The Asian Contemporary Art Fair was a contemporary art

Contemporary art

Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...

 fair

Fair

A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...

 held annually in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The first fair took place November 8–12, 2007. The second Asian Contemporary Art Fair occurred November 6–10, 2008.

The Asian Contemporary Art Fair (ACAF) was hosted by AsianArtWorks, a Korean company with offices in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

 and New York. The fair’s primary sponsor

Sponsor

To sponsor something is to support an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. A sponsor is the individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor.-Definition:...

 was the Korean engineering company HNC.

Asian Contemporary Art Fair 2007

ACAF 2007 was the first art fair dedicated to Asian contemporary art to be held in New York City. It included 81 exhibitors from China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 and the United States. The fair was held at New York’s Pier 92 at 52nd Street and 12th Avenue.

The opening night preview reception was on November 8 with a performance by Korean-born dancer Sin Cha Hong

Sin Cha Hong

Sin Cha Hong is a noted modern dancer, choreographer, vocalist, and writer from South Korea. She is acknowledged as South Korea's first avant-garde dancer, and has been credited as that nation's premier performance artist....

.

As well as the exhibiting galleries, the fair’s program included panel discussions, such as Robert Storr

Robert Storr

-Education:Robert Storr received his B.A. in History and French from Swarthmore College in 1972, and earned an M.F.A. in Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1978.-Career:...

 in dialogue with Xu Bing

Xu Bing

Xu Bing is a Chinese-born artist, resident in the United States since 1990. He currently resides in Beijing.-Biography:...

, and a special exhibition, “Simulasian: Refiguring ‘Asia’ for the 21st Century,” curated by Eric C. Shiner and Lilly Wei. Performances by artists Frank Fu, Cai Qing, and Qiu Zhijie

Qiu Zhijie

Qiu Zhijie is a contemporary Chinese artist who works primarily in video and photography. Overall, Qiu Zhijie's work suggests the struggle between the forces of destiny and self-assertion. Other common themes are social fragmentation and transience.Zhijie was born in 1969 in Fujian province. In...

 and the Long March Project were also held throughout the fair’s duration.

Participating Galleries 2007:

• 1918 ArtSPACE, Shanghai
• 2x13 Gallery, New York
• 798 Avant Gallery, New York
• AHL Foundation, New York
• Aicon Gallery, New York/Palo Alto/London
• Alexander Ochs Galleries, Berlin/Beijing
• Amelia Johnson Contemporary, Hong Kong
• Arario Gallery, Cheonan, Beijing/Seoul/New York
• Art Vietnam Gallery, Hanoi
• ATM Gallery, New York
• Aura Gallery, Hong Kong/Shanghai
• Author Gallery, Shanghai
• Base Gallery, Tokyo
• Beatrice Chang Contemporary Art, Inc., New York
• Cais Gallery, Seoul
• Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, New York
• ChinaSquare, New York
• Chosun Art Gallery, Seoul
• Ego Gallery, Jakarta
• Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, New York
• Frederieke Taylor Gallery, New York
• Galerie Bhak, Seoul
• Galerie Caprice Horn, Berlin
• Galerie 89 Eyety Nine, Paris
• Galerie Kashya Hildebrand, Zurich
• Galerie Teo, Tokyo
• Gallery Artlink, Seoul
• Gallery Artside, Beijing/Seoul
• Gallery Espace, New Delhi
• Gallery Hirota Bijutsu, Tokyo
• Gallery Ihn, Seoul
• Gallery Kong, Seoul
• Gallery Q, Tokyo
• Gallery Terra Tokyo, Tokyo
• Gallery Touch Art, Paju
• Gallery Tsubaki, Tokyo
• Gallery Yamaguchi, Tokyo
• Gallery Yeh, Seoul
• Gana Art Gallery, Seoul
• Goedhuis Contemporary, London/Beijing/New York
• Hakgojae Gallery, Seoul
• Hino Gallery, Tokyo
• HNC Culture, Beijing/Seoul
• Hosane, Shanghai
• Interart Channel, Seoul/New York
• Iroom Gallery, Paju
• Jean Art Gallery, Seoul
• Jeff Cain Collection, Los Angeles
• Kimjaesun Gallery, Busan
• Kimyoungseob Photo Gallery, Seoul
• Krampf Gallery, New York
• Kukje Gallery, Seoul
• Leehwaik Gallery, Seoul
• Lillian Heidenberg Fine Art, New York
• Mem, Osaka
• Moca China, Hong Kong
• Nichido Contemporary Art, Tokyo
• Nodo Contemporary, Nagoya
• Olyvia Oriental, London
• One and J. Gallery, Seoul
• Parkryusook Gallery, Seoul
• Ping’s Gallery, Tapei
• PYO Gallery, Seoul
• Red Gate Gallery, Beijing
• Rho Gallery, Seoul
• Sanshang Art, Hangzhou
• Seomi & Tuus Gallery, Seoul
• SHiNE Art Space, Shanghai
• Sotheby’s, New York
• Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York/Beverly Hills
• Susan Eley Fine Art, New York
• Taguchi Fine Art, Ltd., Tokyo
• Taipei Cultural Center, New York
• Tenri Cultural Institute, New York
• The Newgate East, Seoul
• The Tolman Collection of Tokyo, Tokyo/New York/Shanghai
• Today Art Museum, Beijing
• Tokyo Gallery + Btap, Tokay/Beijing
• Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi
• Wellside Gallery, Seoul/Shanghai
• Zendai MoMA, Shanghai

Asian Contemporary Art Fair 2008

The second ACAF was held from November 6–10, 2008, at Pier 92. It had 62 exhibitors from Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, China, England, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Switzerland, Taiwan, Vietnam and the United States.

An opening night reception was held on November 6. It included a fashion show by Angel Chang and performance artwork by Yibin Tian.

The fair commissioned two special exhibitions, one from Central Asia and the Middle East, and one from China. “Given Difference,” curated by Charles Merewether, examined art from Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, and Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

. “My Bone, Flesh and Skin,” curated by Feng Boyi

Feng Boyi

Feng Boyi is an eminent independent art curator and critic in China. He has been assistant editor of the China Artists' Association newsletter Artist's Communication since 1988...

, brought together the work of five young contemporary Chinese artists who used the body as a subject for exploring contemporary states of existence.

Participating Galleries 2008:

• 2x13 Gallery, Seoul
• 798 Avant Gallery, New York
• A Thousand Plateau Art Space, Chengdu
• Aibo Fine Asian Art, Purchase
• Art for All Society, Macau
• Art Seasons, Beijing
• Art Vietnam, Hanoi
• Artside, Seoul/Beijing
• Base Gallery, Tokyo
• Bengal Gallery of Fine Art, Dhaka
• CCA Gallery, New York
• China Blue, Beijing
• China Previews Gallery, New York
• Chinese Contemporary, New York/Beijing/London
• East Asia Contemporary, Shanghai
• Eli Klien Fine Art, New York
• Exhibit A, New York
• Feizi Gallery, Shanghai
• Frederieke Taylor Gallery, New York
• Galeria Bellarte, Seoul
• Galeria Dolores de Sierra, Madrid
• Galerie Hussenot, Paris
• Galerie Lansar, Switzerland
• Gallery 456 – Chinese American Arts Council, New York
• Gallery Beyond, Mumbai
• Gallery Terra, Tokyo
• Iberia Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing
• IFA, Shanghai
• InfraRed Art Projects, Hong Kong/Paris
• Ippodo Gallery, Tokyo/New York
• Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, New York
• Jean Art Gallery, Seoul
• Johyun Gallery, Seoul/Busan
• Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York
• Lillian Heidenberg Fine Art, New York
• Linda Gallery, Jakarta/Singapore/Beijing/Shanghai
• Magee Gallery, Beijing/Madrid
• Max Protetch, New York
• Paris-Beijing Photo Gallery, Beijing
• PYO Gallery, Seoul/Beijing/Los Angeles
• Red Gate, Beijing
• Redlips Studio, Sydney
• Regis Krampf, New York
• Shanghai Zendai Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai
• Sheng Ling Gallery, Shanghai
• Shiseido HATANAKA, Tokyo
• Silverlens Gallery, Manila
• Sohn Wook Gallery, Gyeongju
• Studio Rouge, Shanghai
• Sundaram Tagore, New York
• T Space, Beijing
• Taipei Cultural Center, New York
• THE Gallery, New York
• Tibetan Bridge, New York
• Today Art Museum, Beijing
• Tolman Collection, New York
• TS1, Beijing
• UCCA, Beijing
• Vietnamese Contemporary Fine Art, New York
• White Box, New York
• Xerxes Fine Art, London
• Yamashita Gallery, Tokyo

Attendance and Reception

In 2007 approximately 25,000 people attended ACAF. Sales were reported as "steady". The fair received mostly positive reviews from a critical standpoint. Ken Johnson

Ken Johnson (art critic)

Ken Johnson is an American art critic who lives in New York. Johnson is a writer for the arts pages of The New York Times, where he covers gallery and museum exhibits....

 wrote of ACAF 2007 in The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, “Fizzy and entertaining on the surface, it has a disquieting underside.”

In 2008 attendance at ACAF was estimated at 30,000 visitors. The theme of the financial crisis and its effects on the art market dominated the fair’s media coverage.

AsianArtWorks closed its offices in 2009.