Tips on buying your very first piece of art — Looking out for Hong Kong Emerging Artists
Want to collect art but is intimidated by the millions and billions in auction houses? Fret no more: the future is written by the present — even Jean Michel-Basquiat, with a sales record of 110 million created last year at auction, only priced his works in the ten thousands in the 80s.
If you ever want to start to build your own art collection, consider being those collectors who loved and trusted Basquiat’s compelling works in the 80s and start keeping an eye out for your emerging local artists. Perhaps in 20 years’ time, not only will you own works that caught your eye, sparked your thoughts ad stirred your feelings — you may even create art history by supporting your local emerging talents, just like how Basquiat’s legend started with Warhol buying his postcards.
Here’s an introduction to some of the local artists we represent (so to save you from having sore feet from going to exhibitions, visiting art fairs and walking around galleries apart from Young Soy):
BEHIND EVERY MAN BY RIYA CHANDIRAMANI
1. Riya Chandiramani
Born and raised in Hong Kong and ethnically Indian, Chandiramani embeds a mixture of East and West, traditional and popular cultural references in her works to explore and challenge constructs and ideals that exist from the past to the present.
2. Benson Koo
Born in the 80s in Hong Kong, Koo takes darkness as one of his major topics as well as an artistic practice. Absurdity and fearlessness permeate his works with violent images that are dark and at the same time, full of life. His art works as a mirror to remind us to face our inner darkness.
“ANGEL” BY BENSON KOO
FAMILY KAYAKING BY LINGMUKI
3. Lingmuki (Ling Lin)
Born in Nanjing, China and later moved to Hong Kong, Ling has been exploring her artistry and her use of diverse medium by studying and obtaining her degree and master’s degree in Hong Kong, Japan and Italy. Painting serene natural landscapes in Hong Kong with a vibrant palette and with the impasto technique, her landscapes have drawn her audiences from around the globe.
4. Louise Soloway Chan
Born in London, educated in England and India and have called Hong Kong home, Louise Soloway Chan is an artist trying to capture the essence of the rapidly changing city. Ever since she moved to Hong Kong, Louise was constantly drawn to picture the ordinary lives.
Louise’s works had been exhibited extensively in institutions such as Royal Academy of Art, Whitechapel Gallery and National Portrait Gallery in London.
In 2011, the MTR Corp commissioned Louise Soloway-Chan to create a huge work consisting of 12 bas-reliefs about lives and traditional shop businesses in Hong Kong.
COCKTAILS BY LOUISE SOLOWAY CHAN
HALF THE SKY BY SOPHIA HOTUNG
5. Sophia Hotung
Sophia Hotung is a Eurasian writer and illustrator from Hong Kong. She is the artist behind The Hong Konger collection, which has been exhibited at Soho House, Eaton Hong Kong, the Wild Lot, Oi Ling Antiques, Young Soy Gallery, and Art Next Expo. Sophia leverages her art and writing to advocate for and represent the intersectionality of gender and chronic illness, specifically at work.
Her book, The Hong Konger Anthology is available across bookstores in Hong Kong and sold out its first print run in two weeks, becoming Bookazine’s Book of the Week during the 2021 winter holiday season.
For International Women’s Month, Sophia teamed up with Hanson Robotics’ Sophia the Robot to create a joint NFT in support of The Women’s Foundation Hong Kong.
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