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What to see during Hong Kong’s art month, from Picasso to Warhol

With Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central about to open, here’s our rundown of this year’s highlights

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Art Central is featuring specially commissioned work by Hong Kong artist Nadim Abbas. Photo: Pak Chai/ Art Central

Published: 6:15pm, 21 Mar 2025

Art fever has gripped Hong Kong once again as the city’s two pre-eminent art fairs, Art Basel and Art Central, vie for the eyeballs and wallets of the region’s top tastemakers this week. With more than 340 galleries collectively showcasing thousands of artworks, navigating these mammoth fairs requires strategy. Here’s our insiders’ guide to the must-sees of all the festivities.

Art Basel Hong Kong

Scheduled for March 28 to 30 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (with VIP preview days on March 26 and 27), Art Basel brings together 242 galleries from 42 countries and territories, with more than half representing the Asia-Pacific region.

Among returning powerhouses, the Gagosian comes in hard with works by masters such as Picasso and Warhol, promising museum-quality presentation. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s own Blindspot Gallery continues its mission of showcasing conceptual photography and media art with a distinctly Asian perspective.

Andy Warhol’s 1980 portrait of artist Joseph Beuys, at Art Basel Hong Kong. Photo: courtesy Aeneas Bastian Fine Art

Eight galleries will join the main floor for the first time, including Berlin’s Aeneas Bastian Fine Art, which will present Joseph Beuys’ thought-provoking sculptures alongside iconic Andy Warhol portraits, while Cape Town’s blank projects makes its Hong Kong debut with Igshaan Adams’ intricate tapestries inspired by Indigenous South African dancers.

The Insights sector merits special attention with its focus on photography in Asia from the 1970s to the present. Taipei’s Each Modern brings rare photographs by Japanese photographer Nakahira Takuma, while Flowers Gallery presents an ambitious multimedia installation by artist duo Birdhead, known for their dynamic documentation of Shanghai’s urban evolution.

The fair is also collaborating for the first time with Hong Kong independent art stalwart Para Site, to curate the public film programme showcasing artists from across Asia-Pacific.

A visitor checks out the Mr Doodle artwork titled Mas jumps in his Vortex to DoodleLand at Art Basel. Photo: Eugene Lee

“We’re committed to continuing to strengthen our ties with the regional art scene and its rising stars,” says Angelle Siyang-Le, director of Art Basel Hong Kong.