Art14 London preview: Chinese Galleries

A total of eleven China and Hong Kong-based galleries will attend Art 14—the same number as for Art 13, though certain names have come and gone. Beijing’s Aye Gallery, for example, has not returned in 2014; nor have Beijing veteran Boers-Li, or Amelia Johnson Contemporary. Pearl Lam Galleries, however, stays on the list, as does PIFO from Beijing, and the Shanghai-based Vanguard. New for the fair’s second edition are Tang Contemporary, Fabien Fryns Fine Art, Star Gallery and FQ Projects. Gallery Yang and C-Space are two more experimental names which will travel to London from Beijing this year to be part of the “Emerge” section.

C-Space will be showing the engaging combination of Yu Ji and Zhang Shujian – artists whom it has also taken to Art Hong Kong and Art Stage Singapore, respectively. Yu’s sculptural works in plaster are of modest size and encompass building-like objects and figures; the oil and pencil works by Zhang Shujian focus on the figure and portraits, showing an interest in concealment. Gallery Yang, a 4 year-old gallery in Beijing’s 798 art district, will offer black and white watercolors by Ye Linghan (who also works with animation and new media), and paintings by Yan Bing. It will also reference the ambitious solo exhibition carried out at its Beijing space last Summer by Dong Yuan called “A Short History of Everything: Grandma’s House and Bosch’s Garden”, with selected acrylic on canvas works.

Also with a space in Beijing, in addition to its Bangkok and Hong Kong branches, Tang Contemporary will attend Art 14 with an ambitious selection of eight artists—seven from China and one, Sakarin Krue-On, from Thailand. The more internationally known names amongst Tang’s Chinese inclusions are installation artist He An, some of whose stolen neon signs will be on show, and Yan Lei, whose “Limited Art Project” featured in Documenta 13.

Ye Linghan, “50% Dollar 001”, Watercolour on Paper, 190×110cm, 2013, Gallery Yang
叶凌瀚,《50%美金 001》,纸本水彩,190×110cm,2013,杨画廊
He An, “He Tao Yuan”, neon light and acrylic light box, variable size, 2013, Tang Gallery,
何岸,《何桃源》,霓虹灯、亚克力灯箱,尺寸可变,2013,唐人画廊
Xu Qu, “Gradual Wave 2”, acrylic on canvas, 146×146cm, 2013, Tang Gallery,
徐渠,《曲线渐变 2》,布面丙烯,146×146cm,2013,唐人画廊

Star Gallery was founded in 2005 and recently relocated to Qikeshu Creative Park (a warehouse district close to 798). Its booth at F15 is likely to draw particular attention with paintings by Song Kun, whose exposure was bolstered by a solo show at UCCA in 2012, and who is now exhibiting also at Beijing Commune. Recent paintings by long-time Star Gallery artist Chen Ke will also be on display—the gallery wishes to highlight the painting “Frida in Sickbed” (2013), which depicts a recumbent Frida Kahlo.

Expect to see watercolors by Ye Linghan again in Vanguard Gallery’s booth. This is a local Shanghai outfit with a space in the M50 art district. It focuses on younger emerging artists. Their bias for Art 14 is painting, with circular works by Zhang Lehua and oils on canvas by Xiao Jiang. Gelatin prints of landscapes by Shen Xuezhe and a floor-level installation by Liao Fei using fluorescent light and bundled paper will provide visual variety here. Also from Shanghai, FQ Projects has limited its selection to two artists working in ink and oil paint—Dai Mouyu and Sun Yu.

The eponymous Fabien Fryns Fine Art, which previously had a place in Beijing but since early 2013 has been acting as a private advisory service, will also have a booth at the fair. There, one will find a number of the popular plasticine on wood works by Henry Hudson, alongside sculptures by Richard Hudson. Two paintings by Sheng Qi—who infamously cut off his own finger in 1989 before leaving China for almost ten years—are examples of this mature artist’s more recent work. Single works in paint and sculpture by Lu Xinjian, Ling Jian and Feng Shu complete this display.

Last but far from least with branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai and now Singapore, Pearl Lam Galleries returns for its second attendance with the largest selection of nine artists: Choi Jeong Hwa, Jenny Holzer, Li Huasheng, Li Xiaojing, Yinka Shonibare MBE (RA), Su Xiaobai, Juju Sun, Michael Chow (aka Zhou Yinghua, who featured prominently in their booth at Art Stage Singapore this year) and art fair staple Zhu Jinshi. In the gallery’s usual style, these will likely be some of the biggest works at the fair hailing from Asia, with Juju Sun’s “No. 1320” (2013), for example, covering over 4 square meters. Two installations by Yinka Shonibare MBE in the Special Projects section are likely to garner attention—“Cannonball Heaven” (2011) incorporates two mannequins, Dutch wax-printed cotton, leather boots, 600 foam balls and a fiberglass reproduction cannon.

Liao Fei, “About Matter No. 11”, tape, paper, fluorescent tubes, wires, 140×130×120cm, 2012 , Vanguard Gallery
廖斐,《关于物质No.11》,胶带、纸、荧光灯管、电线,140×130×120cm, 2012,Vanguard画廊

Also showing, from Hong Kong are Galerie du Monde with Qin Feng.

And from London, Edel Assanti with Gordon Cheung.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Art13 exhibitor, Galerie Paris-Beijing was not participating in Art14. This was incorrect.

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