Art Central opened to the public on 23 March 2016 at 12pm, presenting works from 100 galleries, with 75 percent of the exhibitors coming from 23 cities across Asia.

The fair was launched in 2015 as a satellite event to Art Basel in Hong Kong. Set up by the original founders of Art HK, this year’s event kicked off to collectors and VIPs from the evening of Monday 21 March. Despite the rain, the mood was energetic: the fair’s two tents were packed with people there to see sculptures, paintings, drawings, interactive installations and, for those who attended the after party, live art performances, beats by British musician and beatboxer Beardyman and lots of Mumm Cordon Rouge champagne.

Nonotak Studio’s Daydream v.03 on show at this year’s fair

Among the artists on show at the fair itself are London-based Chinese artist Jacky Tsai at The Cat Street Gallery. His new lacquer-on-wood works pack a punch by mixing Pop culture with Chinese mythology. Also standing out from the crowd are Satoru Tamura’s kinetic works at Tezukayama Gallery; Tamura’s multimedia pieces use motors and incandescent bulbs to address the destruction of meaning. Other artists whose works are at the fair include Taiwanese artist Hsieh YuJu at Nunu Fine Art, Chisato Tanaka at Tokyo’s Kobayashi Gallery, Young-Wook Han at Seoul’s Galerie Bhak, and Stefano Bombadieri and Jean-Paul Donadini at Mark Hachem Gallery.

Pow Pow Pow II, 2016, by Jacky Tsai at The Cat Street Gallery’s booth at Art Central

Not to be missed are Art Central’s installations: Elaine Yan Ling Ng’s luminous and interactive Sundew for Swarovski, which is located at the entrance to the first tent, and Thomas Canto’s Suspended Landscape, 2016, a site-specific work at Opera Gallery’s booth.

Suspended Landscape, 2016, by Thomas Canto

Visitors to Art Central this week will also be able to enjoy panel discussions and roundtables, film screenings, children’s tours, and gourmet feasts at pop-up eateries by the likes of Belon Restaurant and Bar, and much more.

Art Central runs from 23 to 26 March 2016, at the Central Harbourfront Event Space, 9 Lung Wo Road, Central.

Art Central
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