Asia Now Paris 2023
Ora-Ora is pleased to announce its participation in the 9th edition of Asia NOW, which takes place in Paris in October 2023. This edition marks Ora-Ora’s second showing at Asia NOW following the gallery’s successful début at last year’s fair.
In the words of Ora-Ora CEO and co-founder Henrietta Tsui-Leung: “Asia NOW 2023 marks our commitment to bringing the best artists right to the heart of Europe. 2023 is our second consecutive appearance here, and we’re delighted to be returning to Paris. It will be a time of freshness and two débuts: welcoming William Lim, and our first fair with AI artist, Genesis Kai.”
Ora-Ora announced its representation of renowned Hong Kong architect and artist William Lim in July 2023, and Asia NOW 2023 will be Lim’s first showing with the gallery. Seven new paintings from his Balcony Series (2023) will be presented, which depict scenes from the balcony of the artist’s home, overlooking Hong Kong's Happy Valley. The works also explore a number of psychological insights, and a sense of looking within as well as outwards. Additionally, the works capture meteorological and temporal conditions of the skies over Hong Kong at the time of shimmering heat, threatening typhoons and gathering rain clouds. The artist names Gauguin, Cézanne and Bonnard as influences, among others. Additionally, the angular lines, reminiscent of Le Corbusier, underline the artist’s architectural background: Lim twice represented Hong Kong at the Venice Biennale’s Architectural Exhibition.
At Asia NOW 2023, Ora-Ora’s dedication to intellectual curiosity and artistic innovation is embodied both in human and non-human form. Showing for the first time with Ora-Ora at an art fair is AI artist Genesis Kai. Genesis Kai has already made history at Asia NOW. In 2022, Genesis Kai was the only artist out of 280 to be granted permission by Asia NOW and the Monnaie de Paris to present an installation (titled Manifest) in one of the original rooms of the palace. In 2023, Genesis Kai returns to Paris. She will be presenting two new works from The Red Prayer of Park Young Sook's Moon Jar (2023). The ongoing series of 10 portraits of Genesis is executed in UV print on organic Hanji paper, and addresses Korean cultural, historical and religious traditions. Each portrait is of the same size and shape and depicts various bodies of water surrounding a moon jar, contextualizing the meaning of prayer, truth and longing. Having shown the first two in the series at Ora-Ora’s “Buds that May” group show earlier this year, parts III and IV will be unveiled at Asia NOW.
Hong Kong-based artist Sophie Cheung is participating for the second year with Ora-Ora at Asia NOW. Her art is characterized by the creative use of materials (primarily erasers, pens and newspapers), her investigation of time, memory, neurological divergence, and the expression of cultural identity through erasing, painting and the medium of ink. Closely affected by the changing dynamics of the city of Hong Kong, her work is infused with notions of transience and permanence, and explores feelings of regret, anxiety and optimism about her surroundings. She will be presenting four artworks, including two never-before-seen: Erasing News: In-betweenness I & II (2023). Her new works are deeply personal, containing memories of her personal history of growing up in Hong Kong.
