7 Artists To Look Out For At The Affordable Art Fair

By Oliver Giles May 11, 2018

Both first-time art buyers and experienced collectors will flock to the Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong, which is taking place from May 18—20. This year's event features more than 115 galleries from around the world and will showcase the work of more than 1,000 artists. Don't panic if you don't know where to start—here's our pick of seven artists whose work you should make a beeline for.

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1/7 Marc Quinn at Manifold Editions

Marc Quinn, Mesosphere (2017). (Image: courtesy the artist and Manifold Editions)

British artist Marc Quinn rose to fame in the 1980s and '90s as part of the rabble-rousing Young British Artists movement, which also included Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. Quinn is most famous for his work "Self", an ice sculpture of his head that's made from five litres of his own blood.

"Self" currently sits in the National Portrait Gallery in London in a specially-built freezer. At the Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong, contemporary art publisher Manifold Editions is exhibiting a series of Quinn's eye-inspired prints.

2/7 Tugo Cheng at Blue Lotus Gallery

Tugo Cheng, Southside Sunbathing (2017). (Image: courtesy the artist and Blue Lotus Gallery)

Having won multiple international awards for his photos of southern China—including the prestigious National Geographic Travel Photographer of The Year prize—Hong Kong photographer Tugo Cheng has now turned his attention closer to home.

At the Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong, Blue Lotus Gallery is showcasing some of Cheng's aerial photos of Hong Kong, which feature everything from eerie cemeteries to picturesque coastal scenes.

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3/7 Gonkar Gyatso at TAG Fine Arts

Grey Tara, Gonkar Gyatso (2017). (Image: courtesy the artist and TAG Fine Arts)

From afar, Gonkar Gyatso's works often look like fairly traditional Buddhist paintings. But up close, it becomes clear that Gyatso's Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are made up of hundreds of tiny images from pop culture—often colourful children's stickers.

This unique mixture of traditional religious iconography and brightly-coloured pop imagery has won Gyatso fans around the world, so his works on show at TAG Fine Arts are sure to be in demand with collectors.

4/7 Joshua Smith at SWL

Joshua Smith puts the finishing touches to his Temple Street sculpture. (Image: courtesy SWL)

Australian sculptor and stencil artist Joshua Smith makes art that explores the overlooked, unglamorous side of large cities. At Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong, his painstaking recreation of 23 Temple Street, a dilapidated building located in Yau Ma Tei, is being exhibited by SWL.

5/7 Maria Svarbova at Momentum Fine Art

Image: courtesy the artist and Momentum Fine Art

Self-taught photographer Maria Svarbova has been working on her 'Swimming Pool' series since 2014, when she first snapped some shots inside a Socialist-era swimming pool in her native Slovakia. Svarbova now seeks out similar pools around the country, where she carefully stages minimalist photographs that reveal the buildings' stark architecture and pastel hues.

6/7 Nic Gaunt at The Fellowship Studio

Angel 7, Nic Gaunt. (Image: courtesy the artist and The Fellowship Studio)

A regular contributor to Hong Kong Tatler, photographer Nic Gaunt has also exhibited his images in galleries around the world. At Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong, he's showcasing photographs from his 'Paint Angel' series, which explore themes of feminity and voyeurism.

7/7 Evan Siu Ping Wu at Artify Gallery

Image: courtesy the artist and Artify Gallery

Hong Kong artist Evan Siu Ping Wu is bringing traditional Chinese ink painting into the 21st century with her delicate depictions of landscapes around the world. On top of her ink paintings, Wu also creates paper-based works that reflect on humanity's destruction of the environment.