Osage
The contemporary art gallery clings on to its pole position for the third year in a row. You may accuse this major player of largely relying on its physical and financial scale. You may question the academic merits of its ambitiously curated exhibition, The Burden of Representation: Abstraction in Asia Today. You may even scoff at the artistic value of Lui Chun-kwong’s collaborative project with his many students (which, in any case, will be remembered as one of 2010’s biggest occasions for the local art community). But you know what, at least you’re interested enough to nitpick on their shows. While the gallery endeavours to cover rarely represented geographical regions and art forms, it has once again shown remarkable persistence in generating a meaningful dialogue on the state of Asian contemporary art. Long may this continue. Osage Kwun Tong, 5/F, Kian Dai Industrial Bldg, 73-75 Hung To Rd, Kwun Tong, 2793 4817; Osage Soho, L/G, Shop 1, 45 Caine Rd, Central, 2537 0688.

Runner-up: Para/Site Art Space
These folks may be crowding in their tiny Po Yan Street space, but their vision remains extraordinarily grand. As one of the few non-profit spaces operating in greater China, Para/Site continues to offer a strong entry point for the region’s curatorial practice with an excellent series of exhibitions. That they pulled off a collaborative project between two of the legendary figures in the contemporary art world – Vito Acconci and Ai Weiwei – is not only a highlight of the gallery’s 2010 efforts, but an incredible coup for our art community as a whole. G/F, 4 Po Yan St, Sheung Wan, 2517 4620.

Honourable Mentions

Ben Brown Fine Arts
No, they didn’t manage to invite that Pablo Picasso guy for his new show in Hong Kong. But yes, the eponymous London dealer has otherwise delivered on his promise to fly his list of internationally renowned artists over for their respective openings, the latest being Candida Höfer and Caio Fonseca. 301 Pedder Bldg, 12 Pedder St, Central, 2522 9600.

The Cat Street Gallery
Already one of the city’s finest art boutiques, the gallery declared its ambition with a 4,000 sq ft gallery on Hollywood Road, which opened last month with an intriguing exhibition by Debbie Han. The Cat Street Gallery, 222 Hollywood Rd, Sheung Wan, 2291 0006; The Cat Street Gallery Annex, 14/F, 38 Lok Ku Rd, Sheung Wan, 2544 6223; The Space, 210 Hollywood Rd, Sheung Wan, 2361 1210.

Gallery EXIT In spite of the uneven quality of its overall programme, we commend this little gallery for its bold and steadfast support of local artists, offering exhibition opportunities for emerging cultural producers, such as Kong Chun-hei, Elise Lai, and most recently, Nadim Abbas. G/F, 1 Shin Hing St, Central, 2541 1299.
 

Readers' Choice: The Cat Street Gallery
Apparently, you’ve already fallen in love with this newly expanding gallery.