Encounters, Art Basel, Hong Kong

Encounters, comprising of 20 large-scale projects by artists from across Asia and beyond, opens to the public on 15 March. A sector of Art Basel‘s Hong Kong show, this year’s edition of Encounters will present artworks from a wide selection of countries including Indonesia, Germany and the United States.

The sector is dedicated to presenting ambitious sculptural installations, subverting the expectations of the traditional art fair booth. This year’s Encounters will premiere new works by a range of artists including Shooshie Sulaiman and David Claerbout, alongside previously exhibited pieces by Cao Fei and Lee Ufan.

This is the first time the sector has been curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor, Executive Director of Artspace in Sydney. Glass-Kantor turns to Landscape Urbanism for inspiration, looking at the spaces within cities which allow people a respite from dynamic city life, giving time to pause, inhale and reflect. Encounters occupies a significant exhibition space across four boulevards or ‘meridians’ within the art fair itself, paralleling the constructed world of the city and aims to channel this urban energy.

As part of Encounters, Kerlin Gallery from Dublin will present Intifada by British artist Siobhán Hapaska. The work is composed of three uprooted olive trees suspended and joined to constantly vibrating motors, creating a flying forest, floating but trapped, shaking continually in a state of endurance and defiance.

Evermore by Korean artist Taeyoon Kim will be presented by Seoul based One and J. Gallery. In this digital work, patterns and rhythms from everyday life are reconstituted into a system of moving images and sounds, allowing the audience to experience new rhythms, using customised software.

Art Basel is renowned for staging international fairs in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Each show is defined by the region of its host city, as reflected in the artworks presented and the programming produced in collaboration with local institutions.

Encounters: Art Basel, Hong Kong, 15 March-17 March, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Find out more at www.artbasel.com.

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Credits
1. Art Basel, Hong Kong 2014. Courtesy of Art Basel.