After attaining a Fine Arts degree from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts Academy in Istanbul (one of the best Fine Arts Universities), Mertim Gokalp moved to Sydney, Australia and set up his studio in Balmain. He uses figurative art to reflect the true psychological states of his subjects, resulting in often quite confrontational work that is sure to get you thinking! We love the use of a more traditional medium with contemporary subject matter, which is challenging and sure to make you look a little closer…

Another painter that you have to check out is Doan Xuan Tang, who expertly blends Vietnamese culture and his own personal experiences into his contemporary artwork. Inspired by the ‘romanticism and mystery of the Vietnamese highlands’, Tang’s work plays with notions of identity using both subject matter and a technique that gives a blurred effect to the surface of his paintings. Having won the Nokia Asia Pacific Art award in 2001, Tang is one Vietnamese artist to keep an eye on.

If you love vibrant colour, you’ll love the work by Argentinian artist Claudia Ferrari. Her works are bursts of beautiful colour using a Japanese technique ‘Sumi-e’ and inks made from natural flower-derived dyes and rice paper. Mixing influences from the East and the West with South American flair, her abstract pieces are favourites of ours and we can’t wait to see them in person at the show.

It’s the wild, wild West! Lydia Janssen’s dynamic artwork references this violent period in American history, using animal forms, limbs and sense of movement. She’s also heavily influenced by her previous experience as a dancer, which she turned away from after suffering knee injuries. The abstract compositions are fluid and use a variety of mediums such as oil paint, pastel and charcoal to create this sense of motion. We love trying to pick out the shapes in her work and her use of colour.

As a member of the Korean Fine Arts Association and as a professor in the department of Design and Image at Baekseok University, Lee Youngha has a solid background in the art world. If you love art with pop-culture references, then some of his amazing ‘double’ paintings are sure to take your fancy… that’s right, Youngha manages to create two images in on one canvases by using his own specially made ribbed canvases. With angles at every five millimetres, he’s able to paint two different images on these carefully created canvases. Depending on what angle you’re at, you can see an old or a young Audrey Hepburn – it’s all about which perspective you’re looking at it from.

Head on over to the Conrad Hong Kong for the Asia Contemporary Art Show from Friday, 16 September – Sunday, 18 September, 2016 to check out these five extraordinary artists and their work, amongst many others. Discover new artists, reconnect with more established ones and meet other like-minded art lovers at this hub of creativity… we’ll see you there, Sassy Girls!

Specially priced advance-purchase online tickets are on sale now for $220, and you can bring a friend for free (tickets at the door are $220 per person). Includes access to Friday ART Night on Friday, 16 September with a complimentary drink; plus multiple access Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets available here or at the hotel main lobby.  

www.asiacontemporaryart.com