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Jakarta Post

Art for the masses

In late May, Hong Kong once again hosted the annual Art Hong Kong 2010 (ART HK 10) and for four days, everyone from serious collectors to art buffs from Southeast Asia gathered at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) to see it

Erza S.T. (The Jakarta Post)
Hong Kong
Sun, June 13, 2010

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Art for  the masses

I

n late May, Hong Kong once again hosted the annual Art Hong Kong 2010 (ART HK 10) and for four days, everyone from serious collectors to art buffs from Southeast Asia gathered at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) to see it.

Keitai Girl by Noriko Yamaguci. Erza S.T.

Starting only three years ago, this art fair has successfully put itself on the world map.

ART HK has become one of the “must-see” exhibitions on the global art circuit.

For this year’s installment, the event featured four days of cutting-edge contemporary art, panel discussions and interactions between the artists, galleries, art dealers, collectors, curators and art lovers.

A stellar line up of 155 reputable galleries from 29 countries went through an arduous selection process overseen by an independent selection committee, and those who passed had their collection displayed at the event.

Top-notch galleries, including the likes of New York’s Gagosian Gallery, Paris’ Emmanuel Perrotin, London’s Lisson Gallery and White Cube and Tokyo’s Scai the Bathouse, were all on show.

Aside from exhibitions by the galleries, the fair also hosted 10 solo exhibitions by an eclectic selection of big names including Japanese pop-art maestro Yoshitomo Nara at the Marianne Boesky Gallery and Damien Hirst at the White Cube. The works of other big names such as Liu Ye, Takashi Murakami, Candida Hofer, Li Wei, Agus Suwage, Zhang Huan, Zhang Xiaogang were also featured in the exhibition on top of classics from Andy Warhol, Renoir and Picasso.

Price-wise, the presence of the big names could easily have intimidated art buffs. But that was not the case at ART HK 10. Some of masterpieces that were sought after by the many die-hard collectors could reach upwards of US$ 20 million; but in some galleries great art work by young artists were available for $1,000—this was certainly far less intimidating, especially for beginners. And given the wide variety of work, style and price, the fair certainly catered for all.

The key to this exhibition’s success was the selection of Hong Kong as its host. The ART HK fair director Magnus Renfrew said the two core strength of ART HK was its quality and the geographical diversity of its participants.

Also given the strategic location of Hong Kong as an international hub, ART HK provided an opportunity to see something new, fresh and exciting as well as an opportunity to make new discoveries.

 “We choose Hong Kong as our location for a major international hub art fair over others in the region because this city has many advantages, such as the zero tax on the import and export for art, geographical location at the heart of Asia within

easy reach of the collector bases from all over the region, English is commonly spoken, it is an exciting and vibrant city and there is probably nowhere in the world where people from Asia and people from the West feel equally at home,” he told The Jakarta Post.

In fact, the fair targeted international and regional art collectors as well as local collectors keen of collecting the works of international artists. He estimated that more than 46,000 people paid ART HK10 a visit, a 65 percent increase compared to last year.  Still, the art fair faces great challenges, in terms of educating the public who may be easily intimidated by art.

“Education, education and education is what we need to do as it is still be young market. People should not afraid to ask questions as it is the job of the galleries to explain the art work to visitors,” said Magnus.

You may be shy, but once you see the collection for yourself, your curiosity will be easily sparked. Some works are just simply outstanding. Case in point; the collaboration between Hollywood director Baz Luhrmann and Vincent Fantauzzo titled The Creek, 1977. Staged at the 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, this exhibition gave the audience a two-dimensional experience, the merging of visual and sound based on Luhrmann’s childhood memory.

This multimedia installation had an operatic, if not a cinematic quality in a very Caravaggio-esque way. It was strong and haunting piece of art from two different backgrounds.

Another outstanding work was from Beijing artist Li Wei. Li wrapped the whole Shanghai Tang boutique building at Heritage 1881 with a big fuchsia ribbon and tied all ends of the ribbon to his body. He then launched himself from his bonds. Li is known for his gravity-defying stunts.

Commissioned by the 10 Chancery Lane Gallery and Shanghai Tang, we were fortunate to see how Li worked and created his art.

It is not everyday you get to see a building wrapped in ribbons. It was very creative and entertaining to watch.

Concurrent with the fair, the city also used the opportunity to inaugurate Hong Kong Art Week. For six straight days, the city hosted the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Awards exhibition and competition, plus a series of Hong Kong art talks from local artists and curators.

To build the hype for the event, the organizers commissioned the Brit Award nominated composer Simon Boswell to stage his audio-visual installation BLINK — a slow motion video of celebrities such as Kate Moss, David Beckham, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee projected on the façade of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui accompanied by a score written for the display. It is a magnificent work that was even visible from across Victoria Harbour.

After all was said and done, ART HK 10 proved to be a very successful.

The event displayed a wide variety of artworks from both worlds and turned them into a spectacle for everyone to enjoy. And based on my experience, you didn’t need to be a serious art fan to enjoy it. The art itself easily captured the gaze because there was everything for everybody.


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