Art Taipei ended its 22nd instalment with solid sales and 47,000 visitors, but there were many complaints by galleries about poor organisation by the Taiwan Art Gallery Association and reports of dampened customer confidence.
“It’s a tough year for all Art Taipei’s galleries due to weak economics and volatile politics,” says Huang Yaji, a partner at Aura Gallery.
This year’s fair had 168 galleries, up from 145 in 2014, including 86 overseas participants (mostly regional and Japanese), of which 38 were new.
One of Asia’s oldest events of its type, Art Taipei faces intense competition from Art Basel Hong Kong and a proliferation of new fairs, particularly in mainland China. Amid a range of styles on show, a number of small, young, cutting-edge Asian galleries stood out. It is galleries such as these that may get omitted or overlooked at the big Hong Kong and mainland fairs.
Emerson Wang, Art Taipei’s executive director, says: “We don’t want to be the biggest fair in Asia, but the most important … Art Basel Hong Kong is international, while Art Taipei is the international Asian art fair.”