Galerie Urs Meile is pleased to participate in the 2026 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, presenting a curated selection of artists from its program, including a solo presentation by Vietnamese artist Lêna Bùi as part of the Kabinett sector.

ABOUT ARTISTS : Antonio Ballester Moreno,Lêna Bùi,Cai Dongdong,Chen Sixin,Chen Zuo,Klodin Erb,Guo Tiantian,Hu Qingyan,Ju Ting,Miao Miao,Rosalind Nashashibi,Qiu Shihua,Shao Fan,Loredana Sperini,Rebekka Steiger,Wang Xingwei,Wiedemann/Mettler,Xie Nanxing,Yan Bingqing,Yang Mushi,Zhang Shujian,Zhang Xuerui

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Guo Tiantian’s (b. 1988, Hunan, China) practice focuses on the temporality of painting, the physicality of material, and the poetic resonance of bodily perception, providing a synesthetic experience for audiences through muted color palettes and the symbolic content of strings and notes. Rather than dissolving the dichotomy between traditional Chinese craftsmanship and Western modern aesthetics, her practice becomes a form of “future archaeology.” She is reexamining the extensive history of lacquer while integrating it with her personal emotional and physical experiences. Such methodology converts lacquer from static cultural heritage into an active site of exploration. The resulting multilayered surfaces merge her self-consciousness with reflections on nature and history. Ju Ting (b. 1983, Shandong, China) employs printmaking processes to create works that blur the boundary between painting and sculpture. Her works are distinguished by the application of multiple layers of thick acrylic paint on wooden panels, which she allows to accumulate to substantial density before carving into them. This practice transforms the cold and industrial medium into something tactile and unexpectedly organic. Working in series, Ju extends conceptual threads from one body of work to the next, maintaining continuity while opening new discursive possibilities. Ju interrogates bodily experiences that challenge entrenched patriarchal narratives within art history and contemporary society. Miao Miao (b. 1986, Henan, China) focuses on painting and the study of art materials. Her practice examines the intersection of interiority and exteriority in daily life, where color, form, and literary references subtly challenge conventional painting approaches. She is fascinated by capturing fragments of daily life and rearranging them into an imaginative visual world infused with spontaneity and whimsy. Her experience of working at a pigment company has refined her sensitivity to color and material. By employing a range of media, such as wax, pigment, acrylic, and oil paints, on canvas, wood panels, and paper, Miao’s composition of works resembles an enchanting visual kaleidoscope with meticulous internal structure. Her practice also offers a unique personal reflection on urban existence, memory, and the physical properties of materials themselves. Rosalind Nashashibi (b. 1973, London, UK) works across painting and filmmaking, raising questions concerning the nature of intimacy and the shifting dynamics of human relationships over time. Her paintings capture fleeting, dreamlike moments drawn from everyday experience, while her films unfold through non-linear structures punctuated by manifestations of power relations and collective histories. Nashashibi opens space for reflection on socio-political conditions while encouraging audiences to form intuitive and personal connections with the work. Shao Fan’s (b. 1964, Beijing, China) practice encompasses paintings, sculptures and installations that explore the interconnectedness of nature and human beings from a Taoist perspective. In his recent ink paintings, Shao transforms everyday subjects, such as apes, into sites of sustained philosophical reflection, where repetition becomes both a visual structure and a contemplative practice. Thousands of repetitive brushstrokes, alternating between articulating and dissolving parts of the old ape, create a mysterious yet exploratory image that recalls the intertwined forces of the divine and the human. Furthermore, Shao’s furniture sculptures, reassembled from ancient Chinese furniture fragments and Page 2/3 imbued with contemporary geometrical sensibilities, reveal the shifting philosophical and cultural conditions in modern China. Through traditional techniques and everyday subjects, Shao Fan embeds Chinese cultural memory within a distinctly contemporary context. Yan Bingqing’s (b. 1983, Shanghai, China) works are characterized by everyday motifs and over- exaggerated representations of human figures. Yan frequently depicts nude bodies, which emphasize rhythmic movement and corporeal curves. Drawing inspiration from scenes of everyday life, such as children playing with animals, he creates jolly, fable-like images that balance humor and emotional immediacy. Working in tempera, a prominent medium from the late medieval to the early Renaissance periods, his works incorporate non-linear perspective and historical formal language into contemporary narratives. Yan's paintings combine visual references from the Renaissance era with contemporary subjects, creating a unique visual identity that balances art-historical awareness with emotional intimacy. Galerie Urs Meile Beijing will present the artist’s first solo exhibition in May. Zhang Shujian (b. 1987, Hunan, China) draws from historical imagery and reinterprets it through staged compositions and dramatic studio lighting. Inspired by artists such as Dürer and Leonardo da Vinci, he focuses on the human face, isolating and extracting details that are often overlooked. By exaggerating flaws that are usually considered awkward or unsettling, Zhang heightens the tension between reality and fiction, examining the complexity of both the human figure and its embedded cultural symbolism. Faces in his paintings become intricately woven surfaces, meticulously rendered and laden with psychological weight, demonstrating a sharp contrast to the standardized uniformity of industrial production. His figures appear both familiar and fantastical, challenging the assumption that realism cannot sustain a critical presence in contemporary art. Galerie Urs Meile will present the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery at its Zurich space in 2027. Kabinett Lêna Bùi (b. 1985, Da Nang, Vietnam) observes how human existence is intertwined with its surrounding environment. For the Kabinett sector, Bùi presents a series of layered silk paintings and an installation inspired by Thu Thiem—once hailed as the “crown jewel of Ho Chi Minh City’s new urban area”, now shaped by pockets of “new cities”, disputes, stalled development, and returning nature. Playing with concrete spacers, steel rebar, aluminum, and copper wire, widely used in construction, and the image of the prevalent Earth God, she alludes to mass development, the changing perception of land, and the different entities occupying a space. Bùi’s work reflects on faith, dreams, and the unseen forces that guide human experience. The process of making work for her is a process of forming questions and articulating yearnings.

Our Hong Kong fair features premier galleries from Asia and beyond. It provides an in-depth overview of Asia-Pacific's astonishing diversity, as well as global artistic perspectives through Modern and contemporary works.

mpefm HONG KONG fair art press release