Art Basel Hong Kong director bullish on art market's resurgence in Asia and 'energy' of Korean scene

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Art Basel Hong Kong director bullish on art market's resurgence in Asia and 'energy' of Korean scene

Published: 22 Jan. 2026, 13:18 Updated: 22 Jan. 2026, 18:32

LEE JIAN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Art Basel Hong Kong Director Angelle Siyang-Le [ART BASEL]

[Interview]

Art Basel Hong Kong director Angelle Siyang-Le said she is bullish about the upcoming edition of the fair, citing renewed confidence in the global art market after a difficult few years.

“What has been very positive is that in Q4 of 2025, we saw an uptake in the art market. The year as a whole actually ended on a high note,” Siyang-Le said in a video interview on Monday.

The global art market has been slow to recover since the Covid-19 pandemic. With art sales down 12 percent in 2024, according to the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, 2025 had a shaky start. The downturn persisted into the year, with the three major auction houses — Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips — recording an average sales decline of 6 percent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Siyang-Le, however, argued that momentum has since returned.

“The New York auctions [that kicked off in mid-January] were breaking records and had already generated new confidence in the market,” she said. “Established galleries continued to bring heavy hitters to the fair, including million-dollar works. The highest recorded was a $15 million Frida Kahlo, which was a very important moment for the art world, showing that art fairs still hold significant weight.”

That confidence, she added, has carried into the new year.

“We definitely feel the market has become a bit more stable from Q4 into Q1 of 2026, and there is more confidence overall.”

Booths at Art Basel Hong Kong's 2025 edition which ran from March 26 to 30 at the Hnog Kong Convention and Exhbition Centre. [ART BASEL]

Siyang-Le also pointed to mainland China as a key pillar of the Asian art market, noting that its overall transaction volume remains large compared to other regions in Asia, and that the number of new collectors entering the market remains “very strong.”

“Internally, the Chinese art market is also being reshaped domestically,” she said. “The arts ecosystem in mainland China is shifting, particularly with private museums and private collections. Rather than focusing solely on acquisitions, many are now placing greater emphasis on collaborations with galleries. This kind of collaboration is not entirely new, but it has become much more visible and has definitely increased across the board, especially after Covid.”

Art Basel Hong Kong is Asia’s largest art fair, drawing between 80,000 and 90,000 visitors annually. This year’s edition, running from March 27 to 29, will bring together 240 galleries from 41 countries.

Siyang-Le joined Art Basel Hong Kong’s operations team in 2012 and was appointed director in 2022.

The 2026 fair, in particular, will introduce several new initiatives, most notably “Echoes,” a new sector spotlighting mid-tier galleries and artists through focused presentations of works created within the past five years.

“We recognize that this tier of galleries and artists is critically important to the ecosystem and in need of greater support,” Siyang-Le said.

A view of Art Basel Hong Kong 2025, which ran from March 26 to 30 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. [ART BASEL]

Another anticipated highlight is the fair’s “Encounters” sector, dedicated to large-scale installations, sculptures and performances, which will be curated this year for the first time by an all-Asian curatorial team: Mami Kataoka, Isabella Tam, Alia Swastika and Hirokazu Tokuyama.

More than 20 Korean galleries are set to participate in this year's fair. Siyang-Le believes Korean artists and galleries continue to provide momentum for both the Asian and global art markets.

“In terms of new artists, I feel that in the first 10 years, Korea has always been a core educational element for international audiences, and it has played an important role,” she said. “In the second decade in Asia, Korea is now offering new energy — with artists, collectors and younger curators entering the scene — and helping to lead that momentum.”

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]