Convention & Exhibition Centre
1 Harbour Road
Wan Chai
Hong Kong
Perrotin Booth: 1D25
Perrotin is thrilled to return to Art Basel Hong Kong 2025 with a curated showcase of works by renowned artists from its roster. Takashi Murakami's latest addition to his Tan Tan Bo series continues his exploration of a phantom-like character from manga, depicted here spewing, exploding, and multiplying across quasi-apocalyptic scenes. The piece combines cute "kawaii" aesthetics with darker themes, reflecting both the artist’s concerns about nuclear power and the Superflat philosophy he pioneered, which dissolves boundaries between traditional Japanese art forms and contemporary pop culture.
Much like his solo exhibition It Was on a Brilliant Day, currently on view in Perrotin Los Angeles gallery, Mr. brings a new piece paying tribute to otaku culture, Japan’s subculture-turned-mainstream phenomenon. Other artists from the Kaikai Kiki collective, such as Emi Kuraya, ob, and Otani Workshop, further blur the distinction between manga and high art, as well as ceramics and sculpture.
The booth also brings together an unexpected survey of postwar modernism through contemporary practice, highlighting dynamic tensions between process and final form. For 20th-century masters—including Anna-Eva Bergman, Lynn Chadwick, Hans Hartung, Georges Mathieu, Park Seo-Bo, and Bernar Venet—their abstract language harmonizes spontaneity and discipline, and juxtaposes interpretation and impression.
Building on this foundation, several artists engage with contemporary themes of identity, history, and human connection through diverse practices. Rao Fu’s Wonderland merges Eastern and Western classical traditions in surprising ways, portraying whimsical vignettes along a shadowy waterway. Chen Ke’s “Bauhaus Gal” series reimagines the archival photographs of Bauhaus women, paying homage to the pioneering figures of the modernist movement. Kelly Beeman draws from fashion illustration to depict stylized figures in contemporary domestic settings, while Amy Cutler’s intricate compositions blend folklore with modern life, filling her scenes with hybrid, half-human creatures. Katherina Olschbaur’s atmospheric canvases bring together figures, birds, fish, and other creatures in emotionally-charged interactions. Her dramatic use of colors lends a dreamlike, rhythmic quality to her works.
Exploring the relationship between nature and time, Sigrid Sandström creates layered abstract works that reflect the Nordic wilderness, playing with light, shadow, and the coexistence of human activity with the untamed terrain. In a similar meditation on transience, Xie Qi captures the delicate beauty of a fallen flower, likening it to a celestial body and finding parallels between the macrocosm and the microcosm. Meanwhile, the rich painted worlds of Ali Banisadr thread together historical and mythical references to, over time, reveal universal truths.
Elsewhere, artists turn their focus to present-day social narratives. JR's multimedia installation Déplacé.e.s sheds light on the forced displacement of refugee children; Julian Charrière’s conceptual photo installation examines California’s complex relationship with oil extraction; and Hun Kyu Kim’s allegorical paintings depict apocalyptic worlds populated by anthropomorphic beasts, reflecting the turbulence of our time.
The booth will also exhibit a selection of artworks by Gabriel de la Mora, Aryo Toh Djojo, Bernard Frize, Nick Goss, Laurent Grasso, Thilo Heinzmann, Gregor Hilderbrandt, Susumu Kamijo, Izumi Kato, Jason Boyd Kinsella, Koak, Lee Bae, Nikki Maloof, Barry McGee, Jin Meyerson, MSCHF, Tomoko Nagai, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Qi Zhuo, Mark Ryden, Marty Schnapf, and Xiyao Wang.
In the Art Basel Film sector, Laurent Grasso’s Orchid Island presents a seemingly pristine landscape in the Hudson River School style, yet it is overshadowed by an enigmatic black rectangle hovering above. Drawing on the artist’s long-standing interest in mysticism and science, Grasso weaves together historical references and futuristic visions to craft a "false historical memory" that challenges our perception of linear time. Filmed on Taiwan’s remote Orchid Island—the sole nuclear waste storage site in the region—the work also prompts contemplation on themes of development, pollution, and the profound interconnectedness of all things.
Concurrent with Vapors, the solo show of Emma Webster at Perrotin Hong Kong gallery, the artist will unveil at the booth Hunter’s Garden, a large-scale landscape painting, demonstrating her distinctive approach of blending virtual and physical media to create an immersive spectacle. Her solo show will be on view from 25 March to 17 May 2025.
