The tills are ringing, the air is buzzing and the halls are filled with beaming clients, artists and gallery owners here at Art Hong Kong.  In just its third year of operation, Art HK has clearly positioned itself at the top end of the art fair market and collectors are feeling comfortable and confident about purchasing artworks from artists and galleries from across the globe.  In the words of one Australian gallery director "I am selling to INTERNATIONAL clientele".

Hong Kong has the feel of an exotic New York and the economic strength of next door neighbour Mainland China appears to have dispelled any concerns of jittery global stockmarkets.  The Vernissage (opening night) was so highly attended that it was difficult to squeeze down the aisles, let alone stand back and view the artworks with a critical eye.

With the largest number of Australian and New Zealand Galleries in attendance, it is great to see Australian contemporary art sitting so comfortably within the international context of offerings from other galleries.  All the galleries have reported high interest and sales and every gallery director has been at pains to point out that the vast majority of sales have been to non-Australian collectors, indeed they have been to clients from areas as diverse as Asia, Europe, North and South America.  According to Ursula Sullivan (director of Sullivan and Strumpf, Sydney) "Everything we were told has been proven wrong here: we were told not to expect any sales at our first art fair and we were told that anything we did sell would return to Australia".  Every single director has vowed to return next year.  With a rumoured 200 galleries rejected by Art Fair organisers this year, every spot for 2011 will be tightly contested.

Of particular interest was the artwork being shown from the South East Asian region.  Highlights included Indonesian galleries showing the beautiful watercolour artwork of Agus Suwage, the fascinatingly clever and funny sculpture of Jompet and the haunting installation of emerging artist J Ariadhitya Pramuhendra.

Additionally, the video artwork by Thai artist Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook was at the same time witty yet deeply thought provoking as she documents Thai peasant commenting on French Impressionist masterpieces.  Can we appreciate the works of these masters and criticise them if we know nothing of their importance in art history?

If the 21st century is to be the Asian one, then Art Hong Kong is surely the portal for the global art market?  Step on through....