Galerie Lelong Comes to ART HK 2012, 5/17-20

Galerie Lelong Paris and New York will exhibit key works by masters of European modernism and international contemporary artists for ART HK 12. The booth will emphasize Lelong artists who have had a significant presence in the Asia-Pacific region such as Andy Goldsworthy, Rosemary Laing, Yoko Ono, Jaume Plensa, Sean Scully, and Antoni Tàpies. This is the third consecutive year Lelong will participate in ART HK.

Antoni Tàpies and Sean Scully are two leading painters of their generations. Tàpies came to prominence in the late 1940s, working vigorously until his death earlier this year. His signature style of “matter painting” involved textured, mixed media surfaces with graffiti-like marks such as Gran signe d’interrogaciò (2010). Painting for over 30 years, Scully both embraces and defies traditions established by twentieth century modernists. He employs a deceptively reductive vocabulary of horizontal and vertical bands of color to communicate a duality of harmony and fracture. In Return (2007), the painting is divided almost sculpturally into panels separated by brush-work in shades of maroon, yellow, and gray, working together to create a unified configuration.

Conceptual artist Yoko Ono and sculptor Jaume Plensa’s contemporary practices work to convey universal truths. Plensa’s Nuage (2011) is a stainless steel sculpture of a human figure seated on a cloud. It is composed of characters from different alphabets, unifying individuals from diverse backgrounds. Yoko Ono’s DOOR & DROPPING (2011) installation includes a found door and puddle-like reflection of the sky. A variation of the work was first conceived for an exhibition at the Hiroshima City Art Museum in 2011 to give blessings to the victims of the bombing of Hiroshima; it is now representative of hope for all of humankind and our global connectedness.

Rosemary Laing, an Australian photographer well-known in the Asia-Pacific region, will present a work from her recent leak series. In the cinematic photograph Jim (2010), the skeleton of a house is strangely inserted into a pastoral landscape, commenting on the effects of suburban development in Australia. Prestel Publishing is releasing a monograph on Laing this summer and Galerie Lelong New York will present her leak series this fall.

In addition to these highlighted artists, Galerie Lelong will feature work by Angelo Filomeno, Günter Förg, Jane Hammond, Jannis Kounellis, Catherine Lee, Ana Mendieta, Joan Miró, David Nash, Emilio Perez, Kate Shepherd, Kiki Smith, and Lin Tianmiao. Lelong’s presentation for ART HK 12 offers visitors the opportunity to view and acquire a wide array of rare works by internationally established figures and rising artists.

For more information, visit www.galerielelong.com or www.hongkongartfair.com.