Fair Trade

Art Republik gives a sneak preview of the Hong Kong Art Basel 2017, with a focus on what to expect from Southeast Asia.

- Tanya Amador

Art Basel Hong Kong celebrates its fifth year from 23 to 25 March 2017 at its customary location, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, with 242 galleries, including 29 new participants, from 34 countries. Art Republik gives a rundown of the galleries and artists from Southeast Asia to look out for at the fair.

The main sector of the fair, Galleries, will feature 190 galleries, and the programme has expanded to include an all-new Kabinett Sector, which proved to be wildly successful at Art Basel in Miami Beach. Galleries at Art Basel Hong Kong 2017 will present curated exhibitions and projects by 19 art spaces from Asia, Europe and the United States. Artists will include Chinese artist Cao Yu from Galerie Urs Meile, NANZUKA’s Keiichi Tanaami from Japan, and Singaporean artist Ming Wong, presented by Vitamin Creative Space, just to name a few.

Among the noteworthy offerings from the Galleries sector are ‘The Treachery of the Moon’, a video by Thai artist Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, as well as works by Yee I-Lann from Malaysia, both presented by Tyler Rollins Fine Art based in New York. “I have definitely noted a steadily increasing interest in contemporary art from Southeast Asia in recent years, both in the West and in other parts of Asia,” says Rollins. “Art Basel Hong Kong has certainly played a role in this as it presents the art in a truly global context while being strongly rooted in Asia.”