Asia Art Archive's Annual Fundraiser 2022
ByJenevieve KokAAA, Library, Image courtesy of Moving Image Studio
Asia Art Archive (AAA) returns with their annual fundraiser from 19 October - 3 November 2022 with an auction of over fifty works, generously donated by artists, galleries, estates, and individuals. This auction supports free public access to programmes, education, and research about important histories of contemporary art in Asia. This year AAA expanded and upgraded its physical library to accommodate its growing collections and support more diverse programming. The fundraiser is therefore an essential source of funding for AAA to continue building collections on histories of contemporary art in Asia, as well as to provide free public access to resources and programmes for research and education. This fundraiser and auction is in partnership with Christie's Hong Kong. A preview of the artworks on auction will be open to the public from 19 - 21 October and bidding will be available online from 19 October - 3 November.
Asia Art Archive’s full library revamp commenced in 2021. The renovation is their first since the organisation’s move to its current premises in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong in 2007. Accessible to the public for free, AAA Collections has over 120,000 art historical records. To give the collections adequate room for growth over the next five years, the new library is equipped with an improved shelving system and infrastructure to accommodate a nearly fifty-percent increase in shelving capacity. The Reading Room is the library’s defining feature, a multifunctional event space that connects exhibitions and public programmes with materials on the shelves. In addition to the central space, various seating areas cater to the needs of different users, from casual browsing to focused research. All in all, the 3,000-square-foot library reflects AAA as a dynamic place for learning, discovery, and creative inquiry. The renovated library officially reopens on 23 November 2022.
Scroll down to check out some of the artwork highlights!
Certain Time by Hon Chi Fun, 1990, acrylic on canvas. Donated by Ben Brown Fine Arts
The late Hon Chi Fun was a pioneering modern artist who played a pivotal role in building Hong Kong's art ecology. "Certain Time" marks a pivotal shift in his practice to when he began to synthesise his understanding of Eastern philosophies with a more Western visual vocabulary while also returning to landscape painting and brushwork. Portraying a red glow emerging through the haze, this work is an example of Hon's exploration of light - a metaphor for his journey of self-discovery - and desire to illuminate his evolving identity as a Hong Kong artist.
Mountains of Heaven No. 83 by Wesley Tongson, 2004, ink and colour on board. Donated by Wesley Tongson Charitable Trust and Galerie du Monde.
A wave of dark, rugged terrain is offset by an incandescent sky in Mountains of Heaven No. 83. Representative of the late Hong Kong artist Wesley Tongson's acclaimed splash ink paintings, the enchanting work is achieved through a unique method that the artist developed and continued to master over the course of his career. The imagined landscapes from the Mountain of Heaven series, created spontaneously in a meditative state, were also referred to as Zen paintings by Tongson.
Color-1 and Color-2 by Liu Jianhua, 2017-19, porcelain. Donated by the artist.
Liu Jianhua's Color series reflects his interest in testing the limits of porcelain as an artistic medium. To achieve the works' form and colour, pastel clay mounds were individually kneaded, smashed, and left to rest, allowing natural cracks to form before they underwent a week-long firing process. For Liu, mastering a material and method through trial and error is more important than the final work, especially in this series.
Untitled by Sosa Joseph, 2008, oil on canvas. Donated by the artist and Galerie Micrhandani + Steinruecke
Inspired by scenes from a childhood spent in coastal Kerala, Indian contemporary artist Sosa Joseph layers memory and fantasy to depict a lonesome boat drifting into a vast, dreamy expanse in Untitled. Contemplative and calming, the work is indicative of Joseph's improvisational painting process and use of gentle brushstrokes to achieve subtle shifts in tone.
Fire by Days Nudes IV by Rita Ackermann, 2012, oil and crayon on paper. Image courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by: Christopher Burke. Donated by the artist and Hauser & Wirth.
Rendered in rich, supple tones, the traces of a female body emerge and disappear in "Fire by Days Nudes IV". The spontaneity that characterises Hungarian-American artist Rita Ackermann's fluid abstractions also encapsulates the chance encounter that sparked her Fire by Days series and a shift in her practice. Created when the artist was mopping up an accidental paint spill on her studio floor, the natural imprint - neither figurative nor wholly abstract - inspired Ackermann to create this series in the early 2010s.
About Asia Art Archive
Asia Art Archive (AAA) is an independent non-profit organisation initiated in 2000 in response to the urgent need to document and make accessible the multiple recent histories of art in the region. With one of the most valuable collections of material on art freely available from its website and onsite library, AAA builds tools and communities to collectively expand knowledge through research, residency, and educational programmes.
Preview Exhibition Dates: 19 - 21 October, 10:30am–5:30pm
Auction Dates: 19 October - 3 November, click here to view the online auction
All images are courtesy of Asia Art Archive
Any views or opinions in the post are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the company or contributors.
