Chou Yu-Cheng, ‘Refresh, Sacrifice, New Hygiene, Infection, Clean, Robot, Air, Housekeeping, www.agentbong.com, Cigarette, Dyson, Modern People’, 2017. Image courtesy the artist and Edouard Malingue Gallery.

Art Basel Hong Kong will return to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) from 29 to 31 March 2018 for its sixth year. The fair welcomes 28 first-time exhibitors, notably 14 premier galleries from the Americas and Europe.

In representation of the art scene in the city, Art Basel Hong Kong will see 24 local galleries participating in the fair. Adeline Ooi, Director of Asia, says “Art Basel’s presence in Hong Kong provides a catalyst for the art scene here, not only acting as a bridge between the West and the East, but also within Asia.” Participating Hong Kong-based galleries include de Sarthe Gallery, Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery and 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, among others.

Kabinett, which debuted at the fair last year, returns. There will be 30 curated presentations which include thematic group exhibitions, art-historical showcases, and solo shows for rising star, traversing the mediums of ranging from photography, performance and virtual reality art. Among other offerings, this year’s selection includes Frog King, a multimedia, conceptual, visual and performance artist who has been active in the Hong Kong art scene since the 1960s. It will also feature East Asian modern art, notably Kishio Suga’s envelope drawings, exhibiting outside Japan for the first time.

Suzann Victor, ‘MoonCLoud 5’, 2017, assembled polycarbonate sheets, coloured paper pulp, 73 x 38 x 10cm. Image courtesy the artist and STPI: Creative Workshop & Gallery.

Singapore-based STPI — Creative Workshop and Gallery will feature the works of Dinh Q. Lê, Do Ho Suh and Suzann Victor, as well as Alfredo & Isabel Aquilizan in the Kabinett sector, based on the artists’ residency and resulting exhibition “Of Fragments and Impressions” (2017) at STPI. Another highlight at the booth are Lê’s new photographic weavings, focused on the Khmer Rouge, a subject frequently featured in his work.

Dinh Q. Lê, ‘Splendour & Darkness (STPI) #2’, 2017, foiling and screen print on Stonehenge paper; cut, weaved and burnt, with acid-free double-sided tape and linen tape, 101.5 x 69cm. Image courtesy the artist and STPI: Creative Workshop & Gallery.

Kukje Gallery returns to the Kabinett section— their first was of Kwon Young-Woo— with Korean multimedia artist Kim Yong-Ik, looking at his 40-year career in three distinct periods represented by his 1970s “Plane Object” series of fabric works, geometric compositions from the 1980s, and dot paintings made in the 1990s.

The gallery will also participate for the first time in the Film sector featuring Yeondoo Jung’s video work, ‘Building Recollections’ (2016), made up of thousands of individual photographs of run-down buildings in planned redevelopment zones in Seoul, put together with audio monologues of residents, invoking personal past memories while exploring the universal idea of home, and capturing the disruption that rapid change to the city has brought.

Insights, through which the fair explores artworks with historical materials and strong thematic exhibitions, once again traces Asia-Pacific art histories. A noteworthy exhibition features the works of pioneers of Taiwanese modern art by Asia Art Centre. Stacey Ma, Exhibition Planner at the gallery, says, “Art Basel Hong Kong can help bring Taiwanese artists, who have been historically recognised but not widely known, to go beyond the borders of Taiwan.”

Ali Kazim, ‘Fallen Objects’ (detail), 2016. Image courtesy Ali Kazim and Jhaveri Contemporary.

Discoveries is Art Basel Hong Kong’s commitment to provide young galleries and artists the platform for international exposure. An artist who will be showing his work is Ali Kazim, presented by Jhaveri Contemporary. His deeply intimate and personal installation will feature ceramic pieces that represent the rocky terrain in Pakistan, alluding to the country’s current socio-political climate.

The BMW Art Journey award will be given to an emerging artist exhibiting in this sector. The Hong Kong jury includes Claire Hsu, Director, Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong; Bose Krishnamachari, President, Kochi Biennale, Kochi; Alexandra Munroe, Senior Curator of Asian Art and Senior Advisor, Global Arts, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Pauline J. Yao, Lead Curator of Visual Art M+.

Alfredo & Isabel Aquilizan, ‘Dwelling (After In-Habit Project Another Country) V’, 2017, house constructed with collagraphs printed from compressed cardboard, dimensions variable. Image courtesy the artist and STPI: Creative Workshop & Gallery.

The crowd-pleasing Encounters section, curated once again by Alexie Glass-Kantor, features large-scale sculpture and installation works that go beyond traditional art fair stands. Placed at prominent locations throughout the exhibition halls are works by Ulla von Brandenburg (presented jointly by Pilar Corrias and Meyer Riegger), Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran (Sullivan+Strumpf) and Chou Yu-Cheng (Edouard Malingue Gallery), among others.

Asia Art Archive (AAA), a local independent non-profit organisation documenting recent histories of art in the region for better accessibility, is partnering with the fair in presenting an onsite exhibition, ‘Women Make Art History’.  In an era where women’s issues have dominated both headline news and everyday conversation, AAA’s booth encourages a timely discussion about women in art in Asia.

Presenting collectives such as feminist activist artists The Guerrilla Girls, AAA brings new work that examines the inclusion and representation of women in the Hong Kong art world. Also on display is a selection of highlights from the AAA Collection, comprising primary and secondary materials on women in art in China, India and Pakistan. In addition, it will also host an interactive Wikipedia Edit-a-thon for women art practitioners in Asia, in its continued bid to digitise archival information.

UBS will also be marking its fifth year partnering with Art Basel Hong Kong by unveiling the work of Chinese artist Ding Yi, a new addition to the UBS Art Collection. Ding’s painting will feature in an exhibition featuring other renowned artists such as Gerhard Richter, Katerina Grosse, Imi Knoebel and Sean Scully, at the UBS VIP lounge.

ART REPUBLIK is proud to be a media partner of Art Basel Hong Kong.

More Information at artbasel.com/hong-kong.