I was not really a fan of the Yves Klein tables, but it looks perfect in the living room of Sourth African designer Haldane Martin. And now I think I want one. Via “This is Glamorous”.
Carrie Chau – one of my favorite Hong Kong artists – has a temporary exhibition/installation in the public space in front of Causeway Bay’s Times Square.
The Hong Kong International Art Fair begins today, and I’m really looking forward to checking it out tonight. Much bigger than the last event, this fair will see galleries from all over the world meet at the exhibition centre, open to collectors, and the public alike. It’s running in conjunction with talks, previews and other events. So, if you’re in Hong Kong and you’re an art lover I suggest you check it out!
Oh, and PS – thanks to Frey Norris for my VIP passes!
**UPDATE** I thought the art fair was fantastic, so if you’re in HK and didn’t make it to this one – make sure you get there next year. With pieces by well known artists like Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Claude Lalanne, Damien Hirst, Julian Schnabel and Robert Rauschenberg (cannot imagine how much they have gone up in value since his unfortunate passing last week) – just to name a few – as well as many upcoming Asian artists, it was better than any other exhibition that has been shown here!
The Zaha Hadid desiged, Chanel sponsored, temporary Mobile Art container is in Hong Kong until April 5th. If you haven’t already bought tickets then you are out of luck I’m afraid, its been a complete sell out. For those of you around the world, take note – book early! The exhibition leaves here for Tokyo and then heads to New York, London, Moscow, then Paris. I saw the exhibition yesterday. I recommend you check it out if you have the chance!
A great way to check out local and some international art, as well as enjoy great food and wine from the nearby restaurants of Hong Kong’s SOHO, all in all a fun night!
The work of Argentine born artist Lucio Fontana first came to my attention when I flipped through the new book on Belgian antiquarian extraordinaire, Axel Vervoordt (see first image). His most notable work features painted canvas with a series of blade cuts, which, as you can see, gives an interesting extra dimension to them. He has pieces in the permanent collections of the Moma New York, and the Guggenheim. And if I’m lucky, mine also one day….
From “Axel Vervoordt: Timeless Interiors” by Armelle Baron.
Another Axel Vervoordt interior, on the cover of the Assouline published “Axel Vervoordt, the story of a style” by Meredith Etherington-Smith.
An interior by Veere Grenney, left of the fireplace.
Spacial Concept, Expectations, 1959. From the Guggenheim collection.
Spacial Concept, Expectations, 1959. From the Moma NY collection.
Last night I saw the last in a series of eight BBC (UK) documentaries called The Power of Art, presented by Simon Schama. As with most things, I’ve missed the first 7 of them! The one I did see last night was about Mark Rothko. An artist that I did not know much about previously, this was a fascinating insight into an extraordinary man. The presenter was a little pretentious, and there were a few too many knowing glances at the camera that lasted a little longer than necessary, but it was a pretty good show nonetheless. The first seven shows were about Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso, Turner, Bernini and David. I was wondering has anyone else seen any of these? If so, what did you think? I might have to track them down on DVD.
*UPDATE*, I’ve been informed that the DVD is available from amazon. I also discovered the book version – also available through amazon, or for other Hong Kongers, its available at Kelly & Walsh bookstore, Pacific Place.
Julian Schnabel, “Fox Farm”, 1989 – oil, gesso & resin on found painting
Atul Dodiya, “Three Painters”, 1996, oil & acrylic on canvas (the person to the left is actually the artist) 
“98 Diary – Still Life”, oil on canvas, 1998
“The Green Ceramic Jar”, oil on canvas, 2006
“Swimming Pool”, oil on canvas, 2006
Wilson Shieh has been touted as the most talented young artist in Hong Kong, and I had the honour of meeting him this past Saturday at the ICAF. Born in Hong Kong in 1970, Shieh graduated from the Fine Arts Department of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1994. He paints modern, sometimes political, and often humorous images on silk using a traditional chinese method called “gongbi” (meaning fine line). He is represented in Hong Kong by Grotto Fine Art – where he has a solo exhibition coming up at the end of this month. I was told by the gallery manager that almost 90% of these pieces have already been sold. He is also represented by several galleries worldwide, so if you are interested in seeing some fantastic contemporary chinese art that incorporates traditional techniques I suggest you check him out. This is one of the pieces that will be featured in his upcoming show.
Today is the beginning of Hong Kong’s first ever International Contemporary Art Fair! It’s being held in conjunction with several Sotheby’s auctions of Chinese art and artifacts. There are several lectures being held as well, so I’m off tomrorow to check it out. Hong Kong doesn’t get many of these events which is why I’m so excited about it. I probably won’t be buying anything, as we are still paying off our last art purchase, but then again, I say the same thing every time I go to an exhibition and we usually come away with something…
Have a great weekend everyone.!
I thought I would share some images with you all of some art that I finally had framed over the weekend. I bought these prints (actually, they’re lithographs) at a flea market in Paris – over a year ago – and I got to hang them up last night. As you can imagine, I was pretty excited! Heavens only knows why it took me so long, but they’re up now.