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Asian Art in Focus: Asian Art Contemporary at HIAF 2025
From November 14–16, 2025 (Beijing), Horizon International Art Fair—presented by Art Horizon Co., Ltd. at MGM Shanghai West Bund—introduced its inaugural hotel-based edition under the theme “Art for Everyone, Everywhere.” Rooted in the belief that art should extend beyond gallery walls and into the rhythms of daily life, HIAF 2025 positioned itself not merely as an art fair but as an innovative, shared artistic experience. The fair brought together 37 galleries and institutions from China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and beyond, along with more than 300 artists ranging from emerging creatives and cross-disciplinary performers to internationally recognized figures. Lived-in hotel spaces were transformed into intimate, immersive environments for artistic dialogue.
The everyday setting of the hotel offered a flexible platform for visual conversations around identity, emotion, and creative freedom—dialogues that transcended generations and national borders. Guest rooms, lounges, and corridors became exhibition sites where visitors did not simply view art but stayed with it, conversed with it, experienced it, and ultimately coexisted with it in a symbiotic way.
Asian Art Contemporary was honored to participate in HIAF as an exhibitor at Booth 51F B05, presenting a curated selection of works by three artists: Jingyi Wang, Apollo Wang, and ZiPu.
Jingyi Wang explores the delicate coexistence between fragility and sharpness. She channels the cactus—its resilience and solitude—as a vessel for expressing emotion and personal perspective. In Greenana, a cactus quietly hides beneath soft, expansive banana leaves. Although seemingly out of place in the humid tropics, it stubbornly continues to grow, much like how people conceal their anxieties beneath the gentleness of daily routines.
In Kaleidoscopic Light, the cactus stands amid the fleeting brilliance of a concert—intersecting beams of light, floating ribbons and confetti, and an atmosphere where music and emotion pulse together. Wang maintains a realist mode of thinking while integrating surrealist techniques, exploring the tension between the subconscious and the real world and seeking spiritual solace amid the pressures of contemporary life.
Apollo Wang’s works are grounded in contemplations and metaphors drawn from an Eastern visual lexicon. Mystery, symbolism, prophecy, and divination permeate his compositions, hinting at an unseen “cosmic order.” Engaging with traditional philosophical inquiry, Wang seeks to uncover an indigenous conception of life and destiny—tracing the subtle cultural codes embedded within it.
His series Rules points to the invisible principles underlying the proliferation of life. Across four works, Wang presents slices of life-forms at different moments in time and space: from their earliest sprouting, to increasing structural complexity, to the expansion of spatial presence, and finally to the emergence of a complete living system. The series attempts to capture the elusive moment of becoming—when energy turns into matter, when simplicity evolves into complexity, and when the one unfolds into the many. Between deconstruction and reconfiguration, between order and chaos, Rules reveals the essence of life’s continuous propagation: an unceasing cycle that follows its own inherent laws across boundless time and space.
ZiPu’s Raw Image Era series reflects the artist’s deep inquiry into traditional painting mediums within the context of the digital age. In today’s visual environment saturated with digital imagery, “raw image” carries a dual meaning: it refers both to the unprocessed image file in digital photography and to the “primal” visual form created through the intersection of digital and traditional media. By reorganizing natural objects, digital tools, and traditional painting methods, ZiPu constructs a unique visual archaeology that reveals how technology shapes our perception of the world.
This series investigates how natural objects are represented in digital media, and how technological frameworks reshape—and often redefine—our understanding of nature.
Horizon International Art Fair was not only an exhibition but also a practice that advanced the deep integration of art and everyday life. By using the hotel as an exhibition site, the fair created an intimate and authentic environment for artistic dialogue. The works presented were not merely displayed—they were heard. Visitors encountered art face-to-face in the most lived-in of settings, experiencing the flow of creative energy in a space that felt personal and real.
(Text by Zhenglin Zhang, Courtesy of Asian Art Contemporary)
Further read:
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Crossing Cities, Cultures, and Media: HIAF 2025 Shapes the Future Horizon of Asian Art
From November 14 to 16, 2025, the Horizon International Art Fair (HIAF 2025) officially opened at the MGM Shanghai West Bund Hotel. As a major highlight of Shanghai’s annual art season, HIAF appeared alongside ART021 and West Bund Art & Design, bringing a cross-cultural, multimedia, and interdisciplinary contemporary art platform to the public during the city’s most vibrant art month. Located on the 51st and 52nd floors of the MGM Shanghai West Bund Hotel (688 Yunjin Road), the fair utilizes the hotel’s private rooms, elevated city views, and flexible spatial layouts to create an immersive viewing experience that bridges everyday life and professional exhibition formats.
As the organizer, Art Horizon positions HIAF 2025 as a “platform where creativity and inspiration transcend borders and artistic categories.” In a globalized context, the fair emphasizes the visibility and discursive agency of Asian art within the international landscape. By inviting galleries, artists, and curatorial teams from China, Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Russia, France, and beyond, HIAF cultivates an art ecology that balances regional diversity with conceptual depth.
The fair presents painting, sculpture, installation, works on paper, moving image, light-based experiments, and cross-media projects—showcasing the latest structural, formal, and conceptual trends in contemporary Asian art. At the same time, HIAF places particular emphasis on emerging voices, supporting young institutions, independent platforms, and interdisciplinary creators as a key part of its curatorial vision, bringing developing artistic languages to international audiences, professionals, and collectors.
The gallery lineup at this year’s HIAF spans two floors, forming a diverse international constellation: from WAS Gallery, AG Gallery, and K.M. ART LAB—each deeply rooted in the Korean art ecosystem—to Crazy Lab, known for its cross-media toy aesthetics; from EBI ART, which focuses on visual texture and subtle narrative, to New York–based Asian Art Contemporary, dedicated to contemporary Asian art discourse; and to LUMINATORS, which explores the structures of light and shadow. Together, they embody the fair’s most representative spirit of international vision and experimental energy.
These galleries not only present their own artistic directions but also form the spiritual core of HIAF 2025: a cross-cultural framework for dialogue, the dynamism of emerging artists, innovations in material language, and contemporary visual narratives unfolding within the unique setting of a hotel space.
WAS Gallery
WAS Gallery presents a contemporary perspective that bridges modernity and experimentation across the Asian and international art markets. Founded in Shanghai and deeply engaged with Korean art, the gallery promotes East Asian contemporary art through exhibitions and cross-cultural collaborations. This presentation brings together works by three artists: Kwon Hyuk’s large-scale acrylic paintings evoke symbolic visual force; Ju Tae Seok uses rhythmic color blocks to reflect inner landscapes; and Lee Don Ah employs lenticular prints to weave historical textures with optical imagery. The works collectively construct an integrated portrait of contemporary Korean art from a cross-cultural perspective.
EBI ART
EBI ART, founded in New York and guided by the belief that “everyone is an artist,” showcases restrained yet tactile contemporary aesthetics rooted in nuanced material practices and cross-cultural creativity. Artists such as Masaki Kanamori, Yuki Matsueda, and Mika Shimauchi explore rhythm, perception, and the energy of form through diverse media. Masaki Kanamori’s Wavelength_Resonance 5!_068 series conveys the pulse of light and shape; Yuki Matsueda’s Emergency Exit 400—Shanghai Edition I blends LED, acrylic, and wood into a sculptural urban symbol. Together, the works generate a unified visual rhythm grounded in materiality, tonal subtlety, and contemporary observation.
AG Gallery
Operated by the Ahngook Foundation, AG Gallery serves as a nonprofit platform supporting young Korean artists through open calls, interdisciplinary collaborations, and arts education. This presentation forms a layered visual matrix: Lee Ju Yeon constructs psychological spaces with abstract lines and color fields; Kim Ki Tae blends ink painting with allegorical structures to develop new modes of narrative. The artworks engage emotion, spatial metaphor, and cultural signification, offering an open, diversified, and critically engaged portrait of emerging Korean contemporary art.
Crazy Lab
Crazy Lab—founded by Malaysian artist James Lee (Jimsee)—bridges toy culture and contemporary art through humorous, playful, and pop-inspired visual languages. Featuring coffee as a medium, everyday symbols, and stylized characters, the works express the moods and rhythms of daily life. This cross-disciplinary approach merges design, aesthetics, and art experience, transforming the booth into an accessible and instantly engaging space for audiences.
K.M. ART LAB
Founded by sculptor Kim Gyoung Min, K.M. ART LAB focuses on material experimentation and sculptural methodology. The booth features works by Kim Gyoung Min, Kwon Chi Gyu, Park Chan Girl, Kim Byung Jin, and Lee Sung Ok, who explore metal, resin, and composite materials across various structural vocabularies. Kim Gyoung Min’s fluid, glossy forms extend bodily sensibilities; Park Chan Girl constructs tension through weighty masses and sharp cuts; Kim Byung Jin and Lee Sung Ok express spatial energy through geometric assemblages. Together, the works form a forward-looking sculptural landscape grounded in research, experimentation, and material intelligence.
LUMINATORS
LUMINATORS, a Shanghai-based creative studio, approaches art through light, energy, and material interaction. The presentation features Jessica Fu, Blaise Schwartz, and Wu Ding. Schwartz’s Europe, Snail, Bat depicts symbolic scenes through oil on wood, merging tranquility with cross-cultural imagination. Other works incorporate refracted light, reflective surfaces, and geometric forms to create immersive sensory environments.
Asian Art Contemporary
Asian Art Contemporary, based in New York, highlights international perspectives on emerging Asian art. Through exhibitions, interviews, and curatorial collaborations, the platform advances global dialogue on Asian contemporary practices. The booth features three artists: Apollo Wang, who uses cardstock and markers to examine order in the everyday; Jingyi Wang, who paints emotional projections of nature within urban life; and ZiPu, who reinterprets “raw image” logics through oil on panel. Their works intersect in material, composition, and theme, offering a sharp contemporary lens on visual culture.
HIAF 2025 is not merely an experiment in hotel-based art fairs—it aims to become a bridge for cultural connection across Asia. Set against the global visibility of the Shanghai art season, the fair provides a new international stage for artists and institutions from Korea, China, and throughout Asia, demonstrating how art can open new possibilities within contemporary life.
With the participation of diverse galleries, institutions, and artists, HIAF is shaping a distinct cultural identity—one that stands at the intersection of art, life, and cross-cultural exchange, creating a truly open and dynamic horizon.
Written by: Jianing Lu, Asian Art Contemporary
Images courtesy of Art Horizon
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Horizon International Art Fair 2025 in MGM Shanghai West Bund
“Art for Everyone, Everywhere.” Art should not exist only within designated spaces—it should be integrated into everyone’s everyday life. As the inaugural edition of a hotel-based art fair, HIAF is not merely an art fair; it is a “shared artistic experience.” This exhibition unfolds within a hotel—a space both everyday and intimate—exploring how artworks are no longer confined to the “white-cube gallery,” but instead become part of people’s living environments. HIAF breaks away from the traditional white-box exhibition model, transforming guest rooms, lounges, corridors, and other diverse spaces into stages for artistic presentation. Through this approach, visitors do not merely “view” art—they may stay, converse, experience, and coexist with art in a symbiotic way.
HIAF 2025 will gather 37 galleries and institutions from China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries and regions, alongside more than 300 artists. The exhibition covers a wide range of media, including painting, photography, installation, sculpture, media art, and art toys and collectibles. From emerging creators and cross-disciplinary performers to internationally renowned artists, HIAF presents a dialogue that crosses generations and national boundaries.
HIAF 2025 will present a series of imaginative and highly creative works by young artists, offering audiences one of the most vibrant contemporary art experiences of the fair. As an international art fair dedicated to promoting deep integration between art and everyday life, HIAF consistently focuses on the growth and expression of the new generation of artists. The fair encourages young creators to respond to current social and cultural contexts through their unique perspectives.
For this edition, HIAF has specially established the Emerging Voices section, inviting rising artists from various countries and regions. By using hotel guest rooms as exhibition spaces, the fair constructs a more intimate and authentic environment for artistic dialogue. HIAF believes that every young artist represents the future of contemporary art. Here, their works are not only “displayed”—they are truly heard. In these living-space environments, visitors have the opportunity to encounter art up close and to experience the energy of creation and the flow of inspiration in the most everyday of settings.
Venue
MGM Shanghai West Bund, 51F & 52F, 688 Yunjin Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai
Art Fair Dates
November 14 – 16, 2025
Opening Hours
VIP Preview
November 14 (Fri) — 11:00–13:00Public Viewing
November 14 (Fri) — 13:00–20:00
November 15 (Sat) — 11:00–20:00
November 16 (Sun) — 11:00–20:00Website
https://www.arthorizonfair.com
(Text and images courtesy of HIAF, Text edit: Zhenglin Zhang, Asian Art Contemporary)
