As Art Basel returns, Hong Kong is writing its own story (2025)

[HONG KONG] By the time the private jets landed on the tarmac at Chek Lap Kok in the last week of March, Hong Kong had officially kicked off its most closely watched art week in years.

For more than a decade, Hong Kong has reigned as Asia’s No 1 art capital – with marquee events including Art Basel Hong Kong, satellite fairs such as Art Central, and blue-chip gallery openings drawing collectors, curators, and artists from around the world.

But amid a perfect storm of US-China trade tensions, socio-political headwinds and a substantially slowing global art market, some are wondering if the city’s grip on the crown has become less secure.

There are diehard believers, such as Gagosian Hong Kong director Nick Simunovic, who says there’s no substitute in Asia for what Hong Kong offers. “It’s a city with a completely developed art ecosystem in terms of museums, galleries, auction houses and artists. It’s geographically located in the heart of Asia, right at the doorstep of mainland China, and equally distant from Tokyo and Singapore. On top of that, it has a tax system that encourages art buying.”

But at the start of Wednesday’s (Mar 26) VIP preview of Art Basel Hong Kong, several gallerists privately admitted that they were worried about sales, with softer pre-sale activity this year compared to the heady pre-pandemic years.

“Many people aren’t sure how Trump’s tariff on Chinese imports and China’s retaliation will play out,” said one gallerist. “So people are biding their time, asking to reserve works instead of buying them on the spot.”

By the end of Wednesday’s VIP preview, blue-chip galleries had averted those worries with strong results. Hauser & Wirth reported over a dozen high-value sales, including a Louise Bourgeois bronze sculpture that fetched US$2 million, a Christina Quarles canvas that went for US$1.35 million, and an Avery Singer and a Rashid Johnson painting both going US$550,000 or more to Asian collectors.

Other mega galleries such as David Zwirner, Thaddeus Ropac, Perrotin and Pace notched strong numbers, while on the regional front, Asian galleries like Kukje, TKG+, Ink Studio and Kiang Malingue performed impressively.

Among Singapore outfits, Ames Yavuz – arguably the city’s most internationally visible gallery with spaces in Singapore, London and Sydney – hit new milestones. It sold two works by Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak for US$175,000 each, a massive Elmer Borlongan canvas for US$330,000 and several other pieces. Founder Can Yavuz, champagne in hand, was visibly elated. “We’ve worked hard to develop relationships with collectors and that’s paid off in a big way.”

Not all dealers, however, shared in the exuberance. A handful of blue-chip galleries had thinner sales than in prior years, while some mid-size outfits expressed strong disappointment. Two reported they have yet to make a single sale. Many attributed it to the prevailing air of caution: buyers remain engaged but are taking their time – opting to reserve, inquire, and think twice before pulling the trigger.

While Hong Kong hasn’t lost its shine, the market it once dominated has become more fragmented and anxious – demanding a recalibration of the future.

Shaken but not stirred

Mixed sales figures aside, Hong Kong isn’t waiting to ride out the uncertainty. Across the city, art has spilled out of the fairs and into the streets, malls, restaurants, hotels, parks and rooftops. Though initially fuelled by Art Basel Hong Kong – a foreign-owned entity of Swiss exhibition company MCH – the city has embraced and expanded the moment, turning it into an ecosystem of home-grown creativity that goes far beyond the walls of the art fair.

A new mixed-use development called Airside has made art a cornerstone of its attraction. Built by the Nan Fung Group in the former Kai Tak Airport area, the Snohetta-designed complex features several public art installations as well as the Gate33 Gallery now showcasing bold art centred on ASMR (or autonomous sensory meridian response).

ASMR is a relaxing, tingling sensation usually felt on the scalp, neck, and down the spine – triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli. Over the past decade, it’s grown into a massive viral phenomenon on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. The showcase in Hong Kong features local works such as a recreation of Hong Kong’s public transport seats where people are invited to sit and sleep as the ASMR stimuli lull them into a relaxed state.

“Hongkongers work very long hours, so we always fall asleep on public transport. Even if it is just for 15 minutes, we can sleep and have vivid dreams in a short span of time,” says curator Daisy Chu. “We think of the show as a service to the Hong Kong people – they can come here, get comfortable, soothe themselves with ASMR, and maybe even sleep.”

In Central, The Henderson skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) unveiled a new art garden on Thursday. It’s the first such ZHA sculpture park in Asia, featuring large artworks by artists such as Ned Kahn, Philipp Frank, and STICKYLINE x Leanna. High-end malls such as K11 Musea and Pacific Place, as well as luxury hotels like The Peninsula, each have their own dedicated Art Week programmes.

One unexpected silver lining of the pandemic was a cultural shift that saw Hong Kongers turning their attention inward – rediscovering and taking pride in their home-grown art scene, which had long played second fiddle to international and mainland Chinese names.

At the Art Basel Hong Kong press conference, Amy Lo, chairman of UBS Global Wealth Management Asia and CEO of UBS Hong Kong, noted that the city’s high-net-worth individuals are playing a key role in this shift – choosing to invest in local talent and contributing to the growing vibrancy of the Hong Kong art scene.

UBS, global lead partner of the event, co-commissions an annual global survey on art collecting to offer insights into how high-net-worth individuals engage with the market, from spending patterns to motivations and emerging interests.

Women definitely on the rise

Another noticeable trend here is the collective effort to elevate the work of women artists. After years of under-representation, galleries and institutions are beginning to close the gap.

Several Hong Kong branches of the mega-galleries have solo female exhibitions: Lynne Drexler at White Cube, Sarah Sze at Gagosian, Emma McIntyre at David Zwirner, and Louise Bourgeois at Hauser & Wirth. At heritage art space Tai Kwun, contemporary artists Hu Xiaoyuan, Alicja Kwade, and Maeve Brennan are each featured in solo shows, further underscoring the momentum.

At Art Basel Hong Kong, Australian gallery Sullivan & Strumpf’s booth is exclusively filled with works by women. “We didn’t plan it that way,” said co-founder Ursula Sullivan. “We began with Singapore artists like Dawn Ng and Kanchana Gupta, then added others like Gemma Smith. Every name that came up after that just happened to be a woman – and all are excellent.”

Singapore’s STPI carved out a dedicated section for the late sculptor Kim Lim. STPI executive director Emi Eu shared: “We’ve been championing her since 2013 – and not just because of her recent retrospective at National Gallery Singapore. When I first came across her works years ago, it was clear to me that her mastery across multiple disciplines deserved much wider global recognition than she was getting.”

Even at the UBS Lounge for its top clients, the Swiss bank had lined its walls with textile and craft-based artworks that explore themes around identity, gender roles and the environment. Though the showcase is not exclusively centred on women, most of the works are made by leading female artists such as Yin Xiuzhen, Sheila Hicks, Malgorzata Mirga-Tas, Liza Lou, Maja Bajevic, Franziska Furter, Kyungah Ham, Suki Seokyeong Kang and Suchitra Mattai.

One of the most successful young galleries to emerge in Hong Kong in recent years is PHD Group, founded by married couple Ysabelle Cheung and Willem Molesworth. Known for their championing of high-quality and experimental art, Cheung says: “A lot of our collectors are young and a lot of them are women. As a gallery, we don’t shy away from challenging works,works that respond to our increasingly tumultuous world... and a lot of women collectors are extremely open to these works. They’re not looking for commercial,generic works – but authentic, ephemeral works that resonate with them, and speak to the times.”

In an industry long dominated by men and the West, the rise of women and local artists is perhaps the best countercurrent to the art market’s clouded outlook.

Art Basel Hong Kong 2025 runs till Mar 30 at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre