The Everchanging Art World

Two weeks ago, Hong Kong was filled with art events & exhibition and the whole city was immersed in an artistic and vibrant vibes. And after this exciting week, something has hit me and I felt an urge to start my own blog and talk about art, gallery visit and everything cool about the art world!

So... Without further ado! Let's start! 

Although I was busy working as a helper at the Fotanian Open Studio event, I still managed to visit the Asia Contemporary Art Show and the infamous Art Basel in between my limited schedule.

Asia Contemporary Art Show:

Undoubtedly, it was a very commercial art show. Beautiful art pieces displayed in a five stars hotel waiting to be purchased by some "tasteful" visitors so they could exhibit them in their stylish apartment/house/office, etc. Despite the fact that I had no intension (/no money) to buy anything, I tried to pretend to be a potential buyer so the gallerists were more willing to talk to me. Most of the conversation were very interesting, some were even more like selling a commodity, " This art piece is at a very good value for HKD20,000, it even comes with this fabulous Italian frame." But there was one artist's works did left a remarkable impression on me. Ramon Otting has his works showcased in one of the room, the gallerist from Fabrik Gallery told me that Mr. Otting likes sketching while travelling. He collects the soil at where he did the sketches and later on mixes the grinded soil into his painting.  What I found very fascinating is the way he embedded the surrounding into his work. And the use of colour and paint patches technique reminded me of my favourite art period- Impressionism. His artworks are no doubts very appealing to viewers and could compliment any space gracefully.

((photo credit: Ramon Otting's facebook Photo Album. check out more on: http://www.ramonotting.nl/ )

Art Basel

I did not anticipate much about Art Basel, as again, it is publicly known that "Good for business, Bad for Art." Still I visited it light-heartedly and discovered a fun way to appreciate artwork. Most visitors were photo hunting for cool and outspoken art pieces in order to share on social media. In fact we were one of them, but on top of that, we did something special: we stood closely to the art piece and took a photo from behind. The result was quite amazing. In some pictures, we became part of the artwork and in some, we even made the artwork more interesting.

My conclusion from this extensive art week was: The way we appreciate art and create art has changed. Artists are struggling to find a fine balance between artistic and commercial values. Art Selfie becomes a new phenomenon in appreciating art. Art pieces induce people engage and interact with them innovatively.