Lévy Gorvy has become the latest art gallery to launch a brick-and-mortar space in Hong Kong. In recent years, Western mega-galleries including Pace, David Zwirner, Gagosian, and Hauser & Wirth have all ramped up their presence in the city.
Lévy Gorvy’s new 2,500-square foot space will open in March 2019 inside the historic St. George’s building in central Hong Kong to coincide with the seventh annual Art Basel Hong Kong fair.
The gallery has been making a steady expansion eastward to take advantage of the growing market in Asia. In September 2017, it announced plans for an office in Shanghai, a strategy that appeared to be a lower risk entry point than opening a full-blown gallery. Now, it’s taking a more public-facing step.
The gallery’s senior director of Asia, Danqing Li, who already heads the Shanghai office, will lead the Hong Kong space as well. Lévy Gorvy will present exhibitions devoted to modern, postwar, and contemporary art there, and provide private consulting to clients across the region.
The gallery already works with Asian artists including Zao Wou-ki, Seung-taek Lee, Tsuyoshi Maekawa, and Chung Sang-Hwa. It has been a repeat exhibitor at Art Basel Hong Kong since the fair’s inception. Notably, at last year’s edition, the gallery brought Willem de Kooning’s painting Untitled XII (1975), a consignment from the late Seattle billionaire and philanthropist Paul Allen priced at $35 million, which sold on the first day of the fair.
St. George’s building in Hong Kong is the site of Lévy Gorvy’s new gallery.
Image courtesy of Lévy Gorvy
In a statement, the gallery said Hong Kong will serve as the “third pillar” of its business, equal in stature to its spaces in New York and London. Architect Bill Katz is designing the space, which will feature 13-foot ceilings and private viewing rooms, a library, and a research center for advisory services, and office space.
Lévy Gorvy has experienced “significant business growth” since opening the Shanghai office, Danqing said. The new space will provide “a physical platform to better serve our clients and to create exciting programs for our international audience.”
The gallery also announced the addition of Serena Chien to its Asia team as a business representative in the growing market hub of Taiwan. She will be dedicated to sales, client development, and advisory services. Chien formerly worked at Sotheby’s and Whitestone Gallery, both in Taipei.
“Over the last twenty years, members of our team have developed strong relationships with collectors and institutions throughout Asia, and have brought these connections to the culture of our gallery,” Gorvy said in a statement. “The opening of our Asia headquarters with this unique Hong Kong space further formalizes our commitment to this incredibly important region. It is a constantly expanding and growing market of very sophisticated collectors who enjoy engagement with a gallery that is both international and at the same time very focused on the needs and perspectives of an Asian clientele.”