Art Basel Hong Kong is now open through the online Viewing Rooms

Art Basel Hong Kong has started but, for the first time in the history of this prestigious fair, only virtually. To cope with the economic damage caused by the global health emergency, which hit China first, the event has been transferred into a digital platform from which you can observe artworks, interact with galleries and buy. With a VIP preview, on 18 and 19 March and a general opening from 20 to 25 March, respecting the traditional fair practice. “It is encouraging in such tumultuous times to see so many galleries committed to displaying work of premier quality”, commented Mark Spiegler, global director of Art Basel.

Among the over 2,000 works on display in the Viewing Rooms, thematic and personal selections of artists from the modern period, postwar to contemporary are highlighted, such as Miyako Ishiuchi, Jasper Johns, Nobuaki Kojima, Ken Price, Philippe Parreno, Antony Gormley, Ed Ruscha and Robert Rauschenberg, presented by a majority of Asian galleries. The Viewing Rooms can be accessed via app or site after registration. However, many galleries have already presented a preview of their artists, published on the Instagram account @artbasel.

Meanwhile, everything is silent from the Basel front: the Swiss edition of Art Basel, scheduled from June 18 to 21, 2020, does not seem to make a turn around. Although, the declared global pandemic state suggests that, even in case the fair actually takes place, the problems will be not only for the Basel venue, but also for that large number of collectors, exhibitors and cultural operators who are in a state of emergency now spreading in all parts of the world.