Hong Kong's Art Aspirations

The city wants to be Asia's culture capital, and ART HK 08, a glittering event of high-profile artworks and VIPs, may be just the ticket

by Frederik Balfour

Art by Jean-Michel Basquiat photo courtesy of Max Lang Gallery

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At Hong Kong's convention center overlooking Victoria Harbor, a large crowd gathers around local performance artist Li Wei as he shakes and wriggles in an effort to shed hundreds of mirror shards stuck to his body. Nearby, another Hong Kong artist, Movana Chen, shuffles her way through the crowd wrapped head to toe in a "body container" she knitted from shredded catalogues from luxury retailer Shanghai Tang and ArtAsiaPacific magazine.

When not focusing on Chan, hundreds of VIP guests, clutching flutes of Moët Chandon (LVMH) champagne, roam the floor for a sneak preview of contemporary art from every corner of the world. And in the VVIP section, the very special guests sit on white leather couches, nibbling seared tuna, Thai shrimp cakes, and filo with baked goat cheese, courtesy of lead sponsor Lehman Brothers (LEH).

Welcome to the opening night of ART HK 08, the city's first world-class art fair in more than a decade. Hong Kong officially brands itself "Asia's World City," and it has a lot going for it: superb infrastructure, an extraordinary skyline, beautiful countryside, and some of the best shopping and food anywhere. It has also long been a town whose denizens have unashamedly served Mammon—and the relentless pursuit of material wealth has, to put it bluntly, turned the city into something of a cultural wasteland.

New Wealth Looking for an Outlet

Magnus Renfrew is trying to change that. If Renfrew, the director of the Hong Kong International Art Fair, has his way, the Special Administrative Region may establish itself as a major stop on the global art circuit on a par with London's Frieze Art Fair, Art Basel Miami Beach, and TEFAF Maastricht. After all, there's no shortage of buying power in the region: Hong Kong is the third largest art auction market after New York and London, according to Christie's, the world's largest auction house. Christie's sold $473 million worth of art in Hong Kong last year, compared with $2.67 billion in New York and $2.04 billion in London.

Contemporary artworks from China, Korea, and India have seen meteoric price gains in recent years. And, unlike the U.S., the E.U. or China, Hong Kong has no import taxes on art, making the city more attractive for both collectors and dealers. "It's an ideal location for an international art fair," says Renfrew. "The earth is tipping on its axis, and the economies of Asia and all the new wealth created means people are looking for different ways to spend their money."

Whether Hong Kong is ready to embrace Renfrew's vision will be revealed during the fair, which runs from May 15—18. ART HK 08 features over 600 works from 102 galleries representing 20 countries from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and North America. There is $64 million worth of art for sale, including pieces from some of the top contemporary dealers.

Blue-Chip Works

London's Ben Brown Fine Arts is flogging an Andy Warhol silk screen of the 1962 Studebaker Avanti cars worth about $3.7 million, and crosstown rival Marlborough Fine Art is hawking a Francis Bacon work entitled Man at the Wash Basin with a list price of $34 million. There are also works by Damien Hirst, Picasso, and Robert Rauschenberg.

But while such blue-chip works from the West may command the highest prices, Art HK 08 also aims to cash in on the growing demand for Asian contemporary works from India, China, Korea, and Japan. More than 60% of the galleries are from the region, including 12 from Hong Kong and several from Shanghai and Beijing, featuring such hot-selling mainland artists as Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Mingjun, and Xu Bing. Other fast-rising Asian stars include Rashid Rana of India, Haris Purnomo of Indonesia, and Korea's Bae Joon-sung.