Over 1,200 outstanding contemporary works of art from more than 100 artists and 62 art institutions from both China and abroad will be showcased at Hall 5 of the Guangzhou Liuhua Exhibition and Trade Center for the 2019 Art Canton · Contemporary Art Fair between December 6th and 9th, according to the Art Canton Committee.

A press conference is held in Guangzhou on June 26th. [Photo: Art Canton Committee]

Wu Shaoning gives an outline of the 2019 Art Canton · Contemporary Art Fair to the media. [Photo: Art Canton Committee]

According to Wu Shaoning, chief curator of Art Canton and renowned art critic, a number of famous Chinese artists have confirmed their attendance for this year’s exhibition. Highlights of the substantial roster of artists follow:

Wang Shaoqiang, curator of the Guangdong Museum of Art, will hold a solo exhibition curated by the celebrated art critic Pi Daojian at the art fair;

Zhang Wenzhi, who rose to fame in the United States and South Korea, will also be exhibiting her contemporary take on the traditional art of lacquer painting.

Yi Ling, the ‘head of the Painters’ Village’ in the Old Summer Palace, will be painting live at the art fair;

Guests pose for a group photo at the press conference. [Photo: Art Canton Committee]

Other notable attendees include contemporary artist Wei Ligang, director of the Lingnan Fine Art Institute; curator of the Lingnan Museum of Fine Art Ye Xiangming; artists from the renowned art community Songzhuang in Beijing, Zhang Xiaotian, Liu Guoyi, Chen Minghua and Xiong Longdeng; space concept artists Chen Zhao and Yu Hongbin, outstanding young artists Ding Jianbing and Fu Yibin, as well as Qi Yafeng who drew a lot of attention at last year’s fair.

This year, the number of foreign artists participating will account for over 40% of the fair’s total, a record for the art fair since it was established in 2010. You will see the following foreign artists and their artworks in Guangzhou this December, Dani Green and Paula MacMillan Perich from Australia, Evan Hillis, Hunter Celeste Hill, Tyler Jason Pritchard, Sean M. Steadman and Victor Hugo Vaca Jr from the United States, Daniel Kocev Pazamat from Macedonia, Peggy Le Poulen from France, Sergiu Roman from Romania, Karmeliuk Nataliia from the Ukraine, as well as Chalynne Cowan from Canada.

Lu Xiaokun [Photo: Art Canton Committee]

Lu Xiaokun, founder of Art Canton, said the organizing committee puts quality before quantity in terms of choosing artworks for the fair, aiming to hold an art fair that is high quality, influential and which meets the market demand.

Feng Xiaobao, founder of Yueyi Art Museum from Foshan, has joined the art fair twice. Feng said Art Canton is the first art fair in South China to focus on contemporary art, providing a platform for art museums and institutes to dock with the market.

To do this, the art fair will also hold a few academic forums and invite both art critics and scholars to share their insight into both contemporary art and the state of the market.

David Brubaker [Photo: Art Canton Committee]

David Brubaker, famous scholar, Chinese culture researcher and academic adviser for Art Canton, thinks highly of the fair’s position and function in China’s art circle.

“Art Canton is now an incubator for cultural creativity in Guangdong and places the province as a leading centre in a new age of contemporary art,” Brubaker said, “It is an engine for bringing more dynamic contemporary art together with the contemporary art that continues to affirm the aesthetic values that Chinese artists have cherished and preserved for centuries.”

Brubaker said the Chinese aesthetic is becoming more interesting to the global market and he believes Art Canton is a place to show the world the way that curators, artists and philosophers view contemporary art’s place in modern China.

Author: Monica Liu

Editor: Simon Haywood