Art Basel Hong Kong Recap
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| I thought this was a Koons, but nope! |
This is the second year of the Art Basel HK, prior to that
it was simply called Art HK. It’s not quite as big as Art Basel in Miami
or the Armory Show week in New York, but in a year or two in very well could
be. Hong Kong is a major sea port with lots of money, a highly educated population, major collectors, major
museums, and major galleries like White Cube, Gagosian, and Lehman Maupin all have
outposts here. There is a vibrant art scene
in the city limits with opportunities just outside the city in areas as well. Hong
Kong reminds me a great deal of New York in that it is diverse, extremely
competitive, pricey, and densely populated. I’ve been looking forward to this
art fair for over six months now. But surprisingly, I didn’t plan as well as I
should have. My hotel wasn’t as close to the convention center as I initially
thought.
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| Calrton Guest House is where I started. |
When I booked my hotel I thought was only a few blocks away from where
the fair was taking place. In reality, it was on the other side of the city, across the
bay.
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| Ah fuck! |
When I realized that
I wasn’t going to be able to walk to the convention center, that I would have
to take a ferry or a taxi or the subway, I felt really stupid. But then I thought, “ You’re in Hong Kong!
Just go with it. It will be an adventure. Next time, plan ahead.”
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| Wrong ferry view #1 |
So I crossed the bay and realized I took the wrong ferry!
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| Wrong ferry view #2 |
“More adventure,” I thought and got a cab.
“ Wait the cab driver doesn’t understand me? Oh shit, that’s
right, they speak CANTONESE HERE IN HK!”
More Adventure.
“Damn it! No internet on my phone so I can’t use my
translation app!”
More adventure.
Wait ten minutes for a new cab.
More adventure.
Nature calls. Time to find a public restroom in the mall.
More adventure!
After a twenty minute
search, relief was found in the bathroom of an upscale KFC. Yes, here in HK
there is such a thing as an upscale KFC. This KCF had waiters, wine, and prices
equivalent to a three star restaurant. Upon leaving I found a cab driver who
spoke English and just told him where I needed to go.
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| My cabbie. |
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| There were some benefits to wrong ferry. Like this H&M ad. |
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| The building in the bottom left is where I needed to be. |
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| Almost there! |
You're Not Good Enough
I remember being very excited when I took this picture. Back home, I always had the desire to visit Miami in
December and explore or better yet, take part in the fair. I always told myself
that I didn’t have the time or the money to attend the fair.
But the real reason, was fear. Fear that I wouldn’t be able
to talk about my work if someone asked. Fear that I didn’t know anyone, and
people wouldn’t be interested in talking with me. Fear that my work wasn’t good
enough, and if my work wasn’t good enough, then there must be something flawed
about my character. Because if I had it together, then it would show in my
work, and people would take notice. I
also avoided fairs because I felt like a failure. I felt like I should have
done something more with my life by now. I felt like I should have “figured it
out” or “found my voice/style by now.”
“Why can’t I be like them? Why can’t my
work be good like theirs? Why can’t I be smart like them? So and so is a huge
star and is represented by so and so gallery and just had a show at so and so
museum. AND they are only 29?”
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| Yo, I got this Picassso, Pre-War! Great price, just for you! |
I don’t know if other artists deal with this issue, but
it has plagued me for years, and has stripped me of valuable time. Only within the last two years have I been
able to overcome this ridiculous notion. It still happens now and then, but I
hold onto the self pity less and less each time. As I stepped inside the convention center, I
thought to myself, “ You didn’t come all this way to fail. You know how many
people would be envious of you right now? No need to be afraid…it’s just art.
And most gallery people are glorified used car salesman anyway!" After attending Art Basel Hong Kong, I can sum it up in one
word:
Meh. I know that doesn’t really count as a word, it’s more of a sound,
but picture in your mind the gesture you make when you’re not impressed by
something. Got it?
I could also sum up the fair with, “Overwhelmed by amount of
art, Underwhelmed with the quality.” This is what I was afraid of all these
years? Really?
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| "Cunt Face" by Urs Fischer. I think the title is fitting |
These people aren’t better than me, they are just older or
better connected!
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| Use all the fancy art speak, fake intellectual terms you want, Tracey Emin is BS and YOU KNOW IT! |
But there were a few works that stopped me cold.
Highlights
Gu Wenda’s “United Nations Human Space,” made of 188 flags made of human hair, greeted you when they entered one of the exhibition floors.
Rebecca Baumann’s rolodex/flipboard piece “Automated Colourfield (Variation V)” was slow-changing and hypnotic. Every few seconds one of the flipboards would change, introducing a new color scheme into the deck.
Although this is a shitty picture, Chuck Close at PACE is always a show stopper.
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| Gallery owner Pearl Lam in front of a Zhu Jushi painting. |
Although technically sloppy at times, I still enjoyed the large scale, narrative figure paintings of Hernan Bas at Lehman Maupin.
Nam Jun Paik at James Cohen Gallery.
Never found out who this artist was.
Who doesn't love large, public ping-pong tables?
Crowd shots:
Never found out who did this lamp sculpture.
Faces by Wu Jian’ an
If you have $4 million you don't know what to do with, you could have this Richter. But considering how hot he's been, this is probably spoken for now. Or you could pay A LOT LESS and I will make an imitation one for you ;)
Just what the world needs, a Roy Lichtenstein inspired BMW.
As far as sales go, it’s tough to believe the talk from
dealers. No one wants to say sales are down or non existent because of the
perception it will create. Some galleries place red “sold” dots on the wall,
some don’t. Some galleries will broadcast sales, like Pearl Lam
Galleries reported strong sales of new
LED works in Chinese by the artist Jenny Holzer in the range of
US $180,000–300,000. Others, like the girl I talked to from Gagosian, kept it low
key with “We placed a few works in very prominent collections over the
weekend.” Others I talked to were more forth coming. A few galleries told me
that collectors in Asia behave differently from those in the West when it comes
to purchasing work. Say for example a certain artist is on fire at Art Basel
Miami or Frieze in NYC, and a mega collector like Eli Broad acquires a few
works by that artist. After the Broad-Midas touch has been applied, dealers
wouldn’t be able to sell that artist fast enough!
At the end of the fair, that artist would have multiple
shows lined up for years, possibly a museum show somewhere important. From
what I have been told, Asian collectors are more cautious, and don’t really get
caught up in a buying frenzy. They wait. They think. They get all Zen and shit
about it. Or they just ask for a 20% discount up front.
Party Time
These are pictures I took after the fair in the party central district. By the time 6am Sunday morning rolled around, I
was covered in sweat, dehydrated, and I smelled atrocious. I excluded a lot of
pictures and details because they are not appropriate for this blog. Just know
that no one was injured or arrested. :)
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| Took the subway all by myself! |
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| Starts off normal |
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| Gets a little blurry |
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| %$&$# |
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| Gucci Ice Cream! |
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| The "lobby" of my hotel. |
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| Elevator |
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| The tiniest hotel room ever! |
So much happened during that weekend, I can say I maybe saw
10% of what was going on. I missed out on some great parties and the smaller of
the beaten path, hidden gem galleries. But
what happened on the last day of the fair, when I was passed out in my hotel
room, was just terrifying. It was a nice little reminder of how lucky I am to
be a westerner, but also that China, especially the “Old School, We Lock You Up
For Even THINKING CERTAIN THINGS” is still alive and well.
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