Art Central 2018

26.03 – 01.04

Laurent Martin ‘Lo’, Cristina Moroño, Carlos Aguirre, María García-Ibáñez, Javier León Pérez, Mariasun Salgado, Ventoso

Puerta Roja will return to Art Central following the successful participations in the fair’s 2015 and 2016 editions. The gallery will showcase works that highlight Puerta Roja’s distinct focus on untraditional mediums that defy  rigid definitions of art. The booth curation will revolve around Spanish-based artist Laurent Martin ‘Lo’ and his iconic bamboo sculptures as well as works by Carlos Aguirre, María García-Ibáñez, Javier León Pérez, Mariasun Salgado, Ventoso and a brand-new series of artworks by Hong Kong-based Spanish artist Cristina Moroño. From gravity-defying bamboo sculptures, collages resignifying Hong Kong’s old art publications, to intricate works on paper, each work conveys a distinct and unique artistic approach.

At booth B02, a highlight piece will be “Floating Tea House” a large-scale bamboo installation especially created by “Lo” for the Wu Yuan Arts and Culture Centre in Taiwan. This large mobile dome-like installation was produced in 2017 following the artist’s collaboration with the Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute. It is a result of the artist’s several-months-long travels throughout the country where he imparted lessons to emerging contemporary artists and craftsmen and incorporated in his practice new approaches to treating bamboo native to Taiwan.

To continue the spirit of cross-cultural collaborations, Puerta Roja is teaming up with Soluna Fine Art, featuring three Korean artists in the “Floating Tea House” installation. Ceramics artist Kanghyo Lee, furniture artist Jihoon Ha, and textile artist Geum-seong Kang(VINN) are all masters of their craft who advance traditional practices with contemporary interpretations

Another highlight is Cristina Moroño’s latest work, where she applies bamboo pulp directly onto the surface of large canvases that are embedded with pages from old Chinese art theory books, thus creating stunning collages merging Eastern and Western influences. The unfamiliar scripts are infused into a soft and expressive field, where the artist assembles an abstract space exploring her personal experience of migration.

Adriana Alvarez-Nichol, founder of Puerta Roja and the new Co-President of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, says: “We are thrilled to return to Art Central with a diverse roaster of artists from Mexico, Argentina and Spain. The focus on works by Laurent Martin “Lo” and Cristina Moroño reflects how the gallery brings diversity to the Hong Kong art scene whilst highlighting our roots in the city by presenting both artists’ works inspired and developed in Asia.”

Laurent Martin “Lo” and Cristina Moroño, who lives and works in Hong Kong, will be present at the fair.