At Hong Kong's Art Week, Emerging Talent Stole the Show
Released on the heels of this year's Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central Hong Kong—two annual fairs that presented 420 galleries from around the globe—the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report reveals that in 2024, global art market sales declined by 12 percent, specifically at the high end. But lest that seem like an ominous statistic for the creative sector, the report also disclosed a rise in the auction sales of works less than $5,000, 'while smaller dealers with turnover of less than $250,000 reported a 17 percent rise in business, their second consecutive year of growth.'
Even if sales have flagged for the upper segments, enthusiasm among art appreciators has not, with more than 91,000 attendees passing through the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre during Art Basel's five-day run. Launched in 2013 as the first Basel edition in Asia, the show's main goal was to serve as a platform for galleries and artists in the Asia-Pacific region and position the area as a global art hub. According to Art Basel Hong Kong director Angelle Siyang-Le, that goal remains (more than half of the galleries at the convention are based in Asia), although its nuances have shifted as a result of the pandemic.
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'2023 was about the reopening,' Siyang-Le said at the fair's pre-opening press event. '[In] 2024 it was about reconnecting between East and West, and 2025…I feel that naturally, the theme this year and our goal is to repurpose, and how we repurpose is [to] transcend ourselves beyond buying and selling platforms to date, what we called an intersection for creative opportunities.'
While a handful of blue-chip galleries boasted six-and-seven-figure sales (most notably, David Zwirner, which sold Yayoi Kusama's 2013 work INFINITY-NETS [ORUPX] (2013) for $3.5 million), there was a strong representation from small and mid-sized galleries (the roster of 23 newcomers included Bologna-based P420 with a solo presentation dedicated to Irma Blank, Paris' Galerie Allen with a delicate, wire-suspended mixed-media installation from Kirill Savchenkov, and a mix of work from New York's Nicelle Beauchene Gallery), as well as a section, dubbed 'Discoveries' for work created specifically for the show by emerging artists. Here, a much-Instagrammed installation by Korean artist Shin Min, through P21 Gallery, was the recipient of the first-ever MGM Discoveries Art Prize. Titled Ew! There is hair in the food!!, the grouping of paper figures is a biting commentary on the discrimination, expectations, and pressures women face while working in the corporate food service industry. It's these bold, sharply message-driven works that are catching the eye of the next class of art collectors—a discerning group who grew up during the advent of contemporary technology that allowed them to connect with the world and exchange ideas and information at a progressively rapid pace.
'We have seen increasing traction from younger generations,' says Amy Lo, chairman of global wealth management Asia and head and chief executive of UBS Hong Kong. 'Gen X is the biggest in terms of purchasing power and sales.' Lo also notes that, '69 percent of high-net-worth individuals are buying and purchasing from new artists. They tell us their main focus is on the new talents [and] 95 percent said they will be local-focused.'
For those fair-goers looking for more cutting-edge or experimental work, the 10th edition of Art Central—a satellite show held at Hong Kong's Central Harbourfront—delivered in spades. Here, a vibrant, more youthful sensibility ruled, with kinetic sculptures, optical illusions, dance performances, pieces saturated with in-your-face color, and layered textures that made it hard not to reach out and touch the work. (French jewelry designer Shourouk Rhaiem's My Dream Kitchen featured a multi-tiered metal shelving unit chock full of 27 vintage household items, all bedazzled with Swarovski crystals.) Pop motifs mixed with skilled craft rooted in history (at Galería Casa Cuadrada, Portuguese artist Vanessa Barragão's utilized textile techniques like latch hook and crochet to transform recycled materials into her knit wall sculpture, Euphoria I), and for the first year, the fair placed an emphasis on photography. Even the most abstract works seemed to have touchpoints, whether material, theme, text, or pattern, that made them relatable to the general viewer.
Back for the second year, Neo brought 15 galleries from Asia, Europe, and the Americas to present undiscovered artists in the early years of their careers. Participants like Shanghai's Astra Art, Seoul's FIM, MJK Gallery in Tokyo, and Monolog Gallery out of Belgrade are all less than three years old, but their inclusion doubled-down on Art Central's commitment to being an incubator to new talent, and the city's greater interest in creative cultural exchange.
'Hong Kong historically has always been a hub,' Art Basel's Siyang-Le says. 'What we are doing here is to increase the awareness of art and culture…not only to service just the VIPs, but everyone in the city.'
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