Once again, Art Basel Hong Kong will feature large-scale works in its Encounters sector, which will run in conjunction with the fair when it opens March 24. Today, they’ve released the list of everyone involved, which includes 16 artists from 12 countries.
So, what is this Encounters business, you ask? Well, it’s essentially the same thing as Art Unlimited, the large-scale sector at Art Basel, in Basel. Unlimited is often a highlight of the whole Swiss circus; last year, a reporter got to experience what it’s like to spin on a revolving disc for an hour with the artist Julius von Bismarck. That kind of stuff just doesn’t happen at the plain old gallery sector.
One difference is that, with Encounters, the works are spread throughout the fair in Hong Kong, not in one central location. Last year, highlights included some Sterling Ruby black stoves, because why not?
It’s all curated by Artspace, Sydney director Alexie Glass-Kantor, the works are being premiered for the first time, and it’s sure to be a blast if you can make it out to Hong Kong. It’s not for a few months, but I guess we have to talk about these things earlier and earlier as each year slowly and painfully passes us by.
And here’s the list of participating artists: Brook Andrew, Charles Avery, Hans Berg and Nathalie Djurberg, Roberto Chabet, Chen Zhen, Isa Genzken, Kyungah Ham, Arik Levy, Peter Liversidge, Richard Maloy, Tintin Wulia, Tromarama, Keiji Uematsu, Lawrence Weiner, Pae White, and Zhang Ding.