Art Edition offers affordable way to own artwork

Do you want to display a work of art in your home but feel discouraged by the price tag?

Don’t be. Even if you’re on a tight budget, there is a way to have art on your wall.

The Art Edition, an emerging art fair that specializes in prints and photography, will present affordable print editions of artworks during its second edition from March 13-16 in the Asian art hub of Hong Kong. 

The art fair, organized by the Asia Hotel Art Fair and the Korea Print Photography Promotion Association, features some 6,000 print editions by young and established artists from more than 30 galleries in Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and the U.S.

The works will be displayed in guestrooms on the seventh and eighth floor of the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel & Harbour City. Prices range from $450 to $14,520.

“All works are individually signed by artists and numbered. Print editions are more affordably priced than the originals,” said Choi Jae-bum, manager of the KPPPA.

“The fair is still in its infancy and it was hard to explain the concept of print editions during our first year,” he added.

Print editions are copies of original artworks that have the same colors and tones and are signed by artists in pencil. Each piece is individually numbered.

Some of the highlights this year include “The American Dream,” print edition No. 395, by Robert Indiana and the lithograph and screen print of “Horsefeathers Thirteen IV,” No. 89, by Robert Rauschenberg.

Along with household names, print editions of works of young artists will be on view under the BELT Project, which aims to present to a global audience print editions of the works of Korean artists who mainly create printworks, photography and media works.

“The fair attempts to promote young Korean artists abroad. Last year, almost all their print editions were sold because the prices were more approachable than other works,” said Choi.

More special exhibitions will be held alongside the art fair.

Photographs, prints and sculptures by Korean artists will be shown in the hotel and other venues, including Gallery by the Harbour, Atrium II at Gateway Arcade. The Art Edition will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on March 13 and from noon to 8 p.m. from March 14-16.

The Art Edition is sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Arts Council Korea. It is an offshoot of the Seoul International Print, Photo Art Fair, which began in 1995 in Seoul.

For more information, visit www.artedition.kr or www.facebook.com/artedition.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)