Installation view, Gerhard Richter: Abstrakte Bilder at Art Intelligence Global Hong Kong
When Art Intelligence Global (AIG) made their debut last summer, the art advisory firm established themselves as a truly international player in the business, with dual headquarters in Manhattan and Hong Kong. Led by auction house veterans Amy Cappellazzo, Yuki Terase and new partner Saara Pritchard, AIG is marking Hong Kong’s reopening with the first solo exhibition devoted to Gerhard Richter in the city at their headquarters in Wong Chuk Hang.
A decade ago, such a bold commitment to Asia’s art market hub by a newer firm might have seemed like a risky proposition. However, as this year’s auctions have already shown, the appetite for blue-chip contemporary art in the region is expanding, perhaps even more rapidly than before the pandemic.
“The Asia art market as a whole continues to mature, and the growth is amazingly dynamic,” Terase tells The Baer Faxt. “We have a collector base here with an average age slightly lower than the West. We are also seeing a migration of collectors from various other categories towards contemporary art.
Installation view, Gerhard Richter: Abstrakte Bilder at Art Intelligence Global Hong Kong
With so much growth in recent years, it’s almost difficult to believe that Richter has never had a solo show in Hong Kong before. “You have to remember that Hong Kong auctions only began offering Western contemporary art in 2016-2017,” Terase explains. “At the time, we were both still working in auctions, and Richter was one of the first Western masters we introduced to Asian audiences.”
Installation view, Gerhard Richter: Abstrakte Bilder at Art Intelligence Global Hong Kong
Cappellazzo adds: “Richter’s dealers gave preference to the United States and Europe. Part of that was indicative of the time—Western art was less popular in Hong Kong 20 years ago. Part of it was probably the lack of a venue, since dealers were less collaborative and Hong Kong lacked a major contemporary art museum until very recently.”
In fact, the pair see the opening of major museums as the key factor in taking the city’s art scene to the next level, especially the recently-opened M+ Museum. “Now with Hong Kong fully back to itself, more and more foreign visitors will be able to experience this amazing institution,” Cappellazzo says. “In the long run, the Hong Kong art scene would benefit from a greater degree of non-commercial engagement with the general public.”
Gerhard Richter: Abstrakte Bilder, on view until April 23, 2023 at Art Intelligence Global headquarters, Hong Kong
