7th March 2023 – (Hong Kong) Art Central, in collaboration with Lead Partner UOB, has announced the launch of its immersive installation art projects, public talks, and video art as part of the Fair’s eighth edition. As a key event during Hong Kong Art Week, Art Central will be held from Wednesday, 22nd March to Saturday, 25th March 2023, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Fair will showcase the work of Asia’s most ambitious galleries and artists, providing a platform for the next generation of talent to exhibit their work.
Art Central’s line-up of 72 influential galleries from Hong Kong, Asia, and beyond was announced earlier this year, and highlights across three gallery sectors were revealed – Central Galleries, Curated Booths, and Solo Presentations. Known for its incubator of the next generation of contemporary art in Asia, Art Central invites a Hong Kong-based curator for each edition to identify up-and-coming artists and cutting-edge projects from the region. For the 2023 edition, Art Central has invited independent curator, writer, and publisher Chris Wan to curate the popular Yi Tai Sculpture and Installation Projects, the Fair’s sector for ambitious, large-scale installations, and spatial interventions.
Under the direction of Chris Wan, Art Central will present four large-scale projects in the Yi Tai Sculpture and Installation Projects sector. The selected projects are unified by their non-traditional, transitory, and sensory experiences, which examine the fluid and elusive nature of art, hinting at a subverted reality that collapses the rigid structures of history, materiality, and emotions. Through an intense visual richness and pleasure of “art spectacle,” audiences are invited to question how social values, which have been subliminally pushed to the surface via mass media, may displace our understanding of present-day reality.
Renowned for his suspended installations that create three-dimensional illusions in space, BAHK Seon-ghi presents An Aggregation-Space 2023, which doubles as a maze that welcomes the audience to walk through it. The installation’s black charcoal parts float precisely in space to form geometric perspectives at unexpected angles, suggesting an examination of human rationality. The installation is presented by 021gallery, Daegu.
Clara Wong’s installation, Prelude in A minor Trauma, merges vibrant painting techniques and ready-made objects to form a domestic theatre, which constructs a cramped fictional living space with a leaky water pipe and a computer that inevitably gets wet. It serves as a metaphor for the oppressive reality of life in Hong Kong, allowing for the exploration of personal traumas and their consequences. The installation is presented by Square Street Gallery, Hong Kong.
In When Memories Metamorphose into What You Imagined, Huo Yun challenges the perception and imagination of paper as a traditional material. The artist’s time spent in Italy inspired him to search for a shared, material-based artistic expression in Eastern and Western art. Huo’s sculptural forms evoke a deep sense of history and tradition, as if perceived from a viewer’s long-lost memories. The installation is presented by a|n Gallery, Hong Kong.
Bev Butkow, a Johannesburg-based artist, constructs a dancing installation of locally-sourced materials that reflects on macroeconomic concepts of capital, information, and labor. The installation, comprised of four large, fabric-net forms of various suspended shapes, suggests a certain rhythm of use, like a set of giant fishing nets just pulled up from the sea. Audiences are drawn to the interplay of Butkow’s abstract soft sculptures, reflective materials, and use of light, which invites viewers to explore their myriad details. The installation is presented by Guns & Rain, Johannesburg.
Talks and Panel Discussions
A critically acclaimed programme of talks led by prominent voices in contemporary art today. The lineup features artists, curators, collectors, writers, publishers, critics and more. Highlights include:
- Collecting Against the Grain | Tuesday 21st March 2023, 4pm
The art world feeds off social topics, shock value, and trends. We invite art collectors to discuss their journeys in art collecting, and whether their approach to art collecting has shifted.
Speakers: Collectors Sharon Cheng, Vernon Ho, Bonnie Lau
Moderator: Luyang Jiang, Chief Strategy Officer, The Baer Faxt
- Making Your Name: The Trajectory of Contemporary Artists | Thursday 23rd March 2023, 2pm
In this talk moderated by one of Hong Kong’s leading academic voices, three contemporary artists share their creative journeys and artistic practices, and what it takes to establish oneself in the art community and beyond.
Speakers: Lindy Lee (artist), Ticko Liu (artist), Glary Wu (artist),
Moderator: Prof. Janet Fong, Research Professor, Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University
- Looking Forward: Hong Kong as an International Art Hub | Thursday 23rd March 2023, 4pm
Hong Kong is quickly rebounding as a leading international hub for contemporary art. In this discussion, speakers from distinct creative fields share insights on how the Hong Kong art world is emerging from the pandemic – and what projects and patterns we can look forward to.
Speakers: Teresa Kwong, Programme Director, Hong Kong Arts Centre; Sunnie Lau, Director, MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node; Sally Yeung, Curator, Po Leung Kuk Museum
Moderator: Jennifer Pratt, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Artsy
Video Art: Citrus Worlds
Citrus Worlds, a collection of video art projects presented by Asia Society Hong Kong Center, invites us to a refreshment of ten Hong Kong artists’ digital narrations. Encompassing interpretations of absurdity, odes, fairy tales and observations, the artists’ creative visions are emulated in multimedia form. The selected works offer tart reminders of revisiting memories and embracing fantasy, welcoming everyone to dive into a world of digital fun and immersion. Featured artists Herman Chan, Jeff Cheng, Choi Sai Ho, Colbie Fung, Lau Wai, Florence Lee, Masahiro Nakamura, So Siu, Tsui Hou Lam and Winsome Wong.