Hong Kong Art Fair 2011

After a year of getting to know the fairly limited Vietnamese art scene, I jumped across the water to expand my horizons. Two days getting myself a good old hit of solid art did me wonders. Artworks new and old, commercial and less so filled two floors of the Hong Kong Convention Centre. It’s only in it’s 4th year, but this art fair is soaring in popularity, and many European galleries joined this year.

I sauntered lots, took photos to keep records that will help me revisit the virtual telephone directory of artists’ names that I wish to commit to memory, and chatted to visitors, artists and gallerists. Through coincidence or due to good business tactics, I was most impressed by 3 female gallery owners from London.

I’ve known Debbie Carslaw since she opened Madder 139 near Hoxton about 4 years ago. The gallery then moved to Vyner street, and now again back to Hoxton. The artists she selects usually offer highly tempered skills, in either sculpture, drawing or painting. Representing a good proportion of female artists, and increasingly appearing in many international art fairs, this gallerist has achieved much in a short time, and looks set to be well entrenched in London’s future art market. Showing  miniature pencils drawings by Paul Chiappe, Debbie proves that detailed, crafted and retro-styled imagery is the next big thing in the making of the European art tradition.

Lucy Newman Cleeve of Man&Eve gallery was keen to share with me ideas about East-West art fluxes.  She represents Michael Whittle, an English artist currently completing a research project in Japan, so the interest is backed by experience. His work is beautifully simple yet geometrically bound.

And the friendly gallerist of Elms Lesters Painting Rooms shared with me a love of colour and surprise, seen in the 2D/3D work of Adam Neate.

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