculpture (After Hannah Wilke)’ (2023) at Anat Ebgi Gallery

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Photo 1 of 2 Tammi Campbell “Painting Bitten by a Woman with Gum Sculpture (After Hannah Wilke)” (2023) (Photo: courtesy of Anat Ebgi)
Photo 2 of 2 Tammi Campbell “Painting Bitten by a Woman with Gum Sculpture (After Hannah Wilke)” (2023) (Photo: courtesy of Anat Ebgi)

Canadian artist Tammi Campbell replicates iconic artworks made by famous male artists from the 1960s and 1970s, but adds her own feminist twist—which often includes a bubble wrap, tape, or leaving an element slightly off. Upon closer inspection, the bubble wrap and tape are in fact made of paint, creating an illusion which becomes both a visual and conceptual barrier to the artwork, referencing the many barriers women faced in art history. 

For Campbell’s Painting Bitten by a Woman with Gum Sculpture (After Hannah Wilke), a tiny tactile painting with a small sculpture to match, the artist replicates Jasper Johns’ Painting Bitten By a Man and pulls the paint from the top middle part of the canvas and marks the abscess with lipstick. She then moulds a sculpture out of the pulled-out paint and forms a shape resembling female genitalia. This gesture was an ode to famed feminist and 1970s’ artist Hannah Wilke’s S.O.S. Starification Object series of photographs, for which Wilke applied pieces of chewing gum folded into vaginal forms onto her semi-nude body. 

2. Nibha Sikander’s ‘Deconstructed Little Yam Hawkmoth’ (2021) at Tarq

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Nibha Sikander's "Deconstructed Little Yam Hawkmoth" (2021) (Photo/ Courtesy Tarq).jpg
Above Nibha Sikander’s “Deconstructed Little Yam Hawkmoth” (2021) (Photo: courtesy of Tarq Gallery)

Mumbai-based Tarq gallery showcases a solo presentation of artist Nibha Sikander’s work featuring her complexly layered, colourful, cut-out pieces on card paper to create lifelike insects and birds.  The artist’s Deconstructed Little Yam Hawkmoth (2021) showcases her distinctive method, bridging art, craft, science and imagination together in an intricate and delicate way. The gallery’s founder, Hena Kapadia, observes that works like these do especially well in Hong Kong: “I wouldn’t necessarily take such intricate and detailed works to other markets because people in Hong Kong are much more appreciative of them.” 

3. Angela Gurría’s ‘Maqueta para Río Papaloapan’ (1970) and ‘Homenaje a la Ceiba’ (1976) at Proyectos Monclova

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Photo 1 of 2 Ángela Gurría’s “Maqueta para Río Papaloapan” (1970) (Photo: courtesy of Proyectos Monclova)
Photo 2 of 2 Ángela Gurría’s “Maqueta para Homenaje a la Ceiba” (1976) (Photo: courtesy of Proyectos Monclova)

Renowned Mexican sculptor Ángela Gurría was the first female member of the country’s Academia de Artes. She is best known for her monumental public sculptures, many of which she would sign with a male pseudonym as it was difficult for female sculptors to practice at the time due to their gender. Her distinctive style is a fusion of traditional sculptural techniques and a sense of experimentation. These two mini sculptures serve as maquettes for large-scale public sculptures which were realised later. 

4. Nova Jiang’s ‘Vessel’ (2022) at Union Pacific

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Nova Jiang's "Vessel" (2022) (Photo: courtesy of Union Pacific)
Above Nova Jiang’s “Vessel” (2022) (Photo: courtesy of Union Pacific)

Born in China, artist Nova Jiang grew up in New Zealand, and now lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Much of the artist’s work is informed by her experiences growing up as a diasporic Asian, as well as broader concerns about climate change and xenophobia. The subjects of her small, intimate paintings are often familiar everyday objects which she then arranges in unexpected ways to explore the idea of identity formation. The works also echo existential sentiments relating to nature and mortality, as seen in the poignant depiction of the chicken and egg in Jiang’s Vessel (2022). 

5. Alexandra Noel’s ‘Butterfly on a Warm Front, Cold Front’ (2023), ‘Skyscraper Fold’ (2023), and ‘Two Watering Cans’ (2023) at Antenna Space

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Photo 1 of 3 Alexandra Noel’s “Two Watering Cans” (2023) (Photo: courtesy of Antenna Space)
Photo 2 of 3 Alexandra Noel’s “Skyscraper Fold” (2023) (Photo: courtesy of Antenna Space)
Photo 3 of 3 Alexandra Noel’s “Butterfly on a Warm Front, Cold Front” (2023) (photo: courtesy of Antenna Space)

Alexandra Noel’s three, small, detail-heavy paintings are displayed together at Shanghai-based gallery Antenna Space’s booth. Noel captures instances of beauty present in seemingly mundane, everyday moments and objects. From watering cans to butterflies to more abstracted depictions of cityscapes, her soft stylised aesthetic is beautifully framed in small panels. 

6. Kenjiro Okazaki’s ‘白頭掻更短/A Migraine after the rain/頭風吹過雨’ (2021) at Takuro Someya Contemporary Art

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Above Kenjiro Okazaki’s “白頭掻更短/A Migraine after the rain/頭風吹過雨” (2021) (Photo: courtesy of Takuro Someya Contemporary Art)

Japanese artist and critic Kenjiro Okazaki is known as much for his art as he is for his publications, namely, Abstract Art As Impact: Analysis of Modern Art (2018). His practices span across media such as architecture, literary theory, painting, relief, sculpture, robotics and contemporary dance—a surprisingly vast range given the deceptively simple aesthetics of his paintings. His Zero Thumbnail series of paintings, displayed at Takuro Someya Contmeporary Art’s booth, feature thick impasto paint applied onto small canvases. For this series, the artist builds architectural wooden frames specific to each work, and describes them as the mechanism that bridges the outside world of the viewer with that of the one present in the painting.

7. ‘Growing Art’ (2023) at 1a Space

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Jessica Fu's "Star Dust" (2022) (Photo: courtesy 1a Space)
Above Jessica Fu’s “Star Dust” (2022) (Photo: courtesy of 1a Space)

Home-grown art space 1a Space features works by 17 local artists for its presentation Growing Art at Art Basel Hong Kong. All the works in this exhibition are on a smaller, more delicate scale, spanning media such as paintings, ceramics, photography and mixed media, and are focused on underlying themes of change and transformation. In particular, Jessica Fu’s Star Dust, which belongs to the research-based series Data Collecting (Universe), stands out (or rather stands small). Fu starts with found objects to create sci-fi-inspired symbols that resemble historical objects found at the artistic site on Oil Street, North Point.

8. Ao Jing’s ‘Prison of Liberty’ (2022) at Magician Space

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Photo 1 of 5 Ao Jing’s “Prison of Liberty” (2022) (Photo: courtesy of Magician Space)
Photo 2 of 5 Ao Jing’s “Prison of Liberty” (detail) (2022) (Photo: courtesy of Magician Space)
Photo 3 of 5 Ao Jing’s “Prison of Liberty” (2022) (Photo: courtesy of Magician Space)
Photo 4 of 5 Ao Jing’s “Prison of Liberty” (side view) (2022) (Photo: courtesy of Magician Space)
Photo 5 of 5 Ao Jing’s “Prison of Liberty” (detail) (2022) (Photo: courtesy of Magician Space)

Ao Jing’s Prison of Liberty (2022) is a multidimensional, multi-sensory sculpture encapsulated in a small versatile form. Typically, the artist’s works revolve around sound, and she uses different materials to create different modes of experiences. For this work, she used wood, clay, sheepskin and stainless steel, among other tactile materials. Hinged to the wall, the work can be viewed from multiple angles, providing small surprises through multiple viewing perspectives.

9. Nicola Samori’s ‘Untitled’ (2022) at Galerie Eigen + Art

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Nicola Samori's "Untitled" (2022) (Photo: courtesy Eigen + Art)
Above Nicola Samori’s “Untitled” (2022) (Photo: courtesy of Eigen + Art)

Italian artist Nicola Samori finds his work lingering on the darker, more disturbing side of art history. His dramatic works draw from 17th-century Baroque art and serve as a visual metaphor for the problematic aspects of art historical legacies that weigh down on contemporary artists. This dark, theatrical visualisation is evident in his small Untitled (2022) painting, on view at Galerie Eigen + Art’s booth.

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