Hong Kong Art Month offers promising hope as a world class event
The monumental competitive advantage of Hong Kong Art Month
Yoga – 3, Bronze, Xie Yuanqing
Hong Kong Art Month of international renown
It is nice to be in a world city where you can wait, and the world comes to us! Hong Kong Art Month is back. Art galleries, sellers, buyers, curators and connoisseurs remembered the city’s many attractive qualities.
Left: After rain, Right: Cotton, 2024, Oil on Canvas , Kang Kang Hoon
The WORLD comes to us! Sitting at home and waiting for fabulous things to arrive in Hong Kong is one of the many reasons I live here.
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In my time living here, there have been ups and downs. I have come to recognise the patterns. When I first arrived, an old-timer who had lived here for several decades advised me not to worry about those heralding doom and gloom.
Portrait of Andy Warhol, 2005, Zeng Fanzhi
For example, in the lead-up to the handover, some proclaimed the “End of Hong Kong” alongside other similar predictions.
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Sound familiar?
My friend went on to say, “Watch for the cycles”. It happens every so many years. There is a euphoric period when money flows freely, and the trajectory of property prices goes supersonic and then stratospheric.
Art Basel
This is followed by incidents that provoke a confidence crash, resulting in money and people leaving the city.
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A boom, then a bust. Sound familiar? And every time the city gets knocked down, Hong Kong makes a new comeback!
Lieu frequente, 1982, Acrylic and paper and paper collage laid down on canvas, Jean Dubuffet
I had a deja vu comeback feeling while attending the Hong Kong International Cultural Summit, Art Basel, Art Central and the vast array of ancillary events and related receptions this recent Art Month.
Hong Kong Art Month of international renown
During a heady few weeks, GREAT art came to us! Art collectors came back, and the money flowed.
The WORLD remembered us and came back!
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Art galleries, sellers, buyers, curators and connoisseurs remembered Hong Kong’s many attractive qualities. Hong Kong’s duty-free status, with no tariffs on imports and exports, is a massive incentive for art fairs.
Mar, 2018, Stainless steel, Jaume Plensa
Art galleries benefit from the duty-free import of artworks for exhibitions. World-class air freight, logistics, and security mean no worries about transporting millions of dollars worth of artwork. And there is no sales tax.
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This is a monumental competitive advantage over other Asian cities where value-added tax creates bureaucratic and financial barriers.
Nature morte au couteau, 1950, Oil on canvas, Fernand Leger
These are the reasons why over 300 galleries exhibited, attracting over 110,000 visitors to view artworks on offer this past March.
Hong Kong Art Month of international renown
Hong Kong may take more time to achieve the status of a mega art city. However, we are well on our way after earning accolades for hosting an Art Month of international renown.
Resonating Life which Continues to Stand, 2024, teamLab, Tamar Park
Attendance was jam-packed on all days at both Art Basel and Art Central. TeamLab’s: Resonating Life which Continues to Stand, 2024 drew visitors to the harbourfront with their timely, easter-worthy installation of huge eggs, which lit up the harbourfront and made great Instagram photos.
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Malls and hotels hosted art exhibitions. Peninsula Hotel developed their own program — Art in Resonance, with specially commissioned immersive works from four artists, which will be displayed around the property for several months.
No Land: The Water Ceremony, 2024, Catalina Swinburn
The artworks brought into the city for sale were worth millions. It’s a staggering thought that any art-loving collector, local or visitor, can walk down to Wan Chai, into the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, or to the harbourfront, shop, and then within a few days, take home iconic artwork.
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It’s seemingly unbelievable, but it is true.
At Art Basel, there were numerous works by Picasso on offer. Having any mounted on a home wall provides bragging rights.
Buste de femme nue (Bust of a Nude Woman), 1906, Pencil and charcoal on paper Acquavella, Pablo Picasso
However, if it were up to me, and on my limited art budget, I would happily have Picasso’s delicately illustrated pencil and charcoal work, Buste de femme nue (Bust of a Nude Woman).
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The gaze on the woman is similar to one in Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, created in 1907 after this work on paper dated 1906. This sketch, with its detailed soft applications of graphite strokes, may well have served as a study for the master artist’s later works.
Buste de Diego (Bust of Diego), Bronze, edition 4/6, Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti’s bronze Buste de Diego would be a showstopper for anyone with space for a sculpture. Keith Harring’s signature black-on-white icons of cartoon-like characters would easily add fun to any wall.
Untitled 1 & 2, 1988, Keith Haring
I would gladly take home a painting by Marc Chagall to replace the reproduction I currently have hanging in my bedroom.
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At Art Central, a fair smaller in scope and size, there was a plethora of more moderately priced artworks that were exceptionally collectable.
Ane rouge au dessus de la ville, 1978, Oil on canvas, Marc Chagall
The local gallery, Oi Ling, featured a gorgeous triptych of ink on paper by Fan Hong Bin. It was beautifully displayed in their exhibition space alongside the antique furniture also available for sale.
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The three panels made a striking presentation with rich blue and green landscapes, reminiscent of classic Chinese ink paintings – ideal for a huge living room, public space or office reception.
Left: The Meditative Realms, Centre: The Truth, Right: Peace and Tranquility, Ink on Paper, Fan Hong Bin, Oi Ling Gallery
Seemingly not for sale, yet no less dramatic, was the performance piece, A Sultry World by Sunayama Norica, which stopped all visitors who gaped and awed at the vast display of the artist hoisted above an enormous velvet red skirt.
Hong Kong Art Month of international renown
The artist invited visitors to participate in the performance by entering underneath her skirt to experience a quiet moment in its lavender-scented darkness.
A Sultry World, Sunayama Norica, Art Central
Norica has staged this since 1995, and for over thirty years, audiences have been enthralled by its surprising invitation to get close to the artist in such an intimate way.
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The whimsical and joyous works by Spanish artist Eva Armisen also caught my eye. In particular, her work Volar/Flying, 2024, an oil on canvas, made me think of pure happiness.
Volar/Flying, 2024, Oil on canvas, Eva Armisen
The serene expression on the face of the rosy-cheeked girl with a bonnet or perhaps a hairdo of butterflies was a welcomed sight after a long day of jostling through two art fairs.
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The success of Art Month is a testament to Hong Kong’s enduring appeal as a global art destination. With its commitment to free trade, world-class infrastructure, and growing international recognition, the city is well-positioned to solidify its place in the global art market.
The Presence of Absence, 2024, Installation by Candida Hofer
As Hong Kong continues to invest in and nurture its artistic ecosystem, we can expect even more exciting developments in the years to come.
Text and photos Cammy Yiu
