HONG KONG.- Art Central and its lead partner, UOB, announce today gallery and artist highlights for its milestone tenth edition. Cementing Art Central as a cornerstone event of Hong Kong’s much-celebrated art week, the Fair will be held from 26 to 30 March 2025, with a VIP Preview on 25 March, at its iconic Central Harbourfront location. Enoch Cheng returns as curator of gallery programmes and the celebrated Yi Tai Sculpture and Installation Projects sector, shaping visitor experiences that foster creativity through connection and engagement. Art Central 2025 is financially supported by the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.

Art Central 2025 will present over 100 galleries and 500 artists from Asia and across the globe. Committed to fostering Asia's arts ecosystem, the Fair showcases diverse artwork and programming, from established galleries and renowned artists to young galleries introducing a new generation of talent. The Fair is a must-visit event for collectors and art enthusiasts during Hong Kong Art Month.

To celebrate the tenth edition of Art Central, the Fair introduces exciting new features to its gallery programmes. Among these is Legend, a curator-led initiative to highlight the work of one artist born before 1970 in a dedicated area of their booth; Duo Projects, which aims to encourage curatorial connectivity between artists in a shared booth space; and a focused emphasis on Photography that seeks to place a spotlight on contemporary attitudes toward photography and extend the narrative around this expansive medium.

Enoch Cheng, Curator, said, “We’re incredibly pleased with the quality of gallery presentations to be staged at Art Central’s upcoming tenth edition, and especially with the new gallery features: Legend, honouring the groundbreaking contributions of art pioneers born before 1970 whose legacies continue to shape today’s global discourses, and the special feature on Photography, exploring the transformative potential of a medium that evolves with technological advancements, showcasing its ability to traverse the tangible and the imagined. These features underscore Art Central’s commitment to fostering an art ecology that is as innovative as it is diverse.”

LEGEND

Under the direction of curator Enoch Cheng, the newly introduced gallery feature Legend presents the work of artists born before 1970, each with a dedicated space within their respective gallery’s booth.

This gallery feature will spotlight the work of these renowned figures while exploring connections in art-making from the past to the present. Special exhibits on the work of six distinguished and influential artists from the Asia-Pacific region have been selected to participate in Legend:

• Ay-O (b. 1931, Ibaraki Prefecture), a significant figure of the Fluxus movement and one of the most celebrated artists to emerge in the post-war period in Japan (Whitestone Gallery, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and others);

• Eikoh Hosoe (b. 1933, Yonezawa; d. 2024, Tokyo), the pioneering Japanese photographer and filmmaker known for his avant-garde, surrealistic imagery (see+ Gallery, Beijing, Shenzhen);

• Emily Kam Kngwarray (b. c.1910, Northern Territory; d. 1996, Alice Springs), a renowned Australian artist from the Utopia community who began her prolific painting career in her late 70s. Her work will be the subject of a solo exhibition at Tate Modern opening in July 2025 (Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, London);

• Lee In Seob (b. 1952, Busan), a prominent contemporary artist who draws inspiration from the lush natural surroundings of his studio in Eoseongjeon, Gangwon-do (Suppoment Gallery, Seoul);

• Dean-E Mei (b. 1954, Taipei), a leading avant-garde artist known for mixed media installations and innovative use of objects to explore themes of identity and political ideology (Astar Gallery, Taipei);

• May Fung (b. 1952, Hong Kong), a pioneering Hong Kong artist known for her influential video and media art, co-founding the new media artist-run collective Videotage, and significantly impacting art education and community engagement through her innovative works and advocacy for emerging artists (Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong).

DUO PROJECTS AND SOLO PRESENTATIONS

Fostering a deeper understanding of the creative connectivity between artists within a shared curated space, Art Central introduces Duo Projects, along with the return of the dedicated Solo Presentations. Amongst many outstanding artistic collaborations are the Duo Projects of Andris Eglītis and Dimitri Kosiré presented by CUT ART (Riga), uniting both artists’ material-driven abstract practices, and the juxtapositional works of Eunjeong Choi and Sooyeon Bang presented by Gallery Luan & Co. (Seoul).

Highlights from Solo Presentations include Joseph ChoÏ exhibiting surrealist oil paintings, presented by Art Project Co. (Seoul); Miaki Gallery (Tokyo) presenting conceptual master Keisuke Matsuura’s "resonance" and "jiba" series, and marking the artist’s inaugural exhibition in Hong Kong; Po Oi (Fairuz) Paisan with Core Contemporary Art (Petaling Jaya) presenting a series of recent wood-based fibreglass sculptures, and Myung Nam An with Cube Gallery (London) showcasing a collection of one hundred ceramic sculptures.

NEO

Returning to Art Central for its second year, Neo creates an entry point for galleries to feature cutting-edge or undiscovered artists in their first and second years of participation. Fifteen galleries from Asia, Europe and the Americas have been selected to showcase new artists at the tenth edition, including:

• Areté Space (established in Beijing, 2023)
• Astra Art (established in Shanghai, 2022)
• Cub_ism_Artspace (established in Shanghai, 2020)
• FIM (established in Seoul, 2024)
• Galerie Pici (established in Seoul, 2003)
• Gallery CNK (established in Daegu, 2019)
• Intersections Gallery (established in Singapore, 2012)
• Ivory Gate Gallery (established in Shanghai, 2022)
• Meno Parkas Gallery (established in Kaunas, 1997)
• MJK Gallery (established in Tokyo, 2022)
• Monolog Gallery (established in Belgrade, 2022)
• None Project C14 Gallery (established in Shanghai, 2012)
• Swanfall Gallery (established in London, 2022)
• The Locker Room (established in New York, 2020)
• Yiwei Gallery (established in Los Angeles, 2019)

GALLERIES HIGHLIGHTS

Key Gallery highlights of Art Central’s 2025 Central Galleries sector include:

• Avocado Art Lab (Taipei), debuting at Art Central, presents the seminal works of four internationally acclaimed contemporary photographers, comprising Shen Chao Liang, Chou Ching Hui, Chung Mong Hong, and Lo Shen Wen;

• Bonian Space (Beijing) returns to the Fair to present emerging talent in painting, including Shun Li, Maoxiong Xu, and Jaijun Ke, as well as experimental multimedia projects by Lisa Chang Lee and Yang Zheyi;

• Cospace (Shanghai) brings five Chinese artists working across diverse mediums, comprising Peng Li, Min Xiao, Xiaoyao Yao, Aige Xie, and Xiaojian Yang;

• Gallery Claire Corcia (Paris) showcases contemporary European figuration from French, Italian, and Argentinian artists, such as Sergio Moscona, Hélène Duclos, Julien Calot, and Wabé;

• Karin Weber Gallery (Hong Kong) celebrates Hong Kong, featuring works by Joey Leung and Kensa Hung, amongst others;

• Shunpudo Gallery (Tokyo) presents post-war to present-day Japanese art, featuring rare works by Junzo Watanabe, Tomoo Gokita, and Kazumi Nakamura;

• The Gallery by SOIL (Hong Kong) introduces the works of seven contemporary lacquer artists from Japan and China, including Haruka Sotome, Bangliang Yao, Ichizoo Ino, and Yuguang Shi.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Art Central 2025 will present a special focus on photography, illuminating an important medium with strong international collectorship that finds renewed interest amongst Asia’s influential young collectors. Highlights of the Photography programme include works by Chinese artist Fu Yu at None Project C14 Gallery (Shanghai); Netherlands-based artist Lo Shen Wen and the renowned director, screenwriter and cinematographer Chung Mong Hong at Avocado Art Lab (Taipei); and the late American photographer Jerry Uelsmann and award-winning Huang Xiaoliang, represented by see+ Gallery (Beijing, Shenzhen).

YI TAI SCULPTURE AND INSTALLATION PROJECTS

A mainstay in the Art Central programme, the well-loved Yi Tai Sculpture and Installation Projects sector, curated by Enoch Cheng, returns with large-scale works created by Dai Ying, presented by Yiwei Gallery (Los Angeles), Dean-E Mei presented by Astar Gallery (Taipei), Roxane Revon presented by The Locker Room (New York), Shinduk Kang presented by Galerie Pici (Seoul, New York) and Mark Lawson Bell presented by Swanfall Gallery (London).

Corey Andrew Barr, Fair Director of Art Central, said, "Entering its tenth edition, Art Central brings an exceptional lineup of galleries and projects to Hong Kong, reaffirming the city’s vital role as a pivotal cultural hub in the Asia Pacific region. The Fair broadens its curatorial vision with new gallery initiatives, cultivating fresh perspectives and dynamic connections with artists from diverse generational backgrounds. This milestone edition promises to deliver a multitude of cultural experiences for collectors, curators, and art fans of all backgrounds—to be invigorated, enlightened, and inspired by the boundless potential of art.”

Christine Ip, CEO of Greater China and Head of Group Strategic Communications and Brand, UOB, said, “The tenth edition of Art Central aligns with the beginning of UOB’s 90th anniversary celebration. This dual celebration not only reflects our ongoing support for the art industry but also honours nearly a century of unwavering dedication to fostering excellence and progress. Our 90-year legacy stands as a testament to our commitment to connecting businesses and individuals between Greater China and ASEAN, empowering them to grow and thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. We believe that art plays a pivotal role in bridging communities, reaching individuals of all abilities and inspiring creativity, and we look forward to showcasing the exceptional artistic talent that defines this landmark art event.”