May 16 2015

Contemporary Asian Art at Frieze New York 2015

by Paul Laster

Frieze New York, which opened to the public on May 14, returned to its massive white tent on Randall’s Island Park with over 190 exhibitors from 33 countries. The fourth edition of the fair features more galleries from Asia, as well as international players with Asian outposts, than in previous iterations—up from 18 participants in 2014 to 25 this year.

Of these exhibitors, those presenting solo shows include: Antenna Space and Leo Xu Projects from Shanghai, featuring Liu Ding and aaajiao, respectively; Tel Aviv’s Tempo Rubato, who is showcasing Lital Lev Cohen; Istanbul’s Rampa, which is displaying the works of Turkish artist Canan; and Mumbai’s Project 88, featuring Sarnath Banerjee. Meanwhile, Beijing’s Boers-Li Gallery and Seoul’s Gallery Hyundai are mixing historical pieces with contemporary works at theirs.

ArtAsiaPacific visited Frieze New York on its preview day. Here’s a look at some highlights from the Asian galleries at this year’s fair.

(Front) YUUKI MATSUMURA, Parallel, 2015, painted steel, 50 × 110 × 40 cm each; (back) YUKIKO SUTO, pencil and watercolor drawings mounted on panels, dimensions variable. Courtesy Take Ninagawa, Tokyo.

AMIR NAVE, Untitled (Man Alone in the World), 2015, oil on canvas, 161 × 183 cm. Courtesy Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv.

PARK SEO-BO, Ecriture No. 111105, 2011, black ink, white clam and oyster shell powder and glue with Korean Hanji paper on canvas, 130 × 200 cm. Courtesy Galerie Perrotin, Paris/New York/Hong Kong.

MONA HATOUM, Korb IV, 2014, metal and glass, 38.5 × 49 × 46 cm. Courtesy White Cube, London/Hong Kong.

(Front) XU ZHEN Produced by MadeIn Company, Play – Spire of the Sky, 2013, mixed media, 60 × 310 × 60 cm; (back) RAN HUANG, Suppresion Sets the Repressed Desires free No. 8, 2011, inkjet print, 65 × 45 cm each. Courtesy Long March Space, Beijing.

ETEL ADNAN, Untitled, 2010, oil on canvas, 20 × 25 cm. Courtesy, Sfeir-Semler, Beirut.

(Left) AAAJIAO, Observed, 2015, inkjet print and acrylic case, 150 × 150 cm; (right) Body Shadow, Space, 2015, steel cable, metal components, dimensions variable. Courtesy Leo Xu Projects, Shanghai.

ANISH KAPOOR, Untitled, 2014, fiberglass and paint, 121 × 121 × 84 cm. Courtesy Galleria Continua, San Gimignano/Beijing.

LIU DING, For the Sake of Ten Thousand – Female Hero, 2014, sculpture, 45 × 65 × 35 cm. Courtesy Antenna Space, Shanghai.

MONIR SHAHROUDY FARMANFARMAIAN, Installation in 9 Elements, 2004, dimensions variable. Courtesy The Third Line, Dubai.

SHOZO KITADAI, Untitled, 1980s, wire sculpture, 98.5 × 48.9 cm. Courtesy Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo.

CANAN, Mottephobia, 2014, ink on special paper, 94 × 72 cm. Courtesy Rampa, Istanbul.

SHI ZHIYING, Rock Carving of Thousand Buddhas, 2013, oil on canvas, 179 × 240 cm. Courtesy, James Cohan Gallery, New York/Shanghai.

(Left) SATOSHI OHNO, Prism.Dark Night., 2015, oil and acrylic on canvas mounted on panel, 243 × 122.5 cm; (right) Prism.Sunset., 2015, oil, acrylic on canvas mounted on panel, 243 × 122.5 cm. Courtesy Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo.

SEUNG-TAEK LEE, Untitled, 1968, skate shoes and dried bonsai tree, 44 × 40 cm each. Courtesy, Gallery Hyundai, Seoul.

(Left) LITAL LEV COHEN, Malevich Variation – Cupid’s Kiss, 2015, acrylic and oil on linen, 179 × 179 cm; (right) Malevich Variation – Yellow Gravity Composition 1, 2015, acrylic and oil on linen, 79 × 79 cm. Courtesy Tempo Rubato, Tel Aviv.

SIMON FUJIWARA, Fabulous Beasts (Dark Wolf), 2014, shaved fur coat, 115 × 75 × 2 cm. Courtesy Taro Nasu, Tokyo.

XUE FENG, Background and Geometry (1 and 2), 2014, oil on canvas, 180 × 150 cm each. Courtesy Boers-Li Gallery, Beijing.

(Left) HAEGUE YANG, Sonic Rotating Geometry Type E – Copper Plated #40, 2015, steel sheet, powder coating, ball bearings, metal grid, copper bells, metal rings, 99 × 99 × 8 cm; (right) Biped Chalky of Innate Black, 2015, cotton twine, dyeing, steel frame, powder coating, lampshade frames, steel wire, nickel plated bells, light bulbs and cable, 139 × 88 × 88 cm. Courtesy Kukje Gallery, Seoul, and Tina Kim Gallery, New York.

HUANG RUI, White and Black, 1989–90, oil on canvas, 72 × 61 cm. Courtesy Boers-Li Gallery, Beijing.

SARNATH BANERJEE, The Night of the Hunter Series, 2013, watercolor on paper, dimensions variable. Courtesy Project 88, Mumbai.

Paul Laster is New York desk editor for ArtAsiaPacific.