Art Basel Hong Kong returns, sets stage for creativity, diversity, and innovation

As the art world eagerly awaits the upcoming edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, the city is filled with excitement for the collectors, curators, and the art enthusiasts from across the globe to descend on one of the most vibrant and dynamic cultural capitals of Asia. With a carefully curated selection of art galleries, artists, and exhibitions, the art fair, scheduled from March 23-25, 2023, promises to be an unforgettable experience for contemporary art lovers.

For those who have attended previous editions of Art Basel Hong Kong, the fair is well-known for showcasing the best of contemporary and modern art from the world over. And for those who would be attending it this year for the first time, they are in for a treat. Art Basel Hong Kong 2023 promises to be bigger, bolder, and more exciting than ever before as it will be the largest show in Hong Kong since 2019 edition, with 177 of the world’s leading galleries from 32 countries and territories and the return of all special sectors—Encounters, Film, Kabinett, and Conversations.

Among several segments of the fair—Encounters—the sector dedicated to large-scale works, will return to the art event with 17 vast presentations for the first time since 2019. Following are some of the large scale installations that will be on show. Trevor Yeung's Mr. Cuddles Under the Eave (2021), presented by Blindspot Gallery, where the artist continues his practise of personifying botanic ecosystems and inanimate things to explain the intricacies of human emotion and relationships. Trolley Party (2023), a site-specific art piece by Jaffa Lam, which consists of 14 metres of patchwork fashioned from discarded and discovered ordinary textiles, sprouting from six seats built of an industrial trolley. Another installation to look out for is Gimhongsok's masked mannequin sculptures in Solitude of Silences (2017-2019), which depicts labourers, who make up the bulk of modern metropolitan populations and reflect ambiguity about the worth of labour. Then there's Ukrainian artist Stanislava Pinchuk's marble work, The Wine Dark Sea (2022-2023), which focuses on migration voyages and notions of welcome.

Conversations—the fair’s talks programme—curated by Stephanie Bailey, a writer, editor, and Art Basel Content Adviser and Editor, Asia, provides a forum for lively exchanges amongst individuals of the art fraternity worldwide, who provide their distinct viewpoints on creating, acquiring, and showing art. Among the 15 talks at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre are—Hoor Al Qasimi, Binna Choi, Shubigi Rao, ruangrupa, and Adeena Mey discussing the future of the biennale; Roobina Karode, Nadia Samdani, Rajeeb Samdani, and Michael Govan exploring the transnational synergies between private and public collecting institutions; and Philip Tinari, Mami Kataoka, Nikita Yingqian Cai, Aaron Cezar, Aya Al-Bakree, and Christopher K. Ho speaking on the institutionalising multipolarity. Art curators Mia Yu and Azar Mahmoudian, as well as artists Jaffa Lam, Kresiah Mukwazhi, and Kawita Vatanajyankur, will be part of the roundtable discussion on Beyond Feminism: Creating Forms of Solidarity in a Multipolar World.

A group session on humour and critique with meme-makers Jerry Gogosian, Freeze Magazine, and The White Pube; a report on the futures of crypto economies hosted in collaboration with Art Dubai's Global Art Forum, moderated by Shumon Basar; and a talk in collaboration with the School of Modern Languages, University of Hong Kong exploring the influence of architecture in Stanley Wong's work will take place ahead of the fair. Curated by multimedia artist and film producer Li Zhenhua, the Film sector will feature eight screenings and 29 video works by artists from across the globe, including Mónica de Miranda, Angela Su, Tromarama, and Shen Xin, among others. Videotage and Ghost 2565—two important non-profit organisations that focus on video art in the region—will each curate a screening.

Art Basel’s Kabinett section will also make a comeback for the 2023 edition of the art fair with a line-up of 30 thematic-focused projects, showcasing solo and paired presentations by both established and emerging artists including performance and conceptual artist Kwok Mang-ho from Hong Kong and Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco. Egyptian artist of Armenian ancestry, Chant Avedissian, will mark his debut at the event with his abstract and geometric works. 

Since 1970, Art Basel has been showcasing the world’s premier modern and contemporary art shows in Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, and Paris, with each location hosting a show unique to its region. Art Basel Hong Kong 2023—scheduled from March 23-25—is expected to strengthen the fair’s position as “Asia’s art hub” as it emerges from the strict restrictions imposed due to COVID-19.

(Text by Vatsala Sethi, Asst. Editorial Coordinator (Arts))