Despite speculations of a cooling market, Hauser & Wirth opened another space in Hong Kong last week.
The street-level gallery opened in the busy central district of Hong Kong. The inaugural exhibition featured Chinese artist Zhang Enli. The structure, which is modernistic and looks amazing, is also interesting for offering pedestrians a glimpse into the gallery. Enli’s work displayed in the exhibition mostly came from the later period of his career, when his style became looser and more carefree.
The space is down the road from the other premise of Hauser & Wirth, located on the 15th and 16th floors at H Queen. The space is well-known for several blue-chip galleries located in close proximity. Hause & Wirth entered Hong Kong’s art space in 2018 with the opening of this location. The 10,000-square-foot space was designed to be a crowning jewel in the mega gallery’s chain of international spaces at the time.
However, the new space differs significantly from the previous one because it is a street-level gallery. While this might have been an unusual move for a gallery as big as Hauser & Wirth in Europe or the Americas, it is not so in Hong Kong, where prime real estate is as rare as they come. Several similar street galleries are located in the vicinity, including Opera Gallery, David Zwirner, and WOAW Gallery.
Hong Kong was touted as the new hub of the international art scene in the previous decade, especially the blue-chip art market. However, this reputation took a hit in the past few years. The commercial city was one of the worst hit by the pandemic and then faced unrest due to clashes with Chinese authorities. However, Hauser & Wirth’s new space seems to say that the city’s potential is alive and well.
