COURTESY CL3
It’s going to be a busy spring in Hong Kong. During the Art Basel Hong Kong fair in late March, three international galleries will inaugurate new Hong Kong branches in the same brand new building: H Queens. Last year Hauser & Wirth, which does not yet have a brick and mortar presence in Asia, announced that it would open during the fair and feature as its first show a new body of work by Mark Bradford. David Zwirner is also opening in H Queen’s, with programming beginning January 27 with new paintings by Michaël Borremans. And now we have Pace’s programming details: The first show at its new H Queen’s space will be work by Yoshitomo Nara, and it will also stage an exhibition of work by Loie Hollowell at its other Hong Kong gallery.
The building itself, a gigantic development, was announced in spring of 2016. H Queens billed itself as an arts hub, offering many of its 27 stories to galleries the world over. Zwirner was the anchor tenant, and in the months that followed, Pace announced that it would snag a space, adding a second gallery to complement the Hong Kong outpost it opened in 2014.
Soon, others flocked to the building, which boasts interconnected walkways that help create what it’s dubbed “the world’s first art gallery sky arcade.” Hauser & Wirth signed on, as did Chinese outfit Pearl Lam Galleries, Bangkok’s Tang Contemporary Art and Whitestone Gallery, which was founded in Tokyo in the 1960s.
“We’re very excited to open our new gallery in H Queen’s, exhibiting in the company of Pearl, David, Iwan and Manuela—this center will be a phenomenal addition to Hong Kong’s growing arts ecosystem,” Marc Glimcher, Pace’s president, said in a statement. “The arts renaissance that has been underway in Asia for the last 30 years or so has triggered a global shift and brought new energy to artists, collectors, and institutions across the art world. It has been a privilege to play a role in that evolution for the last decade, particularly to work with many of the artists who have shaped that renaissance, and our engagement with the Asian market continues to inform the way we see and work around the world.”
Pace’s new space is set to open March 26.