PRESS RELEASE
HONG KONG | JANUARY 28 | 2016
Encounters: Presenting 16 ambitious and large-scale projects by artists from across Asia and beyond
Alexie Glass-Kantor, Executive Director of Artspace in Sydney returns to curate the Encounters sector of Art Basel in Hong Kong for the second time, presenting 16 artworks by artists from 12 countries and territories: Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mainland China, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The sector is a unique platform that transcends the traditional art fair stand, presenting large-scale sculptural installations and will feature work by Brook Andrew, Charles Avery, Hans Berg and Nathalie Djurberg, Roberto Chabet, Chen Zhen, Isa Genzken, Kyungah Ham, Arik Levy, Peter Liversidge, Richard Maloy, Tintin Wulia, Tromarama, Keiji Uematsu, Lawrence Weiner, Pae White and Zhang Ding.
For her second curation of the sector, Alexie Glass-Kantor explores the nature of an ‘encounter’ itself, curating an edition that aims to inspire both awe and wonder in an audience that will be required to interact with and participate in the immersive environment of many of the works on show. The number of exhibits has been reduced to 16 so artists and their galleries can be more ambitious in their presentations. This year’s edition will include five site-specific installations and six artworks that will be premiered at Encounters, including works by Brook Andrew, Isa Genzken, Arik Levy, Richard Maloy, Lawrence Weiner, Tintin Wulia and Zhang Ding.
‘I’m delighted that this year, close collaborations with the participants have resulted in a number of works that will be premiering at Art Basel, as well as site-specific works that have been created as a direct response to exploring what an ‘encounter’ is or could become,’ says Alexie Glass-Kantor, Curator Encounters.
Information on individual presentations:
Edouard Malingue Gallery from Hong Kong will present ‘Private Riots’ (2014 – 2016) by Indonesian artist collective Tromarama. Established in Bandung in 2006 and widely considered one of Indonesia’s most exciting rising talents, Tromarama features the artists Febie Babyrose (b. 1985, Indonesia), Ruddy Hatumena (b. 1984, Philippines) and Herbert Hans (b. 1984, Indonesia). ‘Private Riots’ is composed of a flash sequence video and a floor-to-ceiling towering swirl depicting seemingly playful protest banners, conveying the trio’s observations of Asia’s rapidly evolving cultural environment and its social, political and visual undercurrents. Underneath the towering swirl will be a square platform on top of which will be placed singular video stands with flashing images, which visitors are invited into.
Marian Goodman Gallery, with exhibition spaces in New York, Paris and London, will present a number of text works at various locations within the exhibition halls by New York-based conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner (b. 1942, United States), whose emphasis on the interaction between an artwork and the viewer was first outlined in a ‘statement of intent’, published by the artist in 1969. Created specifically by the artist for Encounters, the text work will be site-specific, with text in English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.
‘Cargo and Decoy’ (1989/2010) by Filipino artist Roberto Chabet (b. 1937-2013) will be presented by Osage Gallery, which has spaces in Hong Kong and Shanghai. ‘Cargo and Decoy’ is comprised of plywood boards that have been coated in blue paint; the boards are then cut in half and propped between wooden sawhorses to form blue V-shaped waves across the floor. Drawn from his experiences during World War II, when the sight of fighter planes in the sky brought a sense of impending destruction, Chabet uses plywood as a material that signifies reconstruction, juxtaposed by a temporality suggested by the work’s positioning, as if about to be packed away.
Osage Gallery will also present a work by Indonesian artist Tintin Wulia (b. 1972). ‘Five Tonnes of Homes and Other Understories’ (2016) is the result of the artist’s year-long investigation into the micro-economy of the cardboard recycling network in Central, Hong Kong’s main business district. Comprised of suspended bales of cardboard waste, the work embodies the development of human experiences in the accidental corners of globalized economies. The artist’s research into the network of collectors began in 2015 when she began drawing on the Filipino domestic workers’ cardboard ‘walls’ while spending time with them at weekends.
Also on view in Encounters will be Auckland-based Starkwhite’s presentation of a site-specific installation ‘Yellow Structure’ (2016) by New Zealand artist Richard Maloy (b. 1977). Seen from a distance, ‘Yellow Structure’ will appear to be a solid, golden, rock-like structure that is minimal in nature. Closer inspection by visitors, however, will reveal its degradable and humble construction from common industrial materials such as cardboard, paint and tape. The audience will be invited to sit inside the work to explore the sculpture’s DIY-style interior, which will be built around a column. The interior of the sculpture will also provide a viewing point from which to observe other works in the sector.
ShanghART, with spaces in Shanghai and Singapore, will present work by Chinese artist Zhang Ding (b. 1980).‘18 Cubes’ (2015/2016) will consist of 18 large, man-made, steel boxes plated with 24 karat gold. Art Basel visitors will be encouraged to leave their mark on the artwork with any methods, tools or personal belongings that are available to them, for example by scratching, scrawling and cutting the cubes. Each of the structures will measure 2.3m in height and 5m in width allowing total immersion for visitors who will be able to walk between them.
Ingleby Gallery from Edinburgh has collaborated with Pilar Corrias in London to present ‘Tree No. 5 from the Jadindagadendar’ (2015) by Scottish artist Charles Avery (b. 1973), originally commissioned for the Edinburgh Art Festival 2015. Cast in bronze and five meters tall, the illuminated sculpture draws on mathematical equations for its design. The tree, ripe with strange fruit, sits in the municipal gardens of Onamatopeia, once a bustling port, but now a place in a state of extended decline, at the heart of Avery’s fictional island. The island is the subject of Avery’s lifelong, evolving project, ‘The Islanders’ which sees the artist dedicated to describing the inhabitants, flora and fauna of a fictional island, exploring in several mediums, and with precise detail, the geography, topography, customs, mythology and religion of this imaginary place.
In addition, Ingleby Gallery will also present a forest of nineteen, skeletal trees of various sizes, crafted from American Black Walnut, by Peter Liversidge (b. 1973, United Kingdom). The artist has been developing this forest since 2010, and visitors to Art Basel will be able to walk through and around the trees, which represent the artist’s version of a forest in winter. The installation is based on a Pretzel Tree made by the artist for Art Basel in 2007.
Three sculptural works made of powder-coated steel and mirror-polished stainless steel created by Tel-Aviv-born and Paris-based Arik Levy (b. 1963, Israel) will be presented by Pékin Fine Arts, which has gallery spaces in Beijing and Hong Kong. The three works, ‘CraterBlue’ (2015), ‘StoneRed’ (2014) and ‘RockTripleFusionVertical’ (2015) are juxtaposed as the confrontation of the body and mind when encountering societal aspects of everyday life.
David Zwirner, with spaces in New York and London, will present a group of freestanding floor sculptures by German artist Isa Genzken (b. 1948), belonging to her ‘Schauspieler’ (Actors) series. ‘Schauspieler III, 1’ was created in 2015 and comprises elaborately outfitted mannequins holding an array of props and accessories.
Galerie Nathalie Obadia with spaces in Paris and Brussels will present, in collaboration with Melbourne’s Tolarno Galleries, the work of Australian artist Brook Andrew (b. 1970), which will be shown at Art Basel for the first time. Drawing on the heritage of his mother’s Aboriginal cultural ancestry, Andrew will create a stage-like installation in a black and white optical pattern, which consists of six mounted image components suspended by theatre rope from the ceiling that will reappear and disappear depending on the viewer’s stance in the space. Named ‘Building Empire’ (2016), the images within the installation are taken from known and unknown world histories, gathered by the artist from various sources in order to offer alternative historical narratives.
New work by Korean artist Kyungah Ham (b. 1966, South Korea) will be presented by Kukje Gallery of Seoul and Tina Kim Gallery of New York. ‘Chandeliers for Five Cities’ (2016) is an installation of five large embroidery paintings, from the artist’s ongoing series that she began in 2008. While the artist is based in Seoul, South Korea, the embroideries are manufactured by artisans based in North Korea, to whom the artist sends her designed, pixelated images via a mediator. The embroidery is grandiose and decorative, referencing political power and the split of North and South Korea as a result of World War II. By working with these artisans, Ham has established an alternative way of communicating with an isolated North Korea. Additionally, she reveals the stark economic differences between North and South Korea, by using both subject matter and manufacturing as a way of critiquing power structures.
Hong Kong and Beijing-based de Sarthe Gallery will present an installation by Chinese artist Chen Zhen (1955-2000). Created in 1997, three years before the artist’s death, ‘Opening of a Closed Center’ is one of the artist’s finest works, consisting of metal, wood, found objects and furniture, and was conceived as one of two pieces from the artist’s time with the Shaker community in Sabbath Lake, Maine. Wooden screens from Chinese monastery windows create a quiet space that holds a simple Shaker-style chair and altar made from suspended furniture. Born into a family of intellectuals and doctors, but affected by the stringencies of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Zhen was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease after finishing his artistic training and spent time with Tibetan monks in order to learn how to face disease via the tenets of Zen Buddhism. The suspended, floating nature of this work requires the audience to move through and aroun d the piece in order to fully experience the installation.
Lisson Gallery, with spaces in London, Milan and New York, will present work by Swedish artists Nathalie Djurberg (b. 1978) and Hans Berg (b. 1978). ‘A Thief Caught in the Act’ (2015) consists of a number of wooden tables with colorful birds perched on their surfaces, positioned as if about to steal pills that have been scattered across the tables. The birds are lit by a light that is switched on and off in specific sequences. While it is on, the birds are lit as if by a police searchlight, illuminating their expressions of fear, guilt and surprise, while also enhancing the color intensity of their plumage.
Berlin’s neugerriemschneider will show an installation by Pae White (b. 1963, United States). The work comprises a series of tapestries, including the large-scale work ‘OroLlegro’ (2013), whose layers of form and pattern catch reflected light. To complement these, several works will be included from the artist’s series ‘Modules’ (2014), which comprises boldly colored and uniquely designed hanging light sculptures. The installation will be multi-sensory, with the smell of incense permeating the exhibition space.
Finally, Yumiko Chiba Associates, from Tokyo, will present work by Japanese artist Keiji Uematsu (b. 1947). Taken from a new series begun in 2014, ‘Floating form – Invisible axis’ (2016) is a continuation of the artist’s interest in unconscious and unseen things, such as gravity, attraction and magnetic fields. The installation comprises a stone and an iron steel-made cylinder, which are kept in balance via a fulcrum set in the ceiling, evoking a feeling of ‘invisible force’ between matter and matter, matter and architecture and tension and balance.
Charles Avery
Ingleby Gallery in collaborated with Pilar Corrias
‘Tree No. 5 from the Jadindagadendar’ (2015)
Courtesy the artist and the gallery
Brook Andrew
Galerie Nathalie Obadia in collaboration with Tolarno Galleries
‘Building Empire (2016)
Image Coutresy: Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris/Brussels and Tolarno Galleries
Richard Maloy
Starkwhite
Yellow Structure (2016)
Courtesy the artist and the gallery
Arik Levy
Pékin Fine Arts
RockTripleFusionVertical (2015)
Image Courtesy: Pékin Fine Arts Gallery and Arik Levy
Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg
Lisson Gallery
A Thief Caught in the Act (2015)
Courtesy the artist and the gallery
Keiji Uematsu
Yumiko Chiba Associates
Floating form – Invisible axis (2016)
Courtesy Keiji Uematsu
Kyungah Ham
Kukje Gallery and Tina Kim Gallery
Chandeliers for Five Cities (2016)
Courtesy the artist and the galleries
Peter Liversidge
Ingleby Gallery
Trees (2010-2015)
courtesy the artist and the gallery
Chen Zhen
Opening of a Closed Center (1997
de Sarthe Gallery
Image courtesy de Sarthe Gallery
Zhang Ding
ShanghART
18 Cubes (2015/2016)
Courtesy the artist and the gallery
