Conversations | The Asian Art Market in 2023: What’s the View from Hong Kong?

Conversations | The Asian Art Market in 2023: What’s the View from Hong Kong?
Art Basel Hong Kong 2023, March 22
With China emerging from behind a ‘zero-Covid curtain’ and Asia settling into a post-Covid normal, specialists reflect on the state of the Asian art market in 2023 from the perspective of Hong Kong. As an archipelago of interlinked marketplaces, how has the art market in Asia evolved in recent years, and how have these evolutions redefined or reshaped the marketplace in the region and beyond?
‣ Rebecca Wei, Co-Founder, LGDR & Wei
‣ Alan Lau, Private collector and arts patron
‣ Jen Hua, Deputy Chairman Asia, and Chairman China, Sotheby’s
‣ Moderators: Josh Baer, Founder and CEO, The Baer Faxt, and Margaret Wang, Private collector and arts patron
‣ Rebecca Wei is a founder of LGDR & Wei. Holding an MBA from INSEAD, she joined McKinsey & Company in 1999, becoming the Firm’s first female partner in Greater China. In 2012, Wei entered the art industry, and served as President and Chairman of Christie's Asia until 2020. Her leadership revamped the auction business and led to exponential growth in both sales and client base during her tenure. Same year, she became a founding partner and Chairman of Lévy Gorvy Asia, before joining forces with Dominique Lévy, Brett Gorvy, Amalia Dayan and Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn to launch LGDR & Wei in Asia in January, 2022.
‣ Alan Lau, Animoca’s new chief business officer, has spent decades in the tech world, having worked for Chinese technology and entertainment conglomerate Tencent, its insurance platform WeSure, and served on the boards of insurtech platform Clark in Europe and analytics company Qumata. He is also the vice-chairman of M+, where he played a key role in setting up the Yayoi Kusama exhibition that opened in November 2022. Outside Hong Kong, he is the co-chair of both the Asia Pacific Acquisition Committee of London’s Tate Modern and the Asia Art Circle of New York’s Guggenheim Museum; in other words, in charge of determining what is displayed in the exhibition halls of three of the world’s major art institutions.
‣ Jen Hua is the Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia. Based in Mainland China and Hong Kong, she has represented major clients throughout Asia at Sotheby’s important auctions worldwide and private sales, as well as responsible for developing the strategic expansion of the company in mainland China. Hua was the Deputy Chairman, China in 2016 - 2019, during which time she was instrumental in the significant expansion of the company’s client base in mainland China and Asia, building access to some of the most powerful buyers in various categories with her extensive knowledge in the art and luxury market throughout years.
‣ Since 1994, The Baer Faxt has served art insiders and top industry decision makers who rely on Josh Baer’s reports and insights to buy and sell art. An auction expert and art advisor to world-class collectors, Baer’s unique position within art business gains him access to the knowledge and information dealmakers need, which has led to over $500 million worth of completed transactions. Having worked in the arts since the late 1970s, Baer has also served as former director of White Columns, published the arts magazine ZG, and was a gallery owner. Rumors persist he may have qualified for the Olympics as a marathon runner and been a contender for the PGA Tour, but no records exist at this time.
‣ Margaret M. Wang is the Executive Director and Head of Bridgewater Associates Singapore. She has served as the Chief Representative for the Beijing Office and helped launch Bridgewater’s fund in Shanghai. Her career spans finance, tech, and non-profit with a focus on business strategy and new market development. An avid supporter of the arts, Margaret is a Board Member of Creative Time, a New York-based public arts non-profit. She also serves as a Council Member for Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture and a Founding Co-Chair of the Friends of the Carpenter Center at Harvard University.
Venue: Auditorium, N101B, Level 1, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
This talk will be conducted in English, with simultaneous interpretation available in Cantonese and Mandarin.
The Art Basel Hong Kong 2023 Conversations program is curated by Stephanie Bailey.