33 Temple: Art Central / Art Basel Hong Kong 2016

March madness returned to Hong Kong reportedly in the coldest March weather since 1978 and there was a steady downpour as made my way from the IFC towards the large Art Central marquee on Hong Kong's harbour front. Work commitments meant that I had to tackle both Art Central and Art Basel Hong Kong in the same day!

As I arrived at Art Central, the rain had obviously made a dent in the audience figures but also made viewing the artwork a little more convenient. The outdoor food court area was a wash-out but in the exhibition hall there were some notable pieces of work to see. As I toured around the gallery booths, I had talk to artist Claire Lee at the Mur Nomade booth and later I met Professor Chan Yuk Keung of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who was also visiting.

A bite to eat replenished my energy before walking across to the Convention and Exhibition Centre to take in this year's Art Basel HK. Approaching the escalators from the vehicle drop-off level, I passed a huge queue of people lining up in the hope of purchasing a day ticket.
This year the 'hot' material was cardboard. It was everywhere, stacked up on trollies, squashed into bails, made into artificial rocks, whatever you could think off.
I managed to keep moving forward despite flagging spirits and I was rewarded by a few treasures that appeared before me as though to rescue me from exhaustion.

After 5 hours I reached the end and before leaving the Centre I collected a bright green Frieze bag full of magazines and journals from the various stands in the lobby area. I also bumped into Art writer John Batten, on his way in for one of the panel sessions set aside for conversations / discussions.

Below is a sample of the gems I discovered during my day, artist name listed: