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Enid Tsui

On May 30, American mega gallery Pace opened a museum-scale retrospective of American sculptor Alexander Calder in Tokyo, presenting over 100 works by the 20th-century modernist, together with the Calder Foundation, at the new Azabudai Hills Gallery.
And in July, Pace – which represents some of the biggest names in contemporary art, such as David Hockney and Yoshitomo Nara – will open its own new Tokyo gallery during the second edition of art fair Tokyo Gendai, which takes place from July 4-7.
Pace is adding its vote of confidence to the Japanese capital’s rise as a contemporary art hotspot.
“Our love for Japan, Japanese aesthetics and its art community accounts for so much of this decision [to open a gallery],” said Marc Glimcher, Pace’s New York-based CEO and a son of the gallery’s founder, Arne.

Unlike Seoul during the pandemic, Japan did not see an influx of Western galleries either opening there for the first time of expanding existing spaces.
Pace will be the first major Western gallery to open in Tokyo since Perrotin arrived in 2017. But with the launch of Tokyo Gendai and Art Week Tokyo, the latter of which started in 2021, the country’s already rich cultural offerings have become more eye-catching.
“The energy in Tokyo has shifted and Americans and Europeans are spending so much more time there.
“Like Paris, Japan has become more than an occasional tourist destination. Overseas collectors are buying houses there. Things are happening there that you do not want to miss. On balance, Japan’s energy has been very positive in our world.”
The Tokyo gallery will occupy three floors in Azabudai Hills, a new development designed by English designer Thomas Heatherwick near the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills. The gallery space is designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto and features an outdoor terrace.
Japan has long been a favourite among Hong Kong holidaymakers, with many affectionately calling their frequent short hops to the country “going home”.
It is no coincidence that Tokyo, which claimed top spot in Tripadvisor’s list of trending destinations for 2024, has also attracted new art fairs and international galleries, Glimcher said. “The economy follows the energy,” he remarked.

The same can be said of Seoul, which took second place in Tripadvisor’s ranking. The Korean capital launched art fair Frieze Seoul in 2022, and is home to a number of large permanent exhibition spaces run by Western galleries, including Lehmann Maupin, White Cube and Pace, which expanded its presence in Seoul by moving into a new gallery in the Hannam-dong neighbourhood in 2021.
While Japan’s art market is smaller than that in Hong Kong, galleries need a presence there to be close to the country’s vibrant art scene and satisfy their artists’ and clients’ desires to have exhibitions there.
“Artists want to show in Japan,” Glimcher said. “And the Chinese and Koreans all want to be there.”
This opens up the question of how Hong Kong, still facing an uphill battle to get its mojo back, features in Pace’s regional strategy.
In March, the man who ran Pace’s Chinese and Hong Kong business for 16 years, Leng Lin, left. He was responsible for the gallery representing more Chinese artists than many of its international rivals. Even after Pace closed its Beijing gallery in 2019, local artists such as Zhang Xiaogang, Yin Xiuzhen and Song Dong have stayed on.
Hong Kong has had a bad couple of years but you can’t replace it as a pan-Asian meeting spot.
Pace CEO Marc Glimcher
Leng’s departure also came shortly after his appointment to a new “Round Table” of the gallery’s most senior directors that Glimcher introduced as part of a management reshuffle in late 2022. There is no word yet of his replacement.
Glimcher said there will be announcements later in the year that confirm the gallery’s commitment to Hong Kong.
“Even if Hong Kong’s energy is very low, it is insane to say that Hong Kong is done,” Glimcher said, just as the influential American economist Stephen Roach was causing a stir with his opposite prediction for the city.
At the moment, the person in charge of deciding what will happen to Pace’s Hong Kong gallery is Samanthe Rubell, who took over as Pace’s president from Glimcher in 2022.
“We made the Japan plan two years ago,” Glimcher said. “Last year, [Rubell] spent a lot of time in Japan. This year, she has been spending all her time in Hong Kong and China.” There will be an announcement in September about a new hire, the gallery said.
Glimcher said it is impossible to replace Hong Kong. “Hong Kong has had a bad couple of years but you can’t replace it as a pan-Asian meeting spot. I can’t run an Asian operation without Hong Kong,” he said, referring to the city’s geographical location and tax-free status for art.
While the Chinese art market is still in the doldrums, he expected a recovery in three years.
“I am definitely seeing a very exciting art world in China and Hong Kong. Also, how many really hot young artists are there now versus four years ago?
“That number has increased a lot, including a lot of women artists in China, as I discovered when I made 20 studio visits earlier this year.”
“Calder: Un effet du japonais”, Azabudai Hills Gallery, Tokyo. Until September 6.


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Pace’s new Tokyo gallery a sign of shifting energy: ‘Artists want to show in Japan’

A rendering of Pace’s new gallery in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: DBOX

A rendering of Pace’s new gallery in Tokyo, Japan, which is opening in July 2024 at Azubudai Hills, during the Tokyo Gendai art fair. Photo: DBOX

Pace CEO Marc Glimcher. Photo: Suzie Howell

Installation view of “Calder: Un effet du japonais”, Pace’s retrospective of American sculptor Alexander Calder, at Azabudai Hills Gallery. Photo: Tadayuki Minamoto

Warhol, Basquiat and Banksy paintings sell but spring art auction sales in Hong Kong fall

Hong Kong auction houses are feeling the effects of the global slowdown in art sales, with many big name paintings, including by Warhol and Basquiat, not making their estimates in recent spring sales. At the Christie’s 21st century evening sale, Andy Warhol’s Flowers (1965, above) sold for HK$55 million. Photo: Christie’s

Native Carrying Some Guns, Bibles, Amorites on Safari (1982) by Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for HK$83 million at Phillips’ modern and contemporary art evening sale on May 31. Photo: Phillips

Jonathan Crockett, chairman of Phillips Asia, selling Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Native Carrying Some Guns, Bibles, Amorites on Safari (1982). Photo: Phillips

Yayoi Kusama’s Pumpkin (2000) sold for HK$11 million, less than its presale estimate. Photo: Phillips

A work by the late artist Matthew Wong, Shangri-La (2017, left), was withdrawn before Christie’s 21st century evening sale. Photo: Christie’s

Wimbledon 1 (2011) by American artist Jonas Wood went under the hammer for HK$1.6 million against a HK$2 million to HK$4 million estimate. Photo: Phillips

Kowloon Walled City brought back to life on Instagram using AI, in artworks that move beyond its lawless reputation

Breathing Space, one of a series of AI-generated images by Hong Kong artist Bianca Tse based on Kowloon Walled City, was inspired by photographs by Greg Girard of the former enclave in urban Hong Kong. Photo: AI-generated image/Bianca Tse

Children play on a rooftop in Kowloon Walled City. Photo: Greg Girard

Rooftop Children is based on a historical photograph of a low-flying plane above Kowloon City and Greg Girard’s photographs of children playing on the rooftop of the Walled City. Photo: AI-generated image/Bianca Tse

Dentist City is an AI-generated image inspired by Joe Cognigni’s photograph Teeth for Sale, which was taken in Kowloon Walled City. Photo: AI-generated image/Bianca Tse

Artist Bianca Tse (centre) as a child in the temporary housing area in Fanling where she lived with her family. Photo: Bianca Tse

Bianca Tse Wai-shan at Kowloon Walled City Park on the site of the old Kowloon Walled City. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

 A client receives a perm from a hairdresser in Kowloon Walled City. Photo: Greg Girard

Hair Perming is inspired by Greg Girard’s photos of a barber shop that once existed in Kowloon Walled City. Photo: AI-generated image/Bianca Tse

With Imaginary Friends is an AI-generated image inspired by Tse’s childhood memory of waiting for her mother at a wet market. Photo: AI-generated image/Bianca Tse

An Untaken Photo is based on a description given by Greg Girard of a photo he wished he had taken in the Walled City. This is an AI-generated image combined with historical photos of a stewardess’ uniform. Photo: Greg Girard/AI-generated composite/Bianca Tse

Concrete Organism. Tse describes Kowloon Walled City as “an urban symphony, where structures evolve like living organisms, where every brick tells a story”. Photo: AI-generated image/Bianca Tse

Home Memories is an AI-generated image inspired by the demolition of Kowloon Walled City. Photo: AI-generated image/Bianca Tse

Overpopulation is an AI-generated image inspired by the Walled City’s dense population. Photo: AI-generated image/Bianca Tse

Korean traditional ceramic art in the spotlight as modern-day master hosts Hong Kong show and masterclass

A piece by South Korean buncheong ceramics master Huh Sangwook, who will show his work in an exhibition and lead a three-day buncheong masterclass at Hong Kong’s Lump Studio, from June 8-10. Photo: Lump Studio

Buncheong ceramics by Huh Sangwook. Photo: Lump Studio

For his pieces, Huh says he is inspired by Korean tradition and nature. Photo: Lump Studio

Lifestyle

Arts & Culture

Pace CEO Marc Glimcher talks about the gallery’s first location in Japan and why ‘it is insane to say that Hong Kong is done’


Pace CEO Marc Glimcher talks about the international gallery’s new Tokyo location – its first in Japan – and the blossoming Japanese art scene, plus why ‘it is insane to say that Hong Kong is done’.


Japan

Hong Kong