The Fifth Art Basel Hong Kong exhibition hosted a total of 34 different countries, exhibiting a total of 242 top galleries, with a total of 29 first time Art Basel HK exhibitors. Official statistics say that the number of visitors this year was almost 80,000, substantially more than last years 70,000 visitors. Consistent with last year, there were many Chinese collectors present, and this year there were also many new Southeast Asian art collectors, directors of private art museums, and directors of Art Foundations, showing that Asian collector's are more and more interested in collecting Western art.
Lévy Gorvy Gallery, much talked about at the end of last year, launched this year. Cosmology, a piece by American pop art star Roy Lichtenstein was sold this year for a staggering 20 million U.S. dollars (~600 million NT), and "Lettre sur les sourds et muets I", painted by American minimalist Frank Stella, fetched a starting price of 8.5 million USD(~250 million NT). Luxembourg & Dayan gallery's first exxhibition also featured a solo exhibition for Lucio Fontana, displaying nine different period works by Lucio Fontana, famous for his minimalist knife-cut canvases. His work "Concetto spaziale, Attese" fetched the highest asking price, sold at 6.5 million USD(~190 million NT).
White Cube gallery presented "Parts of Leigh Bowery", a 1992 work by British expressionist painter Lucian Freud, at a price of about 2.75 million GBP (~100 million NT), also selling sculptural painting "Ground Rules(Free Throw Possibility)" by American artist Theaster Gates for 700,000 USD (about 21 Million NT). This year Pace Gallery brought work by Adrian Greenie, a Romanian artist, "Unititled" (Study for DADA Room), as well as work by American pop artist Robert Rauschenberg, "Green Gauge (Spread)", which sold for about 2.2 million USD ( ~66 million NT), with many art galleries and foundations inquiring about these works.
As for Taiwanese galleries, this year Eslite gallery presented a solo exhibition of Cai Guoqiang's work, especially highlighting wooden screen works at 18% off, with "Taroko Gorge" attracting the attention of many collectors, sold for the high price of 3.8 million USD (~115 million NT). Tina Keng Gallery brought Wang Huaiqing's work "Chinese Emperor- 8", which was sold for 3.5 million USD (~100 million NTD).
Art Central, Art Basel's satellite show, opened one day in advance this year. This is the third year of Art Central, with more than 100 international and local art galleries participating in the show, adding several refreshing and revitalizing performance art pieces to the mix. At the main exhibition area, Korean gallery Lee Eugean presents Olafur Eliasson's work, "Black Activity Sphere", which uses cables to slowly spin a suspended ball of stainless steel , lights, and black glass; unfortunately due to the environmental conditions of the space, it was hard to see the full visual effect of the work.
Based on the sales results at Art Basel and Art Central this year, collectors in Asia have been gradually increasing their collections of Western contemporary art, year by year. Through years of transformation and careful adjustment, as well as healthy competition, the quality of artworks brought by galleries has been raised continually. Hong Kong Art Basel has matured into a formidable and stable art fair unto itself.
(Image 1)Kimsooja,Deductive Object,2016
(Image 2)Mona Hatoum,Kapan iki,2012,Mild Steel and hand-blown glass,5parts,each:62 3/16 in. (158cm)*variable width*variable depth
(Image 3)Anthony Glormley,LULL,2015
(Image 4)Jonathan Meese,"WAS NICHT KUNST IST, IST NICHT SO MEIN GENRE",("TARGET FOR LIFE" IST REHKIND"P.A.R.S.I.F.A.L"),2017,oil and acrylic on canvas,270*180cm
(Image 5)Lui Wei,Library V-I
(Image 6)Tomás Saraceno,CL0958+4702/M+M,2017
(Image 7)Chen Zhen,Code:CHZH1991_12/136,Le Chemin / Le Radeau de l'écriture,1991