ArtHK 2012 Diary: Day 1

Anselm Kiefer lets a thousand flowers bloom at White Cube Hong Kong

And so the madness begins in Hong Kong for art fair week.

The flurry of texts as I waited for my flight to get going clued me in on the frenzy, even among the Filipino art aficionados. Who was going when to HK? For those counting heads, the better question seemed to be who was not?

On arrival, I ran into an acquaintance who shuttles between Manila and Hong Kong. She told me she had to fly back to help out a friend who runs a gallery here in HK. Manila glossies Philippine Tatler and Town and Country had made appointments to view the space.

Dr. Toto Salgado called it correctly. I got his text right before take off: Have fun! The whole Pinoy art community will be there. And then some.

Anselm Kiefer, Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom, White Cube

The VIP Program outlined a bunch of openings for Tuesday night, the day before ArtHK’s Vernissage, all happening about town from six to eight pm. We decided to hit the newest galleries first. It turned out, that’s all we had time for.

How important is Hong Kong to the art world? Two of the biggest brands just set up shop in the former Crown Colony, their only branches outside of their European headquarters. They join three other gallery networks that opened in the last year. The city ranks pretty high on the list for those who seek a gateway to Asia’s art collectors. And their purses.

White Cube’s ground floor space at the newly built office tower, 50 Connaught Road Central, could barely hold the crowd that came for their art fair kick off. I wanted to catch Anselm Kiefer, and hoped for some of the majestic 20-foot vitrines that enthralled New York in 2011. However, Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom, with its references to Mao throughout the expansive canvases, felt like a sell out. Does everyone pander to mighty China? That doesn’t bode well for the fate of our shoal.

White Cube Hong Kong's opening night crowd

Another of Kiefer's Mao's is glimpsed through the crowd

White Cube's Jay Jopling holds court

Manila Bulletin's Jose V. Zulueta with Maya Colayco

Let a thousand people...

Attempting to photograph the crowd

The gallery's reception committee

White Cube's ground floor entrance

KAWS: The Nature of Need

Sixteen stories above White Cube, on the same building’s 17th floor, the beautiful views of the harbor from Galerie Perrotin’s wide windows barely registered with the horde clinking their champagne flutes. I’m not sure they noticed the works of Kaws on the walls either. The former street artist-turned-toy designer’s exhibit, The Nature of Need, showed acrylic paintings on canvas, each work in the main space consisting of several long strips of brightly colored fragments punctuated here and there with his signature X, marks that replace the eyes of his reworked commercial icons. The gallery assistant told us that the artist was around, to look for the guy in the baseball cap. There were about five of them mingling in the crush, so we gave up.

The gallery’s backrooms had more interesting pieces: works by Sophie Calle and French sculptor Jean-Michel Othoniel, photos by Paola Pivi. A counter at the back sold artists books and Takashi Murakami merchandise.

After we made our own champagne toasts, we rushed on to Pedder St. attempting to catch the openings at Gagosian and Simon Lee. Alas, we arrived too late! So we made our way up to Queen’s Road, to try and nip by Harvey Nichols before it too closed for the night. My sister-in-law remarked “So these things, they’re not all about the art pala?” Did anyone actually think they were?

Anselm Kiefer, Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom, runs from 16 May to 25 August 2012 at White Cube Hong Kong, GF, 50 Connaught Road Central. Phone (+852) 2592 2000 or visit www.whitecube.com

KAWS: The Nature of Need runs from 15 May to 30 June 2012 at Galerie Perrotin Hong Kong, 50 Connaught Road Central. Phone (+852) 3758-2180 or visit www.perrotin.com