5 Unmissable Works at Art Basel Hong Kong 2025
Art is all around this month, with Art Basel front and centre, bringing 240 galleries from 42 countries to Hong Kong’s premier art spectacle.
Art Basel Hong Kong 2025 will take place from 28 to 30 March, with preview days on 26 and 27 March, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). This year’s edition features 240 exhibitors from 42 countries and territories, including 23 first-time participants. Over half of the galleries hail from the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting the fair’s focus on regional representation and its role as a vital platform for contemporary art across the globe.
The fair includes curated sectors such as Encounters, dedicated to large-scale installations; Kabinett, showcasing thematic and solo presentations; the Film Program, featuring seven screenings curated by Para Site; and a dynamic Public Program with the Conversations series, Exchange Circle discussions, and collaborations with institutions like M+ and Tai Kwun.
Here are five must-see works to add to your itinerary:
Lu Yang’s Digital Avatar Pop-Up Store
Lu Yang’s latest work merges art and commerce in a pop-up store format, featuring creations by DOKU, their digital avatar. Presented by de Sarthe and COMA as part of Encounters’ Charge theme, the store blurs the boundaries between physical and virtual spaces. Lu Yang’s playful yet thought-provoking work reflects on the digital era, exploring identity, technology, and consumerism. DOKU the Creator is one of the most innovative pieces at this year’s fair, showcasing the artist’s distinct vision of the virtual realm.
Frank Wang Yefeng's Desert Garden
Via Vanguard Gallery, Chinese-born and New York-based artist Frank Wang Yefeng presents Desert Garden, a hallucinatory multimedia installation inspired by his real-life experience of getting lost in the Gobi Desert in northwestern China. The work features surreal, hybrid figures that are part-flower and part-animal, teased in his digital renders, alongside footage he shot in the desert.
“As long as you keep walking, you are never lost,” Wang recalled, reflecting on a voice he heard during the traumatic yet transformative experience of trying to find his car in the desert. This moment serves as the foundation for his exploration of themes such as migration, non-belonging, and the complexities of living between two worlds—East and West, both geographically and ideologically.
Vũ Dân Tân’s Cardboard Sculptures
Vietnamese artist Vũ Dân Tân’s intricate cardboard sculptures explore the concept of garments as armor. Presented by 10 Chancery Lane Gallery in the Kabinett sector, these works are both playful and deeply symbolic, reflecting the artist’s innovative approach to everyday materials. Vũ’s work is a testament to the creativity emerging from Southeast Asia and offers a fresh perspective on contemporary art.
Monster Chetwynd’s The Grotto
Known for her whimsical and theatrical approach to art, Monster Chetwynd presents The Grotto, a sprawling installation in the Encounters sector. Presented by Sadie Coles HQ, the work transforms the exhibition space into a fantastical cave-like environment filled with dramatic lighting and organic, handmade sculptures. Drawing on themes of mythology, folklore, and environmentalism, Chetwynd’s immersive installation invites viewers to step into a world that feels both ancient and futuristic.
Takahiro Kondo's Wave 2023
Japanese artist Takahiro Kondo brings his ceramic works Wave 2023 to the Kabinett sector. Using his patented ‘Silver Mist’ technique, Kondo explores the shapeshifting qualities of water, capturing its fluidity and unpredictability through his elegant ceramic forms. Presented by Tokyo Gallery + BTAP, the work showcases Kondo’s mastery of material and his poetic engagement with nature’s impermanence.
Art Basel Hong Kong 2025 Time: March 28–30, 2025 Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre