• UBS Art Collection's major new acquisition, an iconic painting by leading Chinese artist, Ding Yi, will be featured in the UBS Lounge.
  • Also on show will be works from the UBS Art Collection by artists including: Gerhard Richter, Katharina Grosse, Imi Knoebel, and Sean Scully.
  • In addition to its second year as co-publisher of the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report (released 14 March), UBS becomes Global Lead Partner of Art Basel Cities.
  • A series of talks focusing on the power of art and artists to shift perspectives and shape society will be livestreamed on facebook from the fair for the first time.

Hong Kong - March 2018–UBS, partner of Art Basel since 1994, celebrates its fifth year of support for Art Basel in Hong Kong. The fair takes place between 29 and 31 March at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Kathryn Shih, President UBS, Asia Pacific said: "Our continued commitment to Art Basel in Hong Kong, as it has grown from strength-to-strength, mirrors our dedication to the growth and development of our business in Hong Kong, Greater China and the broader region over the last 50 years. We will continue to invest and hire in the region, and we are on track to double our headcount in mainland China by 2020. Our partnership with Art Basel enables us to provide our clients with access and insight into the most important galleries, dynamic artists, and artworks being produced today."

The UBS Art Collection's major new acquisition by leading Chinese artist and champion of abstraction, Ding Yi, will be on view in the UBS Lounge. Ding Yi's iconic tartan painting will be presented alongside the work of four other internationally acclaimed artists forming the basis of a dialogue on minimalism and abstraction. The display, curated by Mary Rozell (Global Head UBS Art Collection), includes works by Ding Yi (Appearance of Crosses 2006-3, 2006, and Appearance of Crosses 1994-10, 1994), Gerhard Richter (Stadtbild SL (218-3), 1969), Katharina Grosse (Ohne Titel, 2000), Imi Knoebel (Pure Freude 11, 2000), and Sean Scully (Us, 1988).

UBS will live-stream a series of talks from the show via facebook for the first time. The UBS Open Classroom series #ArtTransforms will take an in-depth look at the art and artists that have shaped the last year and speakers will include leading gallerists, stellar contemporary artists and industry experts. In collaboration with The Financial Times, UBS will host a private forum on collecting featuring British sculptor Antony Gormley and Financial Times art experts.

For the second year, The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report will be jointly published by Art Basel and UBS, written by cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew, and integrating strands of research from UBS and its Chief Investment Office. The report covers macro-economic trends within the art market, in the context of wider economic shifts, and changing GDP figures and HNW populations, complementing UBS’s leading position in global financial research and analysis.

On the public concourse throughout the week, the UBS Junior Art Hub will return for the fifth year, providing children with art-inspired activities aimed at developing their understanding of visual art. Activities will include creating woven 3D textile structures, paper art, spin paintings and a kinetic swirls art wall.

For media inquiries about UBS’s partnership with Art Basel:
Lucie Sherwood, SUTTON
+447917106636
lucie@suttonpr.com

For media inquiries about UBS:
Mark Panday, Executive Director, Corporate Communications
+852 2971 8221
mark.panday@ubs.com

Notes to editors:

About UBS

UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland. The operational structure of the Group is comprised of our Corporate Center and five business divisions: Wealth Management, Wealth Management Americas, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management and the Investment Bank. UBS’s strategy builds on the strengths of all of its businesses and focuses its efforts on areas in which it excels, while seeking to capitalize on the compelling growth prospects in the businesses and regions in which it operates, in order to generate attractive and sustainable returns for its shareholders. All of its businesses are capital-efficient and benefit from a strong competitive position in their targeted markets.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 52 countries, with about 34% of its employees working in the Americas, 34% in Switzerland, 18% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 14% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs approximately 61,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

About the UBS Art Collection

UBS has been an active contemporary art collector since the 1960s, a practice driven by the company’s long-held belief that the art of today provides inspiration and challenge while encouraging the innovative thinking that has shaped UBS’s corporate culture over the last half century.

Today the UBS Art Collection is considered one of the largest and most important corporate collections of contemporary art in the world. Comprised of various individual art collections with unique attributes that have been integrated over time through a series of mergers and acquisitions – notably between Union Bank of Switzerland, Swiss Bank Corporation and PaineWebber Inc. – the UBS Art Collection currently includes more than 30,000 paintings, works on paper, photography, sculpture, video and installations by artists from more than 70 countries. The vast majority of these works are displayed in more than 700 UBS offices around the world, serving as an inspiration for employees and a platform for dialogue with clients and the public.

UBS takes a dynamic approach to the collection, continuing to evolve and grow through acquisitions of works from around the world in accordance with the geographical reach of its business. UBS also actively supports artists and galleries and actively lends works to major art museums and cultural institutions for public exhibitions. This year, 54 works by Ed Ruscha from the Collection will be presented at a dedicated exhibition at The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark.

UBS and Contemporary Art

UBS has a long and substantial record of contemporary art patronage and holds one of the world’s largest and most important corporate art collections. The firm actively enables clients and audiences to participate in the international conversation about art and the global art market through its global lead partnership with Art Basel and the firm’s collaboration with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative. These activities are complemented by partnerships with fine art institutions including the Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland, Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Milan, the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. UBS provides its clients with insight into the art market and strategic guidance on managing art collections and legacy planning through the UBS Art Competence Center. The UBS Arts Forum convenes and connects exceptional people in the art world, providing thought leadership at the cutting edge of contemporary art. For more information about UBS’s commitment to contemporary art, visit ubs.com/art.

UBS and Art Basel

The relationship between UBS and Art Basel began in 1994 when the Swiss financial services firm began serving as lead partner for the original edition of the show in Basel. In 1999, the partnership was extended to include Art Basel’s Unlimited exhibition platform – which enables artists to realize highly original and ambitious projects – and, in 2002, the inaugural edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach. In 2014, UBS became involved with Art Basel in Hong Kong, officially assuming its current role as global Lead Partner of Art Basel for all three of its acclaimed international venues. In June 2016, it was announced that Art Basel and UBS would partner to commission a comprehensive, new annual art-market report by renowned cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew. The second edition of the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report will be released on 14 March 2018. As Global Lead Partner, UBS are also supporting Art Basel's latest initiative, the Art Basel Cities program, the first of which is taking place in Buenos Aires this year.

About Art Basel

Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world's premier art shows for Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition.

Art Basel’s engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through a number of new initiatives. In 2014, Art Basel launched its Crowdfunding Initiative, in collaboration with Kickstarter. This initiative presents jury-selected art projects to potential benefactors, which include Art Basel’s vibrant audience and the Kickstarter community. The initiative has catalyzed much-needed support for outstanding non-commercial art projects worldwide and so far has helped pledge over $2 million to creative projects around the world. For Art Basel Cities, launched in 2016, Art Basel is working with selected partner cities to develop vibrant and content-driven programs specific to the individual city. Connecting them to the global art world through Art Basel's expertise and network, Art Basel Cities supports its partners to develop their unique cultural landscape. For further information, please visit artbasel.com.