Whenever there’s Art Basel, there’s the seductive Encounters Sector

Does size matter? Yes, they do, at least for the awe-inspiring Encounters Sector of the upcoming Art Basel in Hong Kong this March.

Art Basel, Hong Kong largest art event of the year, is returning with its renowned Encounters Sector, with 17 large-scale sculptures.

According to Alexie,

For my third year curating the sector,I was interested in exploring the relationship between time and experience, specifically, how time is related to ’encounters… I have curated a selection of installations that encourage visitors to interact with each piece, in order to find their own interpretations.

As a sneak preview of what is going to be on display in the Encounters Sector of Art Basel, we have the following that we strongly urge you to check out when you get to the exhibition centre this march:

1. The Deep Blue Sea (2017) — Dinh Q. Lê

Vietnamese artist Dinh Q. Lê (b. 1968), with the galleries 10 Chancery Lane and P.P.O.W, explores the global refugee crisis of recent times with this latest installation. The artist used four images taken of the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean Sea (mostly on boats) and by stretching it across 150’ expanse of photo paper, the viewer is put to the task of looking at the crisis from a different angle, one less narrative, more abstract.

2. In the Name of God II (2017) — Waqas Khan

Khan’s drawing sculpture on Wasli Paper, a hand- made paper used since the 10th century in India for painting miniatures, involves the artist applying thousands of small dots, lines and dashes to the paper with the greatest of precision. This work is presented by Galerie Krinzinger.

3. ‘Wanwu: Metamorphosis’ (2013) — Bingyi

Being in Hong Kong, there was no way we can avoid seeing landscape ink paintings from the North. Presented by Ink Studio, Chinese artist Bingyi’s “Wanwu” was inspired by China’s dramatic landscapes and weather. This is Bingyi’s first time trying out a large-scale link painting, she created the worth in the mountains around China, where she allowed the outdoors (i.e. the sun, the humidity, the wind and the rain) to have an effect on the ink painting and the xuan paper she was working on, adopting nature into her work.

4. New sculptures by Katharina Grosse

Katharina Grosse (b. 1961), as presented by Gagosian, showcases six new aluminium sculptures spray painted in strong hues. Similar sculptures were incorporated into her environment for the 2015 Venice Biennale.

5. Putto (2015–2016) — Michael Parekowhai

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery and Michael Lett presents the work by Michael Parekowhai (b. 1968) of New Zealand, titled ‘Putto’. Best way to describe it is a drunk (sleeping or dead) Cherub lying on a stretched bench, inviting you to go peek and see what’s going on. As an interactive art, you can always just go sit next to it and try not to be too awkward about it.

6. The Bathers (2016) — Sanné Mestrom

Sullivan+Strumpf showcases an installation by Dutch-Australian artist Sanné Mestrom (b. 1979) based on the infamous painting by Cézanne. This would be seen as the artist’s most ambitious work up to date, translating painting into a sculpture of aluminium and bronze.

So have you seen anything you like so far? Keep in mind this is only a portion of the Sector of a large-scale art exhibition. Art Basel 2017 takes place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 24th March. Ticket are now available on their website.

Photo Credits: Courtesy of Art Basel, the Artists and their respective Galleries