Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/121906
OPPOSITE PAGE: IMAGES COURTESY OF LEHMANN MAUPIN, NEW YORK AND HONG KONG (RAPUNZEL); MR./KAIKAI KIKI CO., LTD. (TRUE TO MYSELF, POYO MIX, APPEND); THIS PAGE: PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ART BASEL (RENFREW, CONVENTION CENTRE) A lmost two years after the group behind Art Basel bought a majority stake in Asian Art Fairs Ltd., which founded the Art HK contemporary art fair, the newly rechristened Art Basel in Hong Kong opens to much international fanfare on May 23. "Hong Kong and the entire region are rapidly transforming, and new initiatives, artists, and collectors are constantly emerging," says Trevor Smith, curator of contemporary art at the Northshore's Peabody Essex Museum. Featuring work from 245 of the world's leading galleries, as well as an improved floor plan and architectural design at the waterfront Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the show promises to provide Western audiences with the context to explore the diverse histories, ideas, and aesthetics of Asia's visual arts, a segment of the art market that has skyrocketed in recent years. Art Basel's fairs in Miami and Switzerland are already linchpins of the international art scene; now its RIGHT: Director Asia expansion into Asia gives the storied fair an Magnus Renfrew. unparalleled three-continent, year-round engageBELOW: Hong Kong Convention and ment with collectors, galleries, and artists. Exhibition Centre. Magnus Renfrew has overseen this transformation as Art HK's original fair director and now as director Asia of Art Basel, and he's confident that attendees and participants alike will be blown away. "With an emphasis on the highestquality work and presentation," he says, "the fair will showcase artworks by more than 3,000 artists, ranging from young stars to the Modern masters of the early 20th to 21st centuries, hailing from both Asia and the West." Renfrew has always firmly believed that Hong Kong is the natural home for a major international art fair. "We are geographically positioned at the heart of Asia, and we are the region's financial center," he says. "There is no tax on the import or export of art, and Hong Kong has an ever-expanding cultural sector and culturally interested population." And with the rapid proliferation of art fairs, creating a climate in which dealers are forced to carefully select where to devote their resources, it's telling that many of the most prestigious are building their Asian audience in Hong Kong. Art Basel's shows are perhaps most renowned for each selection committee's unflinching rigor in choosing galleries to participate, as well as for the curation of the fairs' various sectors. "Each year will be an opportunity for galleries to participate, with every applicant undergoing an identical review process and given the same consideration," explains Renfrew. "New committee members are appointed by Art Basel's director, and they generally serve for five to 10 years." Nearly 200 exhibitors of modern and contemporary art will show work in the main sector this year, including first-time Art Basel participants like New York's Dominique Lévy gallery and 303 Gallery. Many eyes will be on the Insights sector, which will present projects created specifically for the fair from 47 galleries in Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. The Discoveries sector will likely be the most experimental, with solo and two-person exhibitions by emerging artists and, in an exciting twist, a $25,000 prize. But Renfrew reminds attendees not to forget all of the outstanding ancillary activities. "In "Hong Kong and the entire region are rapidly transforming, and new artists are constantly emerging." —TREVOR SMITH addition to the quality of art brought by our galleries, Art Basel is known worldwide for the programming surrounding our shows," he says. "That includes Conversations and Salon discussion panels and ambitious collaborations with powerhouse local partners, including museums and local institutions." Indeed. For starters, special exhibitions and events at local galleries will be of immense interest, as the Hong Kong gallery scene has been invigorated in recent years by the arrival of blue-chip international players like Gagosian Gallery and White Cube, joining local stalwarts such as Osage and Hanart TZ Gallery, which has been around since the 1980s and is wellknown for championing emerging Chinese artists. The multitude of events and special exhibitions at Hong Kong cultural institutions and nonprofits is dizzying, including a parallel program of talks presented by Asia Art Archive. Widely regarded as the most important collection of source material on the recent history of art in Asia, Asia Art Archive has grown from a single bookshelf in 2000 to a trove of more than 35,000 records consisting of thousands of physical and digital items. This unique institution, which has worked diligently to record and save both private and public material about art across Asia and make it accessible to the public, will also host a series of panel discussions, as well as a keynote lecture, during Art Basel in Hong Kong. And the government is getting in on the art act, too, by celebrating the opening of its new Artspace @ Oil Street, a 1908 heritage continued on page 70 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 068-070_BC_SC_ArtFull_LATESPRING_13.indd 69 69 4/10/13 12:25 PM