Asia Now Paris
Ora-Ora is pleased to announce its participation in the 8th edition of Asia Now, which takes place in Paris between 20-23 October 2022. This edition marks Ora-Ora’s (Booth H07) first showing at Asia Now and the first time the fair will take place at the Paris Mint, La Monnaie de Paris, itself housed in an 18th century palace on the left bank of the Seine.
Asia Now 2022 is subtitled “Feux de Joie” (flames of joy), which simultaneously alludes to numismatic metallurgy and to an artistic community gathering around a creative fire. The theme ignites shared passions and feelings of mutual respect and warmth. Responding to this call for global unity, Ora-Ora’s participation in Asia Now marks its first European fair since the advent of the global pandemic. Ora-Ora recently took part in KIAF in Seoul in September 2022.
In the words of Ora-Ora CEO and Co-founder Henrietta Tsui-Leung: “Whilst no reason is ever needed to visit Paris, we are sparing about which art fairs we take part in. Asia Now is an intercontinental conversation we wanted to be part of. We and our artists are looking forward to contributing.” On exhibiting in Paris, Dr. Tsui-Leung remarked: “The role of Paris in the genesis of modern art needs no introduction. Its history, reputation, and impact on major Asian artists continues apace. As an Asia-based gallery, we are delighted to continue an international exchange which has never been anything but fruitful.”
Ora-Ora is one of five Hong Kong-based galleries to be represented at Asia Now, which is this year under the artistic direction of Kathy Alliou, Director of the Artwork Department at Les Beaux-Arts de Paris. At Asia Now, Ora-Ora’s commitment to intellectual curiosity and artistic innovation will be evidenced through a range of creatively resourceful and restlessly dynamic Asia-based artists.
The confirmed line-up so far includes Hong Kong-based Sophie Cheung, who recently presented her first solo show at Ora-Ora’s Tai Kwun gallery, titled “Erasing Time.” Her art is characterized by the creative use of materials (primarily erasers, pens and newspapers), her investigation of time and memory, and the expression of cultural identity through erasing, painting and the medium of ink. At Asia Now, she will be presenting her new works, including Erasing News: Gasifying Aerial Roots (2022), which investigates personal and community feelings arising from the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Alongside Sophie Cheung will be Hong Kong artist Halley Cheng, first presented by Ora-Ora at Art Basel Hong Kong in 2013; Halley Cheng has documented moments of decline, of pathos and of loss in the milieu of Hong Kong. He highlights the fragility of the human condition, exploring everyday symbols of impermanence, scenes of psychological tension, and transitional moments of escape.
Also represented will be Professor at Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, Zhang Yanzi. Her investigation of human physical fallibility, specifically themes of medicine and health, have brought her international museum acclaim, and been a driver behind a diverse range of media in her art, including gauze, analgesic plasters and pills.
Other leading Ora-Ora artists will include Peng Wei, whose paintings on silk and paper are inspired equally by literati and scholarly history and by a profound engagement with feminist issues. Bordering documentation and imagination, her works include combinations of calligraphy and reworked classical images, which create conversations between western historical figures and Chinese art history.
Kyoto-based Mai Miyake, a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, will bring her unique perspective on cultural adaptability, and the role and interpretation of beauty in art. Mai Miyake accesses inner monologues and identities which are both Japanese and not, drawing on her own international upbringing and outlook. Born in Japan, growing up in Australia and educated in France, her own inspirations are manifold and various.
Experience a combination of the classical and the contemporary, installation and painting, visitors to Ora-Ora at Asia Now will travel through elements of the evolution of art in the region, and the personal and philosophical journeys of Ora-Ora’s artists.
