Art Basel Hong Kong: everything you need to know about Asia’s largest art fair
- After the cancellation of 2020’s event, Art Basel is back with 104 exhibitors from 23 countries converging on Hong Kong Exhibition Centre this weekend
- Highlights include Danh Vo’s solo exhibition and Zhang Yanzi’s Mask Series; meanwhile the online Art Basel Live runs in parallel to the physical show
Art Basel Hong Kong returns for its 2021 edition featuring an array of modern and contemporary artworks by established and emerging artists.
The fair, which is being held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, introduces Art Basel Live: Hong Kong, a digital initiative to highlight exhibitors’ international visibility. Asia’s largest art festival this year will showcase 104 exhibitors from 23 countries and territories across three sections: Galleries, Insights and Discoveries.
Art Basel Live runs in parallel with its physical show and offers Online Viewing Rooms, as well as a range of live-streamed events, daily broadcasts and virtual experiences. By bridging the fair’s physical and digital elements, Art Basel Live aims to amplify participating galleries, artists, and citywide cultural programming to a broad global audience.
This year’s edition of Art Basel Hong Kong will be particularly special because, as this past year has taught us, there really is no substitute for experiencing art in real life
Adeline Ooi, Asia director of Art Basel, says: “We are delighted to be able to stage our Hong Kong show this year, not only here at the HKCEC but also via a digital platform that will allow an even wider global audience to participate. Art Basel Live: Hong Kong will allow us to bring the exceptional presentations of our galleries and the exciting cultural offerings of Hong Kong to our global network of collectors and patrons, including those who may not be on-site with us in 2021 but nonetheless remain equally engaged from afar.”
Several international galleries have combined forces to create collective booths, while satellite booths have been introduced across all sectors for exhibitors whose physical attendance is not possible due to current regulations. In total, 56 of these new concept booths will allow each exhibitor to present their own small, curated exhibition, staffed by a local representative appointed by Art Basel.
Galleries such as Hauser & Wirth, which are exhibiting works from major 20th century modern masters and contemporary leading artists, will make use of the online viewing room feature in a bid to reach the wider audience.
Not a stranger to digital accessibility, the gallery – representing artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Frank Bowling, George Condo, Roni Horn, Rashid Johnson, Cindy Sherman to name a few – already has a footprint in a large community of remote audiences through its existing exhibitions online. During Art Basel, Hauser & Wirth is debuting a fresh work by George Condo from his new Blues series of paintings. New works by artists Rashid Johnson and Jenny Holzer created in 2021 will also be on display.
Another contemporary art exhibitor joining the fair is Pace Gallery, which features many high-profile international artists and estates from the 20th and 21st centuries.
At Art Basel Hong Kong, Pace is exhibiting works by 23 leading figures, from post-war art innovators to contemporary talents, highlighting artists from Korea and Japan such as Yoshitomo Nara, Kohei Nawa and Lee Ufan, and China’s contemporary masters Li Songsong, Song Dong, Hong Hao, Yin Xiuzhen, Zhang Xiaogang and Liu Jianhua, among others.