HONG KONG.- Returning this Fall with its 13th anticipated edition, the Asia Contemporary Art Show at the Conrad Hong Kong, opens on September 28th until October 1st. As the longest running and most successful hotel art fair in Asia, the Show will include artwork from countries such as Myanmar, the United States, South Korea, Lebanon, Russia, China, Japan, Hong Kong and many others.

Beginning on Friday, September 28th, arts patrons and select guests will be welcomed at the exclusive UnionPay Private View. This will be followed by an invitation-only UnionPay VIP Collectors Preview. General admission opens on Saturday, September 29th and continues with regular show hours until Monday, October 1st.

“At the Asia Contemporary Art Show we strive to reflect current trends in the contemporary art market.” remarked Show Director Mark Saunderson, “This Fall, we will feature special sectors Intersections: South Korea and Artist Dialogues presented by Cask 88. Viewers will see a wide array of artwork by over 70 artists from across South Korea that highlight the fusion of influences from Confucian to Christian, and reflect popular culture (K-pop) as well as social issues that shape South Korean contemporary art.”

“And that is not all, the 13th edition will feature a variety of artists both up and coming and established working in a variety of mediums, many of whom are new to our Show. These include Wang Liwei, an exciting young Chinese sculptor who sculpts with leather creating dynamic figures, Tibetan artist Nornor who lets inspiration drive his creative process, and Japanese artist Ikumi Nakada who portrays children using delicate brushstrokes recreating memories of childhood and childish innocence.”

“We are very excited to welcome Cask 88 as our new Presenting Partner for Artist Dialogues. Cask 88 will be whipping up whisky cocktails for our visitors to sip while browsing art and engaging in conversation with over 20 participating artists.”

Sculpture, Art in 3-D

Salvador Dalí, Spain – Appraisal & Collection Fine Arts, Room 4321
Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) is a surrealist painter who also delved into sculpture, printmaking, fashion, advertising, writing, and filmmaking. Famous for his larger than life personality and role of mischievous provocateur as much as for his undeniable technical virtuosity, Dalí is known for using psychoanalytic methods of mining the subconscious to generate imagery. He is considered one of the three most representative artists of the 20th century alongside Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.

Wang Liwei, China – Times Space, Room 4222
After completing his Tianjin Academy of Arts, Wang Liwei (b. 1983) decided to explore the use of soft materials in the language of sculpture. Rejecting common materials such as clay, wood or iron, Wang began to experiment with leather. Each piece is individually crafted over a resin core. By choosing not to sew pieces together but rather to expose joining seams on the outside of the sculptures, the seams become part of the ornamentation.

Yuki Nara, Japan – Artists in Taiwan, Room 4312
Yuki Nara (b. 1989) is a descendant in a long line of famous Japanese ceramists. Nara’s aim is to create ceramics that are light and transparent rather than the conventional and dignified ceramics. To achieve his goal, Nara studied architecture in order to learn and incorporate architectural modeling techniques into his sculptures. According to Nara, ceramics are able to absorb its surroundings and retain the special mood of its place, gently connecting, rather than separating, the interior from the exterior.

A World of Art at the Asia Contemporary Art Show

Toshimitsu Imai, Japan
"Autumn Riverside" by Toshimitsu Imai, Macey & Sons, Hong Kong, Room 4226
Toshimitsu Imai (1928-2002) was an influential 20th century avant-garde Japanese artist who was a key figure of the Art Informal movement. His early days were characterised by an ‘ultra-complex structure’ using strong colours and heavy brushstrokes. Transcending after the Informal to Ka-Cho-Fu-Getsu (flower, birds, wind, and moon) series, Imai expresses the beauties of nature indicative of his gentle and romantic sensitivity. In his final series Hiroshima, Imai turned to a war-related series during the 90’s.

Kim Myeong Gon, South Korea – Gallery JHAK, Room 4205
Kim Myeong Gon (b. 1969) graduated in 2000 with a Master of Fine Arts; he has had 22 solo exhibitions and over 180 group shows over the world. His works are composed of hundreds and thousands of colour faces, and focuses on a dynamic image of a city and an object that have the driving force towards the restoration of life. His works are mostly found in private collections in South Korea.

Chris Rivers, United Kingdom, Room 4111
Chris Rivers a self-taught artist from Manchester, England, discovered his passion for painting during his time as a professional rock music drummer. Rivers believes in the process of trial and error and learning things for yourself, going into the unknown and painting with a certain amount of not having a plan about where it’ll go. He works in a surrealistic meets abstract style, experimenting with the darker side of beauty and innocence.

Poon Kwing Wing, Water, China – BLINK Gallery, Room 4020
Poon Kwing Wing, Water (b. 1944) is an artist, photographer, designer and film director. Poon’s works include “Water Poon Collections”, “Still Water Runs Long” and “Los Angeles”, which have been exhibited in Japan and United States. Poon is especially interested in Chinese ink painting due to his passion in Chinese heritage. The abstract ink splashes on the Xuan paper reflects the pursuit of mind and spiritual purity of the modern urbanite.

Ikumi Nakada, Japan – Suomei Gallery, Room 4004
Ikumi Nakada (b. 1982) who is a member of the artist group “Gazoku”, portrays children using delicate brushstrokes to recreate memories of childhood and childish innocence. Her depictions of children are based on her observations of children’s behaviour. Gradually she forms a connection between her observations and her childhood memories, and channels them into her works using soft colours and textures.

Nornor, China – iTibet Art Space, Room 4024
Tibetan artist Nornor (b. 1988) is a graduate of the Art School at Tibet University. Nornor joined iTibet Art Space in 2012. Once Nornor is hit by inspiration, he will start to paint unceasingly, without the use of a draft, but always integrating centuries-old traditions and techniques of constructing Tibetan Buddhist imagery into his works. In terms of his artwork, he prefers to leave the interpretation of the works to his audience instead of explaining himself.