HIGHLIGHTS FROM ART BASEL IN HONG KONG 2024
Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 highlighted a dynamic and evolving global art scene by bringing together leading galleries from Asia and beyond. This year, Indian galleries showcased a profound exploration of the tactile and visual arts, and themes such as love, loss, pain, and touch.
Image courtesy: Sameer Kulavoor and TARQ
Since 2013, Art Basel Hong Kong has been Asia’s largest contemporary art fair, where Indian galleries have consistently showcased impactful works by female artists, and addressed crucial political and social issues. Continuing this legacy, the 2024 edition, which took place from March 28-30, featured participation from prominent Indian galleries like TARQ, Experimenter, Vadehra Art Gallery, and Jhaveri Contemporary. These were among a total of 243 premier galleries from 40 countries.
With a notable 37 percent increase in exhibitor numbers, the fair aimed to reclaim its pre-pandemic scale, albeit with a noticeable shift in tone in the Indian presentations. This year’s focus laid on intimacy, exploring diverse tactile and visual expressions of love, loss, pain, and touch, amidst a world increasingly shaped by technological advancements.
Let’s delve into some of this year’s Indian tour de force at the Art Basel:
1. TARQ & Jhaveri Contemporary:
Jhaveri Contemporary alongside TARQ presented the “Discoveries” segment in this year’s edition. The segment highlights solo presentations by emerging artists, often young, thus prioritising representation over sales.
A. TARQ
TARQ, a prominent art gallery based in Mumbai, is the forerunner of the contemporary art scene in India. Founded and directed by Hena Kapadia, the gallery epitomises visual arts as a conversation. With a reputation for curating thought-provoking exhibitions, TARQ has become a vital meeting point for new collectors and art enthusiasts, dedicated to exploring the intersections of art, culture, and society. TARQ has also become a gathering place for a new generation of collectors who are just starting their journey. At Art Basel’s show in Hong Kong, TARQ provided a platform to emerging artists.
Sameer Kulavoor’s architectural paintings and video work, presented by TARQ at the upcoming fair, expand upon the themes explored in the artist’s solo exhibition “Edifice Complex,” held at the gallery in 2023. Drawing inspiration from his observations of India’s rapid urban evolution since the 1990s, spurred by economic liberalisation and the internet boom, Kulavoor delves into his profound connection with cities and their intricate identities. His exploration of hyper-development in megacities like Mumbai, showcased in this exhibition, is likely to resonate strongly with the people of Hong Kong. Kulavoor is renowned for his innovative series of progressive drawings complemented by videos, creating dynamic visual narratives reminiscent of flipbooks. Through this amalgamation, Kulavoor unveils the transient nature of contemporary urban landscapes and traces the evolution of architecture over time.
Image courtesy: Sameer Kulavoor and TARQ
The booth’s centrepiece comprises two large-scale works. “Timelapses,” 2022 features sequential drawings that demonstrate Kulavoor’s adept use of colour and materiality, offering insights into the fleeting yet transformative essence inherent in modern architecture. Additionally, “That Escalated Fast,” 2023 and “Burning Bridges,” 2023 draw parallels between ongoing architectural advancements and the challenges posed by overpopulation and relentless redevelopment in many Asian cities.
B. Jhaveri Contemporary
Founded in 2010 by sisters Amrita and Priya, Jhaveri Contemporary aims to spotlight artists connected to South Asian traditions. The gallery is known for its meticulously curated exhibitions that emphasise innovative scholarship and showcase a diverse array of approaches from renowned artists to emerging talents. It fosters collaboration among artists, curators, and historians through discussions that explore lesser-known aspects of art history.
Image courtesy: Fiza Khatri and Jhaveri Contemporary
At its fifth year at Art Basel, Jhaveri Contemporary presented an immersive installation by Connecticut-based Pakistani artist Fiza Khatri, featuring a blend of paintings, drawings, and sculptural garlands. This was the artist’s first exhibition in Hong Kong. Khatri is recognised for their intimate drawings and portraits, which depict both individual and group scenes drawn from observation and imagined scenarios inspired by their experiences in feminist and queer advocacy in Pakistan. The centrepiece of the booth is a seven-panel painting titled “Beloved,” 2024. In this work, traditional floral garlands — significant in cultural ceremonies like weddings and funerals — spell out the title. The word “beloved,” frequently used in Sufi songs and poetry, is employed by Khatri to emphasise the connection between beauty and the sacred.
Image courtesy: Fiza Khatri and Jhaveri Contemporary
- Experimenter
Experimenter, a modern art gallery, was co-founded by Priyanka and Prateek Raja in Kolkata, India, in 2009. With a multidisciplinary approach, the gallery serves as an incubator for ambitious and challenging contemporary practices, representing critical artists from around the world. For Experimenter, the market is secondary, as the gallery prioritises cohesion and resonance among artworks over commercial considerations. Rooted in dialogue and dissent, Experimenter’s program is considered a ‘pace-setter’ for the region, extending from exhibitions to knowledge creation in myriad forms.
Image courtesy: Biraaj Dodiya and Experimenter
At the Art Basel 2024, Experimenter is coming up with a group exhibition titled, “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Love”. It brings together works by Bhasha Chakrabarti, Biraaj Dodiya, Reba Hore, Radhika Khimji, Sakshi Gupta, and more. Inspired by a learning program led by the late writer Aveek Sen in 2020, the exhibition explores diverse notions of love, transcending binary interpretations and delving into complex structures of emotions, connections, and systems. Stories of feminine labour and kinship spanning generations underscore themes of love, care, and resilience.
Image courtesy: Bhasha Chakrabarti and Experimenter
Biraaj Dodiya’s work is known for its tactile quality and exploration of the body’s verticality, vulnerability, and absence. His exhibited sculptural pieces utilise ramps as symbols of support and movement, incorporate found objects, medical bandages, and industrial repair devices to contemplate the passage of time and human invention.
The exhibition also features Bhasha Chakrabarti’s vibrant textile works. Her “Kinship (Familial & Found)” examines love across generations. Soumya Sankar Bose’s evocative photographs, and Reba Hore’s intimate oil paintings celebrate the ordinary bonds of family life. Additionally, Experimenter presents works by Christopher Kulendran Thomas for the first time, a series of playful watercolour paintings.
3. Vadehra Art Gallery:
Since its inception in 1987, Vadehra Art Gallery (VAG) has been a trailblazer in championing South Asian art, elevating it to a platform of cultural significance and intellectual discourse. With a commitment to honouring artistic legacies and fostering contemporary expression, the gallery has curated a diverse roster spanning generations. From the iconic works of M.F. Husain and S.H. Raza to the innovative creations of Atul Dodiya and Shilpa Gupta, Vadehra Art Gallery stands as a testament to artistic excellence. Beyond its physical spaces in Delhi, the gallery’s dynamic programming extends to digital platforms, international art fairs, and publishing endeavours, ensuring a global resonance for South Asian art.
Image courtesy: Anju Dodiya and Vadehra Art Gallery
VAG has been a consistent participant at the fair long before its integration into the Art Basel network in 2016. The gallery has showcased an esteemed lineup of artists including Atul and Anju Dodiya, Shilpa Gupta, Nalini Malani, NS Harsha, and BV Doshi, with their artworks finding homes in prestigious collections and museums across the region. This year, at Art Basel, VAG is unveiling a group exhibition titled “A Sense Across the Field,” featuring prominent South Asian contemporary artists such as Anita Dube, Atul Bhalla, Balkrishna Doshi, Jagannath Panda, and others. Their collection encompasses a range of themes including mobility, intimacy, self-reflection, and environmental impact. Notable among the showcased artists is Anju Dodiya, whose mattress works like “Silver Afternoon” evoke emotional depth through sharp yet tender imagery. Similarly, Nalini Malani’s artwork communicates a plea for empathy, employing sign language to convey the language of pain.
Image courtesy: Nalini Malani and Vadehra Art Gallery
Meanwhile, Sunil Gupta employs photography to theatrically explore societal norms and the experiences of marginalised communities. Through this curated collection, VAG presents diverse interpretations of tactility and influence, offering a rich exploration of the intellectual and visual dimensions of “touch.”
Image courtesy: Sunil Gupta and Vadehra Art Gallery
Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 emerged as a testament to the transformative potential of talent and creativity, fostering connections not only between artists and audiences but also across cultural boundaries. Against the backdrop of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, this event offered a dynamic platform for exploring Modern and contemporary art, uniting diverse perspectives from around the world. A notable pattern of withdrawing of Indian galleries over the past decade has emerged in the Art Basel with the exceptions of VAG and Experimenter but it does not discount the much required exposure of the artists they represent. Art Basel has a significant role in bridging evolving art scenes across regions, fostering new perspectives, and in reaffirming the Asia-Pacific region as a dynamic cultural hub.
Text by Shalini Passi
Image Courtesy: Sameer Kulavoor, TARQ, Fiza Khatri, Jhaveri Contemporary, Biraaj Dodiya, Bhasha Chakrabarti, Experimenter, Anju Dodiya, Nalini Malani, Sunil Gupta, and Vadehra Art Gallery
Find out more about Art Basel in Hong Kong 2024:
