GBA4 | GBAFOCUS Friday, November 27, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY Art Fair return for art lovers Fine Art Asia opens today, giving HK galleries to have figured in this year’s canceled Art Basel Hong Kong a second chance. Joyce Yip reports on the highlights from the show. hose who were disappointed still retaining a sense of the fragility of the material. with the cancellation of Art Lee Bul’s Perdu series of mixed “The result engages a widening of expression that media paintings, presented Basel Hong Kong in March aims to stir the audience’s perception and comprehen- by Lehmann Maupin, is an because of the pandemic, sion, and to redefi ne the meaning of reality,” says Liu. attempt to underscore the Tnow have something to look forward Perrotin Hong Kong is presenting an eight-meter dichotomy between artificial to. Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Basel and organic forms. canvas by Brooklyn-based artist Eddie Martinez, the kicks o today, running until November largest the artist is yet to exhibit. 30 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Showcasing 22 Hong Dystopian images Kong-based galleries that have exhib- Art exhibited in online viewing rooms this year ited in previous editions of Art Basel have been, unsurprisingly, rather gloomy. The emo- Hong Kong, the event is being held as tions expressed in them often have to do with fear, a part of this year’s Fine Arts Asia fair. longing to escape, and a despair caused by watching Willem Molesworth, the director of deaths, oppression and the old familiar world col- de Sarthe Gallery and vice-president Contemporary by Angela Li is showing lapse. These themes seem to have been carried over Lyu Shanchuan’s paintings that try to of Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, to the physical space as well. capture a state of great turmoil. PHOTOS says this physical fair is long overdue PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY For instance, Lyu Shanchuan’s fast, passionate and an indication of “everyone’s fatigue brushwork, fi guratively representing a state of great from the online model”. turmoil, figure in Contemporary by Angela Li’s “This format makes sense because o erings, titled “Unsettling Stillness”. By contrast people want it; they crave to see art in Wu Didi’s extra fi ne brushstrokes attempt to soothe person,” says Molesworth. anxieties brought on by COVID-19 and provide Hong Kong Art Gallery Association’s “Unscheduled” Presented by de Sarthe, Andrew space for self-refl ection and meditation. exhibition in which 12 local galleries showcased an art- Luk’s Horizon Scan series of Lehmann Maupin is presenting a series of mixed ist each back in June laid the foundation for Hong Kong installations change color in media paintings by South Korean artist Lee Bul. Spotlight by Art Basel, he informs. response to the movement of LED The idea is to delineate biomorphic and cybertronic “When Art Basel Hong Kong was canceled back in lights. forms using acrylic paint and mother of pearl to March, Hong Kong Art Gallery Association underscore the binaries of artifi cial and organic, made a statement about how the committee will conceptual and material — themes gallery director pull together,” says Molesworth. “‘Unscheduled’ Tittmann believe will resonate with Hong Kong was much smaller than Hong Kong Spotlight by Spotlight by Art Basel audiences. Art Basel but it was very successful; and the Art “Interestingly enough, Lee Bul has long explored Basel team assisted in whatever way they could. the tension between ideology and imperfection, and They were wowed that we made it work.” Levy Gorvy is showcasing a rarely-seen the freedom of existing in between. The series we are The unseasonal mini art fair “injected a lot abstract oil painting by the master exhibiting is titled Perdu, meaning ‘lost’ in French,” of energy into the art scene, in a meaningful, painter Zao Wou-ki at Hong Kong she says. impactful kind of way,” he adds. Spotlight by Art Basel. The show is an attempt to draw attention to the information overload people are faced with in the Texture and materiality Zhong Wei’s mixed present time. “We are inundated by content. Curation Although current travel bans mean only a media artworks, is essential, and I think it’s a positive sign that there fraction of the turnout at previous Art Basel are only 20 exhibitors in Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Liu Jianhua’s porcelain sculptures, presented by Hong Kong fairs will visit Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Basel. It gives space to each exhibitor and the oppor- presented by Pace Gallery, create de Sarthe, are Basel, a number of Hong Kong galleries jumped at the tunity to stand out,” says Tittmann. a new visual experience by a comment on opportunity to show their artists at an art fair in a physi- manipulating a highly fragile material. the information Molesworth has chosen Zhong Wei and Andrew cal space. Most of them were tired of exhibiting mainly overload on the Luk’s paintings based on the ideas of destruction, two-dimensional pieces through online art fairs. Hong internet. violence and the incessant information fl ow on the Kong Spotlight by Art Basel gives them a chance to show internet, as de Sarthe’s o erings at Hong Kong Spot- art that is created across di erent media and interactive light by Art Basel. in nature, or, as the director of Lehmann Maupin gallery, “Technology only amplifies or worsens tenden- Shasha Tittmann, says, “works that are best experienced cies for us as a species: We consume more, control in person — the kind of pieces that don’t garner as much Wu Didi’s extra- Cube Study more, envy more. Zhong Wei depicts this by throwing visibility online because of their texture and materiality”. fine brushstrokes (Remake) by heaps of information on the canvas — it’s all very “Physicality,” she says, “is key” to the art showing at are expected Tse Su-mei overwhelming, very much illustrating the speed and Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Basel. to help soothe inspires a amount of information we receive in mere seconds,” frayed nerves. Toggling between two and three-dimensional art contemplative says Molesworth. Presented at Hong are paintings by Antony Micallef, represented by Pearl mood in viewers. “After a whole year of online viewing rooms, I want Kong Spotlight Brought to Hong Lam Galleries. Slapping on layers of heavy paint on the by Art Basel by to make sure that the art we’re displaying looks great canvas, using impasto technique, is the artist’s hallmark. Kong Spotlight when viewed in person.” Contemporary by by Art Basel by Regarded as a modern Expressionist and one of the fi n- Given a locals-only audience who cannot be expect- Angela Li. Edouard Malingue est painters in contemporary art, Micallef talks of chal- ed to make major purchases in the time of an econom- Gallery. lenging the physical limitations of two-dimensional por- ic downturn, Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Basel could traits, highlighting the “palpable essence of the material.” be seen more as an expression of optimism rather than Shaping, from Edouard Malingue Gallery, mean- a profi t-oriented enterprise. Still, participating galler- while, is a video projection with sound variables by The art gallery, 10 ies seem happy to have a chance to reconnect with a Luxembourg-born artist Tse Su-mei. A trained cellist, Chancery Lane, is offering living, breathing audience. Tse is known for weaving meditative, musical tales by gravity-defying bamboo Molesworth points out that the collectors who visit combining video, installation and sculpture. sculptures by Laurent Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Basel will be very di er- 10 Chancery Lane has set up a sculptures-only Martin “Lo” at Hong Kong ent from those of Art Basel Hong Kong. “So I am not booth with bronze and wood works by Wang Spotlight by Art Basel. super optimistic about it, but it’s still really very excit- Keping and gravity-defying bamboo sculptures by ing,” he says. “Dealers and collectors did appreciate the Laurent Martin “Lo”. Mimicking Chinese calligra- online format and loved the fact that they could view phy strokes, the latter’s works resemble organic art from the comfort of their own homes, but it really silhouettes of plants and fishing rods while does not replicate or even come close to the experience Wang’s wooden shapes highlight the material’s of seeing an art fair in real life. No way.” grains, knots and branches – features that would be hard to pick up when viewed on a digital Wang Keping’s screen in online viewing rooms. wooden creations, IF YOU GO Pace Gallery’s “Spirit of the Material” exhibi- presented by 10 Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Basel tion is a serious attempt to celebrate the tactility Chancery Lane, Fine Art Asia of materials that go into art. The show includes two draw attention to the Dates: Nov 27 to 30, 2020 works from Liu Jianhua’s “Lines” series, creating new material’s physical Venue: Hong Kong Convention visual experiences and emotions out of porcelain while and Exhibition Centre features. 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong www.artbasel.com/hkspotlight/overview Food Former dairy farm serves dim sum and yum cha By REBECCA LO In 2009, M at the Fringe closed output. When the couple saw the rants in China. Mixologist Kama Club. Wong created Eugene Bao, a after 19 years in operation as the vacant former M at the Fringe, they Ma supports the trio with tea-based savory wagyu beef fi lled sweet bun The red brick and stucco clad building began a series of renova- realized its potential.