ATHENS | BERLIN | BRUSSELS | LONDON | LUCERNE | MILAN | PARIS | SALZBURG | SAN GIMIGNANO| TORINO | VIENNA | ZURICH | 

It’s spring time in Paris, and in fact all over Europe, and that means hay fever. The answer is to look at art in a nice air conditioned hall in Hong Kong.

PARIS

Paris is arguably the Western center of contemporary art from China. More galleries than even New York regularly engage with the Chinese art scene. There are numerous reasons for this, not least highly engaged and informed cultural attaches in China over the last 30 years, as well as various French luxury brands who have aligned themselves with the local art world, including Chanel, Cartier and Louis Vuitton (whose foundation is currently showing a major exhibition on China in its new Frank Gehry designed museum in Paris).

Three major Paris galleries also have spaces in Brussels: Almine Rech Gallery, Galerie Nathalie Obadia and Galerie Daniel Templon. Normally Templon is a fixture at Art Basel Hong Kong (representing He An, Mao Yan and Yue Minjun) but this year is the gallery’s 50^th anniversary, so M. Templon is staying home to organize the party (really).

Following her hugely successful2015 exhibition“Revolution in Tradition: China’s post-ink painting era” with Hao Shiming, Gu Wenda, Shang Yang, Ni Youyu and Qiu Zhijie, Galerie Nathalie Obadia (Brussels / Paris) (booth 3C30) is looking to become more involved in the Chinese and wider Asian art scenes (Obadia represents Xu Zhen and Rina Banerjee) and that includes Australia—in the Encounters section, the gallery will present Brook Andrew.

Galerie Daniel Templon (Brussels / Paris) is not in Hong Kong this year, focusing instead on its 25 years anniversary.  Meanwhile, Chantal Crousel (Paris) (booth 1C05) will show Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla, Abraham Cruzvillegas, David Douard, and Wolfgang Tilmans.

Almine Rech Gallery (Brussels / London / Paris) (booth 3C28) will show John Armleder, Günther Förg, John McAllister, Julian Schnabel and Xu Qu (who is prominently displayed in the Fondation Louis Vuitton exhibition).

Every year certain artists, old or new, seem to be more present than others, and this year a number of galleries have Joan Miro, including Galerie Karsten Greve (Cologne / Paris / St.Moritz) (booth 3E07). Joan Miró along with another Spanish master modernist, Antoni Tàpies, can also be seen at Galerie Lelong (Paris / New York) (Booth 3C06), and Lin Tianmiao too, if silk sculptures are what you need.

Kamel Mennour (Paris) (booth 1B24) presented one of the most extraordinary exhibitions in Paris last year, with Hicham Berrada’s “Paysages a Circadiens”, an olfactory nocturnal machine for jasmine blossom. At ABHK the gallery will focus on Huang Yong Ping, guest artist of the Monumenta exhibition Empires, at the Grand Palais, Paris, this May. The gallery will also show works by Daniel Buren, Camille Henrot, Jake & Dinos Chapman and Alberto Giacometti.

The Hong Kong branch of Galerie Perrotin (booth 1D23) is now well established in the scene, and this is reflected in Korean Park Seo-Bo’s solo-show, and the artists who will be displayed at Art Basel, including Park’s fellow Dansaekhwa generation colleagues Chung Chang-Sup and Lee Seung-Jio, Superflat, Japan’s Takashi Murakami, Mr., Aya Takano and Izumi Kato, India’s Bharti Kher and from China, Chen Fei, Gao Weigang, Huang Yuxing, Chen Ke and Dong Dawei. Elmgreen & Dragset have created a satellite of their “Well Fair” currently showing at UCCA (and the subject of a photo-feature in Ran Dian’s Spring issue—pick your copy up at Art Basel Magazines Section and at Art Central).

BERLIN

Esther Schipper (Berlin) (booth 1B13) always presents incredibly aesthetic exhibitions, and Hong Kong is no exception. The gallery, now merged with Johnen Galerie, will bring Ceal Floyer, Gabriel Kuri (whom Ran Dian will feature in our Summer issue), Liam Gillick, Pierre Huyghe and Tomás Saraceno, following his recent “Arachnid Orchestra. Jam Sessions” show at CCA in Singapore curated by director Uta Meta Bauer and Anca Rugoiu.

Also renowned for their curated exhibitions at Art Basel, the famously understated neugerriemschneider (Berlin) (booth 1B15) will no doubt have at least some Olafur Eliasson on view, given that the artist’s huge show at the Long Museum Shanghai opens this week. Also look out for Tobias Rehberger, whose solo show will open in Berlin in time for Gallery Weekend next month.

We have already mentioned Michael Werner and VeneKlasen Werner in our New York coverage. The remainder of Berlin’s power-galleries at ABHK are

Sprüth Magers (Berlin / London / Los Angeles) (booth 1D14), CFA (Berlin) (booth 1D27)—currently with a major show by Ni Youyu, Eigen+Art (Berlin / Leipzig) (booth 1D08) and Kewenig (Berlin) (booth 3D02) with Sean Scully. Expect to see Nevin Aladag and Gregor Hildebrandt at Wentrup Gallery (Berlin) (booth 1D29).

ZÜRICH & LUCERNE

Like cuckoo clocks and Heidi (and discreet banking), Art Basel is Swiss, and it is worth noting that not only are two of the most important gallerists in China also Swiss (Lorenz Helbling of ShanghART and the eponymous Galerie Urs Meile), but so is the greatest collector of Chinese art, Uli Sigg. Expect to completely overlook Uli as he wanders around the fair wearing short sleeved shirt and carrying a plastic bag for pamphlets and catalogues.

Mai 36 (Zurich) (booth 1B12) has just closed an extraordinary Robert Mapplethorpe show but fortunately in Hong Kong you will also be able to see works by the last great classical photographer. Photography is one of Mai 36’s specialties, so Thomas Ruff and Hiroshi Sugimoto will also be exhibited. In addition, Mai 36 will feature conceptualists John Baldessari and Lawrence Weiner, sculptor Stephen Balkenhol, painter Pia Fries, and works by the extraordinary but still undervalued Paul Thek (1933-1988).

Galerie Urs Meile (Beijing / Lucerne) (booth 1D25)—we can talk about (who’s , Shao Fan, Wang Xingwei, Chen Fei, Li Gang, Xie Nanxing, Tobias Rehberger, and even Yan Xing (whose solo-show “Nuit et Brouillard” runs until April 30 at the Lucerne branch) but this year belongs to Cheng Ran, whose vast 9-hour “In Course of the Miraculous” will be running in the Film Section (it is also the subject of a photo-feature in the Ran Dian Spring issue).

Of course we all know we will visit Hauser & Wirth (London / Los Angeles (newly opened – enthusiastic clapping and air kisses) / New York / Zurich) (booth 1D13)—Zhang Enli, Mark Bradford and a great big Louise Bourgeois spider—but take time to visit the fabled Galerie Gmurzynska (Zurich / St.Moritz / Zug) (booth 3E11) who may deign to bring a few of its Russian Suprematists and Constructivists—Malevich anyone? No? Well they also show Sylvester Stallone.

VIENNA & SALZBURG

Vienna’s Galerie Nächst St.Stephen Rosemarie Schwarzwalder (booth 1B17) has an almost impossibly long name but imagine you are in Café Hawelka with a Kleiner Brauner and suddenly its easy. The gallery will present Herbert Brandl’s “Alpha versus Alpha” at the Oriental Watch Company (see promotion) and at ABHK itself, make sure to see Ying Miao, currently participating in Kunst-Werke’s “Secret Surface” in Berlin.

A long time ago, Galerie Krinzinger (Vienna) (booth 1D10) took on a young unknown artists called Zhang Ding. Last year Zhang had a major solo-show at London’s ICA and during Art Basel, the catalogue will be launched. At the booth, expect to see Secundino Hernández, who last year had a major solo show at Shanghai’s Yuz Museum.

Thaddeaus Ropac (Paris / Salzburg) (booth 1D22) has become one of the preeminent gallerists of his generation, respected in equal measure by artists, curators and collectors. But then, his first internship was with Joseph Beuys. Look out for imposing Georg Baselitz bronze figure “Bündel”.

ANTWERP & BRUSSELS

Xavier Hufkens (Brussels) (booth 3D07) is the most important gallery in Brussels, a city surrounded by art collectors. Last year, the gallery held its first solo-show for LA artist Sterling Ruby, already familiar to Beijing audiences following his huge 2011 show at his erstwhile gallery, Pace. Also from Belgium, Axel Vervoordt Gallery (Antwerp / Hong Kong), though not showing at ABHK, is exhibiting Angel Vergara at its Hong Kong gallery at 30 Queen’s Road Central.

ATHENS

Bernier/Eliades (booth 1C28) has long been involved with the China art scene, representing painter Liang Wei (whose solo-show has just opened at Magician Space in Beijing—booth 1C27 next door), the great conceptualist humorist Zhu Yu and one of the best painters working in China, Zhang Hui (both Zhu and Zhang are also represented by Long March Space, booth 1B16).

LONDON

Victoria Miro (London) (booth 3D04) will be very busy in Hong Kong. In addition to Art Basel, Conrad Shawcross, in conjunction with Britain’s Royal Academy, will exhibit “The ADA Project” at The Peninsula Hotel, 22 March-6 April (watch out for our podcast with the artist). If you are luck enough to fly by Beijing on the way to Hong Kong, don’t miss Elmgreen & Dragset’s “Well Fair” at the UCCA.

In our New York preview, we have already mentioned both Lisson (London / Milan / New York) (booth 1C20) and Tatsuo Miyajima but watch out for Miyajima’s Time Waterfall, which will be shown across the entire façade of Kowloon’s ICC tower.

Simon Lee (London / Hong Kong / New York) (booth 1C16) is now well established as one of the most influential and intellectual galleries in Hong Kong. The gallery’s Hong Kong space opens with “Propaganda Painting”, a solo show by Dexter Dalwood.

Alan Cristea (London) (booth 1B29) is the leading gallery in London for edition. Expect to see such giants as Josef Albers and Richard Hamilton, along with younger artists such as Ian Davenport, Cornelia Parker and Gordon Cheung. Another specialist, this time in Central, South and East Asian contemporary art, Rossi & Rossi (Hong Kong / London) (booth 1B08) will show new works by the pioneering (Pakistani-born) British minimalist Rasheed Araeen.

With the Tracey Emin extravaganza at both White Cube (Hong Kong, London) (booth 1D24) and Lehmann Maupin’s Hong Kong spaces, expect to see a whole lot of Emin.

ITALY

Galerie Continua (Beijing / Havana / Paris / San Gimignano) (booth 1D21) will be highlighting their still recent opening in Havana, while Massimo de Carlo (Hong Kong / Milan / London) (booth 1C08) has just opened a dependence in the increasingly crowded Pedder Building in Hong Kong. Mazzoleni Art (London / Torino) (booth 3D25), post-war specialists, have been attending Art Basel Hong Kong for a few years now. And they are bringing Alberto Burri and, as you may have guessed by now, Lucio Fonatana. While perhaps not the Font of all Fontanas, Mazzoleni have some pretty classic examples.

ATHENS

Bernier/Eliades (Athens) (booth 1C28)