Hong Kong Left: Imura art gallery shows Atarimae-no-koto’s “3 kg Pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g, 2015.” Below: Artist K<strong>in</strong>gsley Ng uses a public tram as an ‘art space.’ Magician Space by Li J<strong>in</strong>ghu The scope <strong>of</strong> Art Basel features some 250 galleries <strong>in</strong> 6 show sectors. Determ<strong>in</strong>ed art enthusiasts navigate the fair’s sectors through categories such as Discoveries (emerg<strong>in</strong>g artists) and Encounters (large-scale works). The <strong>2017</strong> Hong Kong edition, the fifth <strong>in</strong> the city, for the first time <strong>in</strong>cludes Kab<strong>in</strong>ett, <strong>in</strong> which galleries organise m<strong>in</strong>iexhibitions with<strong>in</strong> their own booths, whether solo or group shows or presentations focused on art history. Art Basel’s widely acclaimed Encounters sector showcases 17 projects by <strong>in</strong>ternationally renowned artists. Curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor, Executive Director <strong>of</strong> Artspace <strong>in</strong> Sydney, the <strong>2017</strong> edition has works by “I was <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> explor<strong>in</strong>g the relationship between time and experience, specifically, how time is related to ‘Ewncounters,’” says Alexie Glass-Kantor, the third-year curator <strong>of</strong> the Encounters sector at Art Basel HK, cit<strong>in</strong>g the 17 largescale sculptural <strong>in</strong>stallations. notable artists like Pio Abad, Rasheed Araeen, Kathar<strong>in</strong>a Grosse, Gonkar Gyatso, Joyce Ho, Hu Q<strong>in</strong>gyan, B<strong>in</strong>gyi, Waqas Khan, Kimsooja, Alicja Kwade, D<strong>in</strong>h Q. Lê, Li J<strong>in</strong>ghu, Sanné Mestrom, Michael Parekowhai, Shen Shaom<strong>in</strong>, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Wang Wei. Another sector, Insights, br<strong>in</strong>gs works <strong>of</strong> galleries and their artists from the broader Asian market, with f<strong>in</strong>al sectors be<strong>in</strong>g Magaz<strong>in</strong>es, with art publications from around the world and Film, a 3-day programme done by and about artists. The pre-em<strong>in</strong>ent Gagosian Gallery will present German artist Kathar<strong>in</strong>a Grosse’s series <strong>of</strong> six new sculptures cast <strong>in</strong> alum<strong>in</strong>um and <strong>in</strong>tricately spraypa<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>in</strong> vivid hues. Edouard Mal<strong>in</strong>gue Gallery’s debut ‘Slipp<strong>in</strong>g Mural 2’ (<strong>2017</strong>) by Ch<strong>in</strong>ese artist Wang Wei. The floor-based <strong>in</strong>stallation uses images from a Beij<strong>in</strong>g zoo and an idyllic beach framed by a palm tree, birds and clouds, explor<strong>in</strong>g the return to nature <strong>in</strong> its most basic form and reflect<strong>in</strong>g upon the nature <strong>of</strong> reality. In a timely piece, 10 Chancery Lane Gallery and P.P.O.W. will explore today’s global refugee crisis with an <strong>in</strong>stallation titled ‘The Deep Blue Sea’ (<strong>2017</strong>) by Vietnamese artist D<strong>in</strong>h Q. Lê (b. 1968). Osage Gallery will present ‘Summit’ (2009-2010) by Ch<strong>in</strong>ese artist Shen Shaom<strong>in</strong> (b. 1956), which features sculptures <strong>of</strong> five deceased Communist leaders: Fidel Castro, Ho Chi M<strong>in</strong>h, Kim Il Sung, Vladimir Len<strong>in</strong> and Mao Zedong. Castro is depicted on his deathbed while the others are each presented <strong>in</strong> a crystal c<strong>of</strong>f<strong>in</strong>. Silverlens will show ‘Not a Shield, but a Weapon’ (2016) by Filip<strong>in</strong>o artist Pio Abad (b. 1983). The <strong>in</strong>stallation consists <strong>of</strong> 180 counterfeit reproductions <strong>of</strong> former Prime M<strong>in</strong>ister Margaret Thatcher’s iconic handbag – produced <strong>in</strong> Marik<strong>in</strong>a <strong>in</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es – and cont<strong>in</strong>ues Abad’s <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> explor<strong>in</strong>g ideas surround<strong>in</strong>g value, cultural artefacts and the political histories <strong>of</strong> the United K<strong>in</strong>gdom and the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es. Magician Space will premiere ‘Archaeology <strong>of</strong> the Present (Dongguan)’ (<strong>2017</strong>), an <strong>in</strong>stallation by Ch<strong>in</strong>ese artist Li J<strong>in</strong>ghu (b. 1972). Inspired by the artist’s hometown <strong>of</strong> Dongguan, which has become an <strong>in</strong>dustrial centre sometimes referred to as ‘the factory <strong>of</strong> the world’, the <strong>in</strong>stallation will feature lights from factories that Li J<strong>in</strong>ghu has transformed <strong>in</strong>to abstract clouds. Sullivan+Strumpf will premiere an <strong>in</strong>stallation by Dutch-Australian artist Sanné Mestrom (b. 1979). ‘The Bathers’ (2016), based on Cézanne’s <strong>in</strong>famous pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the same name, extends Mestrom’s <strong>in</strong>vestigation <strong>in</strong>to the language <strong>of</strong> pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g as explored through sculptural form. The work will be the artist’s most ambitious work to date, consist<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> a series <strong>of</strong> three large res<strong>in</strong> figur<strong>in</strong>e abstractions that appear to recl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> the ‘tears’ <strong>of</strong> a fourth abstracted figur<strong>in</strong>e – a large alum<strong>in</strong>ium and bronze ‘water founta<strong>in</strong>’. ‘House <strong>of</strong> Red Bamboo’ (<strong>2017</strong>) by Pakistani artist Rasheed Araeen (b. 1935) will be premiered by Rossi & Rossi. The scaffold<strong>in</strong>g structure made <strong>of</strong> bamboo references the artist’s long-stand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>vestigations <strong>in</strong>to geometric and architectural structures as Postmodernist representations <strong>of</strong> non-compositional forms, and metaphorically their reference to utopian ideologies follow<strong>in</strong>g the Constructivist and De Stijl movements. Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, whose works have been shown at the Guggenheim <strong>in</strong> New York and other major museums, experiments with 3-D pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g. With<strong>in</strong> a structure built <strong>of</strong> traditionally tied bamboo scaffold<strong>in</strong>g, visitors will discover five versions <strong>of</strong> the same 3D-pr<strong>in</strong>ted bonsai tree positioned on bases <strong>in</strong>spired by Constant<strong>in</strong> Brâncuși’s wooden pedestals. 58 59