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Is Hong Kong a desert for artists?
There is a fantastic buzz in the air in the lead up to Le French May, the auctions and the Hong Kong Art Fair. Yet something is amiss. While Hong Kong garners international acclaim and press coverage for its record-busting contemporary art sales, little attention is given to our city’s local artists. Then again, where are they?
Despite the foundation some 20 years ago of a tiny-but-active gallery scene in our city, the government has been slow to catch up with private initiatives. Generally speaking, public institutions are the driving force behind any city’s artscape, but in Hong Kong it has been predominantly art galleries and non-profit groups nurturing local talent. The government has done little to reverse this trend.
Auction powerhouses Sotheby’s and Christie’s have been key instigators in the establishment of Hong Kong as the world’s third largest art market, yet neither auction house has been quick to include Hong Kong artists in their Asian contemporary sales. Indeed, an Asian contemporary art specialist from Sotheby’s told me that ‘the quality is just simply not there.’ Perhaps this glaring exclusion can also help to identify why Hong Kong artists have not enjoyed the same commercial success as their China-based counterparts. In truth, our local artists completely missed out on the wild surge in contemporary Chinese art throughout the 2000s.
Hong Kong’s Chu Hing-wah has been painting for 60 years and his traditional ink paintings have often reflected subject matters related to his work as a psychiatric nurse. His remarks are direct, but poignant. “Chinese artists are too strong at the moment,” he says. “How can you compete with them? The artists in Hong Kong need more support if they want their art to flourish high up like China.” Agreeing with this statement, young firecracker Ho Sin-tung, who although more than 30 years Chu’s junior and tackles similar subjects in her work, says ‘many Chinese artists are far more aggressive than Hong Kong artists’.
Speaking separately with Ho and Chu, I found that both touched on the serious economic hardships of surviving as an artist in Hong Kong. Particularly difficult is the cost of a studio – a small, cramped studio will cost you around $8,000 per month. It’s clearly a major factor for the severe lack of native artists, and those that do follow their passion usually have full-time day jobs, which both Ho and Chu feel detract from the quality of the art produced. The sheer economic cost of being an artist in Hong Kong has thus resulted in our huddled talent being relegated to ‘far flung’ locations in Kwun Tong and Chai Wan, which do not generate the same pedestrian traffic and commercial visibility as traditional stronghold locations in Sheung Wan and Central.
The solutions are not simple, nor are they clear. But as more international galleries branch out to Hong Kong, our local artists should do what their Mainland cousins did in the 1990s – scream, shout, push the envelope out and get noticed. My honest advice? Strive on with intensity and perseverance. Hong Kong may be a grassland, but it’s definitely not a desert.
Whitney Ferrare
9 Comments Add your comment
Hong Kong is not a desert, or a grassland: It is a drowning pool.
While the optimistic conclusion is nice, it is, as you said, not simple at all. The high rent is undoubtedbly the reason why most "interesting" things never see the light of day in Hong Kong, but it is also the local market that creates a discouraging setting for any artist-hopefuls. I don't really know what it is - maybe it is the colonial past that brews this love-hate sentiment towards the West. People seem to hate the West loudly yet worship it in a sad and unfortunate way inside. Then there is this rampant materialism that helps expensive, established artists - not surprisingly, from the West - to sell here while the less "sexy" Asian artists are relegated. And that's just the demand side. On the supply side, Hong Kong students, like its other East Asian counterparts, are not at all encouraged to pursue a career in art. Creativity always seems to be considered a hobby at best.
Hi Eljin, Thank you for your comment. I raised your sentiment towards Western art in Hong Kong with various local artists - all of whom felt the recent influx of top western galleries to HK a rather positive thing. Their move has shed further light and international media coverage on the art scene in Hong Kong, and in tandem, pointed out the lack of Hong Kong local artists whom have been able to ride this wave. I'd like to point out, that it has been Chinese contemporary artists, from Mainland China, that have really ensconced the gallery scene here, since roughly 2001 - and only recently, Western artists. HK local galleries with an Asian focus still significantly outnumber Western focused programs. Hong Kong artists should be taking advantage of the growing art scape around them, and press for greater exposure and representation. On the gallery side, in order to be represented - the local artists need to raise their quality of work produced to secure representation in what is surely a small wading pool. Being “local” surely does not qualify as grounds for representation.
Art will always find a way… I believe that in our globalized world, contemporary art is now, to an extent, -free- of the sterile demarcations of “origins” (does it come from the east or the west…). Art is a means of communication... communication of an idea, a sentiment, a perspective or a story…. It may be the –ARTIST- that deals with providence and their specific cultural baggage which renders a unique OUTLOOK or PERSPECTIVE , to his or hers specific art… But even then how different are all artist? The Art doesn’t have an origin in relation to an outdated political border-line anymore … What is the difference between Edward Burtynsky’s (a westerner) perspective on manufacturing in china or… Ai Wei Wie’s views on Chinese manufcatruing “sunflower seeds” installation at the Turbine hall of the Tate modern… All in all unfortunately artist have always had, and probably always shall have a hard life, it is from the shadows of frustration and oppression that the most brilliant inspiration arises. And I fail to provide any respect to any artist that moans and be-little’s himself by pointing fingers at the culprits of his current situation. Perhaps there is more to learn of the influx of Mainland Chinese Art, Perhaps the mainland Chinese artists have been busier taking a stance, criticizing and documenting their emotions, state of being and their specific surroundings in actual art, Instead of adopting a self-deprecating demeanor of sorrow and selfishness. Art will always find a way… art is an expression of human life, it’s not something produced by a political formula. Selling art… and art investment… well.. that’s a different Story.. So which one are we talking about?
The art scene may be impoverished a few years ago but not anymore. There are a lot of artists right now in their 20s who are serious about their discipline and totally dedicated. That question of HK being a cultural desert is so five years ago. We should never try to be like London or NY. We're never gonna have a TATE or a Guggenheim let's admit it can't we just accept that we are slowly changing. Let's just be HK. Just because we don't have as many hipsters like Lower East Side in NY who drink free beer doesn't mean we're culturally inadequate.
Hmmm...I don't see any mention of the artists in Fotan...
Hi Holly-torious, You're absolutely right - there is a thriving little community of artists working in and around Fo Tan. But again, not really a commercially high point in Hong Kong's art scape. In the future I hope to explore the nuances of Fo Tan in an upcoming dedicated column on the art there.
Hi Art Fanatic, I make no claims to the art scene in Hong Kong being impoverished, nor do I espouse Hong Kong ever trying to replicate the models of Lower East Side, NYC or London - but I would encourage comparative and commensurate levels of dialogue and by virtue of that - gallery representation, which artists in those cities seem to enjoy considerably. Define "lots" of artists... ? There is no doubt a growing pool! You hit the hammer on the nail on letting Hong Kong be Hong Kong. However, as you know, the government is not going to build up a strong, and innovative arts environment on its own - you can't let it just be. A little pushing and assertiveness from the private side is absolutely essential if progress is to be made!
I'm not an artist, but I live with one and know a bunch here in Fo Tan. I'll simply say that Hong Kong is not lacking in variety or talent, and certainly not in quality. It's very easy for critics and salespeople to make a derisive statement about the "quality" of the work here, but there's just no evidence to back that claim. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and art to one person is trash to another. I'll say flat-out that I think 90% of the work in the galleries here is shit. But those aren't Hong Kong artists! Hong Kong isn't in style and very few of the real artists here are getting shown. Example: I spoke with a gallery owner last month at an opening for a local HK artist. The work was fantastic (in my opinion) but it wasn't going to sell, and the gallery owner talked about the show as if it was charity. He went on about how many Japanese paintings of naked and submissive women he could sell (more than he could keep in stock), but every once in a while he liked to give a local a chance. He said that he was very generous for even considering the show. In a sense he's right - he needs to make money, and who in HK is buying art that is actually unique? There's no value if you don't follow a trend. So the real problem has to do with the market and the taste of the buyers. All gallery owners are just business men; they only care about sales. Unfortunately, the buyers are only interested in what's popular (or what they think is popular, most of it is over done; do we really need to see more pop art images made in glitter or photos in which the colors have been separated and superimposed next to each other? Or how about a plastic animal or cartoon character; that'll make an interesting installation! Wait, don't forget the paintings with pubic hair attached, I've seen that in every large city I've ever been to!). This leaves us in the unfortunate situation: As long as artists in HK continue to produce critical and original pieces of art which don't fall into the typical categories which buyers are looking for, the HK art scene will continue to "suffer" from "poor quality". Everyone says they value originality, but what they really want is the familiar. OK, rant over! Thoughts?
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