서울아트가이드 Seoul Art Guide

홍콩아트바젤에 가시나요, 꼭 보아야 할 6개의 아이템

정준모

6 Things Not to Miss at Art Basel Hong Kong

The fair's sixth edition in Hong Kong will feature displays from a dizzying 248 galleries, representing 32 countries. We uncovered 6 must-see highlights

1. Famous Forays into Virtual Reality

Yu Hong (b. 1966), She's Already Gone, 2017

Visitors to this year's Discoveries section of Art Basel will see virtual reality emerge as a common theme, with works by a number of artists using VR to create powerfully immersive displays.

Acute Art, which describes itself as 'the world's first virtual reality arts platform', will present new VR works by Marina Abramović and Anish Kapoor, set to take a central position in this year's event. Organizers of the fair have also made a nod to VR in their annual talks program, which includes a panel entitled Virtual Reality and Artifical Intelligence.

Elsewhere, Société gallery will present an immersive VR installation by Timur Si-Qin, inviting visitors to enter an entirely simulated natural environment created using the latest VR technology. Other artists to take the VR route include Yu Hong, whose 2017 work She's Already Gone unfolds to form a coming of age narrative, told from the perspective of a female protagonist. Set against the chaotic background of the Cultural Revolution, the film begins with a young girl blowing soap bubbles while thick beams of sunlight flood her bedroom.

Also making a foray into augmented reality is artist Cao Fei who, like Yu Hong, has turned to the medium to create an immersive piece that explores and interrogates the culture of his native China.

2. Iran's Art Basel Debut

Sam Samiee (b.1988) Money Note #4, 2018, Acrylic on Canvas, 180.0 × 185.0 Size (cm), 70.9 × 72.8 Size (in), Dastan's Basement, Courtesy Art Basel Hong Kong 2018.

While a number of this year's exhibitors are new to Art Basel, Dastan’s Basement is notable for being the first Iranian gallery ever to feature in the Art Basel franchise.

Established in Tehran in 2012, the gallery strives to bring Modern and contemporary Iranian art to a world stage, placing a particular emphasis on emerging and experimental art. Since its inauguration, owners have opened a spin-off gallery Dastan+2, to showcase work by more established Iranian artists.

Dastan's inaugural Art Basel display will feature new works by Royal Award winner Sam Samiee (b. 1988), a young, up-and-coming Iranian artist who lives and works between Amsterdam and Tehran. Incredibly diverse, Samiee's work touches upon subjects from psychoanalysis to philosophy and Persian Literautre, and pushes for the art world to move away from an aesthic that is Western-centric.

3. New Gallery Space at H Queen's

Wolfgang Tillmans (b. 1968) Fire Island II, 2016, Galerie Buchholz, Photography, inkjet print, 40.6 × 30.5 Size (cm), 16.0 × 12.0 Size (in), Courtesy Art Basel Hong Kong 2018

H Queen’s has been described as 'the gallery space Hong Kong was waiting for'. Situated on Queen's Road, the newly opened skyscraped boasts 24-storeys of dedicated 'art and lifestyle' spaces, many of which have already been snapped up by international blue-chips from Hauser & Wirth to David Zwirner, which opened its first Asian branch in the tower this month.

Other famous residents include Pearl Lam Galleries, Pace Gallery, Tang Contemporary Art, Whitestone Gallery and Galerie Ora-Ora. All are using Art Basel as an opportunity to present works by blockbuster names: David Zwirner will host the first mid-career retorspective of celebrated photographer Wolfgang Tillmans, following hot on the heels of London's blockbuster solo show at Tate Modern last year.

Other HQ highlights include: Xiao Xu at Galerie Ora Ora (26 March- 12 May); Ai Weiwei at Tang Contemporary Art (26 March – 30 April); Yoshitomo Nara at Pace (26 March – 12 May) and Mark Bradford at Hauser & Wirth (opening 26 March).

4. This Year's Art Basel Prize Winner

Astha Butail, In the Absence of Writing, 2017, Courtesy of Art Basel

Now in its fifth edition, the BMW Art Journey Prize gives one emerging artist the opportunity to travel the world to research and make work.

Unanimously selected by an international jury, this year's winner is Astha Butail, who received the prize in recognition for her project In the Absence of Writing. Completed over a year, the work documens Butail's journey through the cities of Yazd, Jerusalem, London, Varanasi, Pune, New Delhi and Mumbai, culminating with her show in Hong Kong. In each location, the artist explored unwritten cultural practice — from the Jewish Oral Torah to Indian Veda traditions.

5. Harbour Arts Sculpture Park

A Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin on display at Harbour Arts Sculpture Park, Hong Kong.

Open until April 11, Harbour Arts Sculpture Park is Hong Kong’s first international sculpture park, featuring site-specific commissions from 18 contemporary artists. Among them are Mark Wallinger, Yayoi Kusama, Antony Gormley, Hank Willis Thomas, Tracey Emin, Michael Craig-Martin and Jenny Holzer.

The display is co-curated by Tim Marlow, Artistic Director of London's Royal Academy of Arts, and Fumio Nanjo, the Director of Mori Art Museum, and Director of the International Programme at Hong Kong Art School. Free to acess, the exhibition brings museum-quality works to a vast public space, dramatically transforming the surrounding landscape of the Central and Wan Chai Harbourfront.

6. Qiu Anxiong Film Screening

Curated by Li Zhenhua, Director and Founder of Beijing Art Lab, the Art Basel Film sector offers a program of short films and special screenings, either made by artists, or telling stories about artists and the art world.

Highlights of this year's edition include Qiu Anxiong's New Classic of Mountains and Seas III (2013-2017), taken from the artist's series of ink-wash animated films, which have been described as his most significant works to-date. Beautifully illustrated, this component is based on an anicent Chinese mythical text of the same name, and borrows its structure of fantastical imagery to focus on very contemporary issues — from the scarcity of natural resources, to the impact of industry.

유틸정보

메뉴 목록

홍콩아트바젤에 가시나요, 꼭 보아야 할 6개의 아이템

하단 정보