Skin-deep scenarios? Let’s dive in! Pt.1
Affordable Art Fair HK, three types of visitors observed
Thoughts wander, from art fair to gallery show, in an uplifting way :)
Two months away from the highly intense ABHK and a little bit of relaxing Art Central, the Affordable Art Fair held last week is much more easygoing and friendly to those who might be new in art collecting or attempted for a while yet haven’t got the chance to give it a go.
The 99 galleries exhibited works on small to medium scales and, as entitled, at affordable prices. No doubt, huge competition is going on here for each booth to win the visitors' or, shall we say, art collectors’ attention.
Being eye-catching is not necessarily out of character of the artwork (or the artist's intention) but a tactic to attract a buyer.
However, for those who have certain experience in art fairs, it could be malfunctioning. After all, besides the regular artwork buyers, there were at least three types of peers with different viewing habits lingering in the halls of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The first type sees an art fair as an occasion to hang out with friends. They may not be interested in certain (or any) kinds of artworks, just enjoy the larger-than-exhibition art space and site-specific ambience, the continuous joy brought to the eyes, and opinion-exchanging moments with friends as friendship-bounding material. They might not purchase anything at all.
The second type would spend time viewing all the artworks presented if possible, examining some of them carefully if interested, no matter caught by the colours, by the material, by the content, I’d think them having the certain intention of buying artworks, but various elements might influence their decision upon that, among which, being shy may be of the least importance. The untrained - sorry, not having enough experience in dealing with clients as such - gallery staff or the impatient gallerists might just lose the potential clients.
The third type shall be the combination of the former two, possesses certain experience as a fair-goer and holds a personal interest in some unique genre(s) or artist(s), the satisfaction for them does not merely come from obtaining artworks. And I wonder if this type of audience would appreciate the attention-seeking kind of artworks at all.
That is, those works features with screaming in silence, probably with colours, cuteness-exploding figures with enormous eyes, Japanese cartoon type presumably, or seemingly toxic neon colours on canvas, might just function as a warning sign, or a quick dose of dopamine for the viewers’ eyes.
I believe the market segmentation functions for galleries with different clientele, and it’s applicable for various art fairs. Meanwhile, I suggest that one should bear in mind that “Unsold ≠ Worthless”.
Quoting from De Sarthe, a Hong Kong Gallery, “Unsold ≠ Worthless” is the title of their first exhibition this year, which was delivered before the ABHK, as if a reminder for all the art lovers, that the value of artworks embeds not in the price (commercial term) or the appearance of them, but in the ways they engage with the viewers, how they trigger thoughts and feelings when seen. I’m not talking about dopamine type of works but those could withstand deep examination and function as agents for the artist that could communicate with the viewers, if more, as the agent of culture.
But of course, it requires time and patience for both parties to realise communication. That means that the artists should follow their hearts to create and the viewers, allow time to read and feel the works.
Meanwhile, many institutions even galleries have narrated their exhibitions in a more site-specific style, which makes them much more engaging towards the audience. I’d like to address De Sarthe Gallery’s new show, which opened just last Saturday, the immersive cave-like environment in the gallery profoundly enhance one’s visiting experience. When you are there, it will immediately transport the audience into an ant nest, make them get lost a bit - just no better way to access the mechanical sound installation works.
Dear readers,
The photos I use in this piece is rather random, and in next episodes related to the AAF, I’ll articulate two artists’ works that I found interesting and inspiring.
The following information is about DSG’s new exhibition. Hope you all have fun there.
🏷️ 1
🧑🎨 Ailsa Wong
📆 2025.05.24 - 2025.07.26
📍 26/F M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Rd., Hong Kong
Until next time,
With the love of art,
Ashley