If Art Basel is the Swiss banker of the art world—crisp, calculated, perfectly dapper—then Art Central is its unruly cousin: clutching a pineapple bun in one hand and a kitschy vinyl art toy in the other.
Art Central doesn’t simply orbit Art Basel, Asia’s largest and most prestigious art event, like some lesser moon. It shrugs off the satellite fair label and throws its own party with a rough-around-the-edges charm.
The story kicked off in 2015 when Art Central debuted in a sprawling 10,000-sq.m. tent by Victoria Harbour. It wasn’t meant to be just another fair but positioned itself as a cultural incubator. Founded by the same visionaries behind Art HK (which Art Basel swallowed up in 2011), Art Central aimed to make a ripple, spotlighting Asia-Pacific galleries and offering something less filtered, more experimental, and distinctly younger. Maybe even serving as a kind of bridge: a gateway for neophyte collectors and wide-eyed newcomers finding their footing in the art world.
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In 2015, roughly two-thirds of the galleries came from the Asia-Pacific region, such as Seoul, Manila, Jakarta, and Beijing. It was a deliberate pivot from the Eurocentric, blue-chip circuit: a messy, ambitious attempt to redraw the art world map.
You’d walk in and see Lan Zhenghui’s towering ink paintings not too far from Li Hui’s monumental stainless steel sculpture “The Bridge,” an awe-inspiring meditation on war and peace. Turn a corner, and there’s American multimedia artist Taylor Kuffner’s mechanized Indonesian gongs, known as gamelans.
Fast forward to 2025 and the scene is more vibrant than ever, with an expanding number of galleries and spaces spotlighting video art, installations, and digital media in celebration of Art Central’s tenth anniversary which culminated last March 30.
Philippine art in the spotlight
At the 2025 edition of Art Central, two Manila-based galleries made a strong impression with promising, well-attended exhibitions.
Ysobel Gallery presented “Submergence/Emergence,” a compelling two-person show featuring Sid Natividad and Chelsea Theodossis, two of the Philippines’ most skilled trompe-l’œil painters.
Meanwhile, Vinyl on Vinyl showcased “Our Daily Dread,” a solo presentation of Reen Barrera’s pop surrealist paintings and playfully kitschy, hand-painted objects that were at once poignant and defiantly childlike.
Tokyo-based Whitestone Gallery mounted a group exhibition anchored by Filipino contemporary artist Ronald Ventura, whose work continues to delve into the grotesque, the hyperreal, and the wildly imaginative, drawing from both Philippine and global pop culture.
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A deep dive into the unknown
Ysobel Gallery’s “Submergence/Emergence” is built on a big idea straight out of Joseph Campbell: that we all have to take the plunge, descend into the dark, face the unknown, and claw our way back changed. The show brings together two painters who have taken totally different routes but navigate the same existential territory.
Theodossis gives us rich, symbolic work with paintings that use the abyss as a metaphor for inner chaos, fear, purging, and transformation.
Meanwhile, Natividad comes in with these hyper-realistic images of bubbles rising from deep underwater. They’re based on his own experiences diving, but they hit that deeper, mythic note too, with water as memory, as archetype, as something ancient and infinite.
“Diving is an encounter with the unknown, where fear and possibility converge. It’s like the delicate formation of a bubble beneath the surface—fragile, expanding, shifting, and ultimately fading into the light. Beneath the water, there is a constant tension between holding on and letting go, a fleeting experience of the beauty of the deep blue sea, and the quiet struggle to endure. This endless cycle of rise and descent mirrors the rhythm of existence,” shares Natividad.
The two artists together reflect that same journey downward and inward. Each artist takes a different path, but both are pointing to the same truth: If you want to find anything real, you’ve got to go deep, into the mind, into the sea, into whatever abyss lies before you.
Trompe-l’œil paintings take center stage
As two of the most talented trompe-l’œil painters of their generation, this two-person exhibition also served as a platform to showcase Filipino artistry on an international stage.
“It definitely feels great to present my work at Hong Kong’s Art Central. Participating in international fairs is always a rewarding experience. Not only do I get to engage with the regional and global art scenes, but I also gain valuable insight into how my work fits within a broader context. This is especially meaningful as my current practice explores the concept of the void as a psychological space for purging and transformation,” shares Theodossis.
Mark and Patrice Tiongco, co-founders of Ysobel Gallery, chose to showcase the works of Theodossis and Natividad to frame Filipino contemporary art as not only philosophically profound but also deeply poetic and technically masterful.
“Both artists bring strong narratives and compelling contemporary trompe-l’œil paintings. Their styles are distinct, their photorealistic subjects unique and evocative, and we felt that showcasing them together would powerfully highlight Filipino talent on the international stage,” says Patrice.
Dread has a silver lining
Filipino pop surrealist Barrera’s solo presentation at Art Central delves into a personal confrontation with the psychological state of dread. Trained early on through the restoration of wooden church statues, Barrera now turns to three-dimensional materials to explore the poetics of dread, with objects reflecting a personal investigation into how this emotion intersects with his own social reality.
“‘Our Daily Dread’ is a collection of works in which I explore how our sense of dread can be understood as a skill, one that helps us become more aware of, and more appreciative of, our relationships with the people and things that matter to us. I’ve always been a ‘go with the flow’ kind of person, and it constantly amazes me where a career can take you, as long as you continue to love and respect what you do. I’m trying not to get overwhelmed by how significant this experience is for me, being a part of Art Central, because I want it to serve as inspiration for my future self to continue my journey as an artist,” shares Barrera.
Street art and pop surrealism as DNA
Gaby dela Merced, co-founder of Vinyl on Vinyl alongside Pia Reyes, shares the story behind the gallery’s DNA and its evolution into an alternative cultural hub that originally combined vinyl records, art toys, and contemporary art. She reflects on how the gallery’s early community of advertising creatives, designers, and expats helped shape the distinct artistic identity they continue to champion. These roots also informed their decision to present a solo show by Reen Barrera at Art Central 2025.
“Reen’s pop surrealist language is unmistakably his own: bold, imaginative, and deeply evocative. For our presentation at Art Central, we made a deliberate choice to focus solely on his work. His sculptures and automata, mechanical artworks that incorporate movement, have a singular presence. They command attention, especially in a global fair like Art Central, and stand out in any setting.
In Asia, I’ve noticed that the art ecosystem often places emphasis on pedigree, academic background, and traditional credentials. What’s refreshing about Art Central is the distinct energy it brings—something I haven’t felt at other fairs in the region. It took time to orient collectors to our gallery’s DNA, which is rooted in street art and pop surrealism. In our early years, we attracted a different creative crowd, advertising professionals, graphic designers, and expats, whose tastes helped shape the kind of art we embraced during our formative years,” says Dela Merced.
New generation of collectors
With shifting tides and evolving attitudes in global contemporary art, fairs like Art Central serve not only as platforms for artistic experimentation but also as launchpads and litmus tests for both artists and galleries. The rise of a new generation of collectors brings with it both challenges and opportunities: a chance to engage a younger, more independent-minded art market that is known to be more welcoming toward emerging artists.
Artsy’s Art Market Trends 2025 report written by Arun Kakar reveals that 72 percent of art collectors are drawn to emerging art while 51 percent of galleries acknowledge that emerging artists are among the two most important categories for their business.
“There’s a new generation of collectors who truly understand the kind of art we champion at Vinyl on Vinyl. Many of them started with vinyl art figures, but over time, they developed what we like to call a “collector’s itch”—once it starts, it’s hard to stop. As their tastes evolve, they begin acquiring more serious contemporary paintings and sculptures while still embracing street art and pop surrealism,” says Dela Merced.
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Art Central is in no way perfect. At times, the selection of artworks can feel uneven, and the curatorial vision, ambivalent. But that is part of its scrappy charm. It doesn’t claim to be the definitive art fair. It’s a testing ground—a petri dish, even. A site of discovery not just for collectors and enthusiasts, but for artists and galleries, still stretching, still becoming.
In a city of mirrored towers and market-driven gloss, Art Central dares to feel alive despite the challenges of running a fair in the shadow of the juggernaut that is Art Basel Hong Kong. And in today’s art world, that might just be the most radical thing of all.
