10 must-see shows during Art Basel Hong Kong

The opening of the Venice Biennale is less than a month away, but for now, the great and the good of the art world will be coming to Hong Kong for Art Basel. The fair is returning to its pre-2020 scale, with more than 240 galleries from 40 countries setting up booths and collectors gathering for new acquisitions. There, they will also find a litany of exhibitions and events held at the same time.

Within the city’s rich cultural scene, a number of commercial gallery shows stand out, showcasing the range and diversity of contemporary art on display in Hong Kong. Here, we pick 10 not to be missed.

Xiyadie, “Butterfly Dream”

Blindspot gallery

March 26–May 11

Xiyadie’s first solo exhibition at Blindspot Gallery focuses on paper cuts from the 1980s that depict important moments in the artist’s life, such as his first gay encounter with a train attendant on a train journey to Xian, and his birth and eventual death. his son “Butterfly Dream” takes its title from the artist’s nickname, which means “Siberian butterfly” in Mandarin Chinese. Following an exhibition of her work at the Drawing Center in New York last year, this is the largest presentation of Xiyadie’s work to date, featuring more than 30 artworks that demonstrate the unique application of paper cutting techniques she learned from the women in her family.

Looking ahead, Xiyadie’s work will also be presented in the main exhibition of the 60th Venice Biennale, “Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere”, which will be held from April 20 to November 24.

David Zwirner

March 25–May 11

Wolfgang Tillmans’ second solo presentation at David Zwirner in Hong Kong includes images taken by the artist in Addis Ababa; Berlin; Lagos; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Hong Kong; and Shenzhen, China. “The Point Is Matter” shows Tillmans’ worldview as he explores conceptual and social issues across decades, wherever he looks through his lens, from quiet moments in his studio or in snowy Mongolia, glinting in the starlight. ink the night sky.

The exhibition includes not only Tillmans’ photographs, but also a new video work, which was only completed when the show was being installed in Hong Kong. It contains music composed by the artist, which will be released as an album at the end of April.

Often described as embryos, the figures in Izumi Kato’s artwork—with their bulbous heads and large eyes that stare a thousand miles away—can appear beautiful, disturbing, thought-provoking, or all of the above. The series of creations on view in Hong Kong appear to complement a series of sculptures shown at Perrotin in Paris last year, one painting featuring Kato’s signature figure standing atop Mount Fuji, along with others featuring animals with what appears to be transparent skin. .

Be it painting, drawing or sculpture, Kato’s works of art remain incredibly bad, nothing more than a juniper calamity. The figures and their context are part of the artist’s visual language that has developed over two and a half decades, growing a cast of otherworldly anonymous characters.

from Sarthe

March 23–April 28

Lov-Lov—Lin Jingjing’s New York-based “AI-like artist identity”—leans into the uncanny valley. Their paintings depict mirage-like scenes, with bright, impactful hues filling the canvas, and roughly imagined, geometric flora. Elsewhere, in short video works lasting less than a minute, artificially created characters follow a script, semantically and syntactically, as if dreamed up by a software, although in fact they are composed using “a mixture of existing materials”. On the theme that “everything is unreal,” an installation that shares the exhibition’s title features sharp blades suspended over a reflective surface that paves the gallery floor, referencing the automatic reactions humans have to trauma and disaster.

This show at DE SARTHE raises interesting questions about how machines and software can play a role in art in the future, as well as the current distinct aesthetic that consumer-friendly and easy-to-use AI tools imprint on their output.

Have you ever torn apart a love letter? Peripatetic artist Movana Chen specializes in action, and has built an art practice using paper strips of cut-out letters to create a paper “thread” that she then weaves into sculptures and costumes. His latest work is being exhibited at Art Basel Hong Kong during Flowers, using a collection of over 180 correspondences sent to him by friends, family and loved ones between 1989 and 2023. Each work is deeply personal and inclusive. recovering the handwritten words of the people who care about the artist himself. Think of this sculptural set as a process of turning cherished memories into delicate works of art.

Notably, Chen’s work can also be seen elsewhere in Hong Kong: M+’s Focus Gallery; and as part of CHAT’s “Factory of Tomorrow” exhibition, due to the organization’s fifth anniversary.

The White Cube

March 26–May 18

A new body of work by Louise Giovanelli continues the artist’s use of painting as a means of representation, neatly cropping photographs of paintings, sculptures, architecture and other references. In the artworks he shows in his exhibition at White Cube, a female figure doubles, image after image, freezing moments of what seems to be ecstasy. There is a strong theatrical element to these Giovanelli paintings, with a continuous series of drapes and drapes that reveal drapes, creating a sense of anticipation in the audience before a live performance begins.

“Here on Earth” is Giovanelli’s first solo exhibition in Asia. His paintings are also being exhibited at the He Art Museum in Foshan, near Hong Kong.

Renato Nicolodi, “Concealment and Disclosure”

Axel Vervoordt gallery

March 23–May 18

Belgian artist Renato Nicolodi is best known for his architectural sculptures made using concrete. His second exhibition at Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Hong Kong, “Concealment and Disclosure”, includes paintings, sculptures, works on paper and a video. Nicolodi’s works are based on his grandfather’s experience helping the Nazis build the Atlantic Wall, a defensive system built along the coast of continental Europe during World War II. He takes advantage of archetypal forms to create monumental constructions with a familiar architectural grammar. Even at first encounter, these empty constructions seem familiar, giving the audience room to make their own meaning.

In a first for the artist, Nicolodi has also created a video that allows viewers to follow a virtual tour through an architectural space, presenting another way to experience the universality of architecture-inspired creations.

Remove the Fine Arts

March 22–May 16

One of China’s most sought-after contemporary ink painters, Wucius Wong continues to deconstruct the medium in his signature style, highlighting specific geometric elements in hills and waterways. The results are otherworldly compositions that draw from centuries of Chinese tradition and Wong’s Western training. The solo exhibition at Alisan Fine Arts includes 16 works from four series—including land and sky, water scenes, urban scenes, and calligraphy—developed between the 1980s and 2023, showcasing Wong’s artistic progress over nearly four decades.

Wong is a key figure in the New Ink Movement, a group of Hong Kong artists who in the 1960s and 80s reinvented traditional ink art by integrating modern techniques; East Asian artists were the first to develop this distinct approach to modernist painting. .

Pace Gallery

March 26–May 9

Dreamy, theatrical and delicate, these five large canvases in the role of painter Kylie Manning and related works were created after her collaboration with Christopher Wheeldon for the New York City Ballet in 2023, as the choreographer put it, “to complete a dance in her world.” Manning’s brushstrokes create movement. and they capture the flow in that area with spectral images emerging from chaotic and abstract scenes.Specifically, the artist’s sketches on paper were produced during ballet company rehearsals, naming each work after a performer: these works offer a vision of bodies conditioned for peak physical performance.

“Sea Change” was conceived as an evolving presentation across East Asia. The iteration at Pace’s Hong Kong location is the second stop after the X Museum in Beijing. A third show will be held at Space K Seoul starting in August.

Pearl Lam Galleries

March 26–May 16