Art Basel opens in Hong Kong

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Art Basel is on the move again, opening shortly in Hong Kong, where Dublin's Kerlin Gallery will have a booth. (See John Varoli's article on the Miami edition of Art Basel in Cassone, February 2014.)

At Art Basel Hong Kong 2014, Kerlin Gallery will present new works by Dorothy Cross, Mark Francis, Liam Gillick, Samuel Laurence Cunnane, Brian Maguire, and William McKeown; 15 – 18 May (L3, Hall 3C, Booth 16).

Central to this year’s presentation is the work of the Irish artist Brian Maguire. A fiercely expressive painter, Maguire’s work essentially emerges from social and political situations and approaches painting as a gesture of solidarity. He says he feels compelled by the raw realities of humanity’s violence against itself, and the potential for justice. Since 2010, his work has focused on the Mexican city of Juarez, addressing the phenomenon of femicide – the killing of women ostensibly because theyare women. Of the work, Maguire states:

My purpose is to show respect to the victims of violence, to remove all the easy rationalizations which excuse, cover over, and protects us from this reality. As the man is dead, the painting keeps his death in the present. The absence of justice demands this act.

Maguire has shown consistently in Europe and the USA with participation in shows in Korea, China and Japan. In 2000, a major retrospective toured from Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane to Contemporary Art Museum, Houston USA. He has presented many one-person shows with Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, the most recent being 2009 and 2011. Further exhibitions include Dublin Contemporary (2012); European Parliament, Brussels (2012); Visual, Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow (2013); 25th Sao Paulo Bienal (2002), amongst others. His work is held in numerous collections including Museum of Fine Art Houston, USA; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; Dublin City Gallery - The Hugh Lane; Alvar Aalto Museum, Finland; Gemeentemuseum, Den Hague, Netherlands; Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK; and Crawford Municipal Gallery, Cork.

You can visit Kerlin Gallery’s booth at Art Basel Hong Kong  (L3, Hall 3C, Booth 16)