Hanoi prides itself on its 1,000-year history and diverse mix of Chinese, French and Soviet cultural influences.

Despite evidence to the contrary, a network of fair organizers, galleries, so-called tastemakers, and even government bodies in Singapore continue to cultivate an art fair-industrial complex under the assumption that introducing more art fairs is a winning strategy for the local economy and art scene alike. 

“When I first started to think about collecting, I really had no basis for judging what was good or bad,” the ever-humble Jerry Yang said when I asked him about the beginnings of his journey as a collector. 

In the mid-1990s, Peter Robinson caught the attention of curators and collectors alike in New Zealand. 

Spread across the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing’s Caochangdi art district, the first exhibition in China of the Japanese photographer Shoji Ueda (1913–2000) was an understated showcase of the joy that the artist found in his photography. 

In a dank, moss-covered concrete room, a Guan Yu statue sat in webs of dust in a shrine.