The Financial Times explains that ArtHK has been investing in educating the Asian art buying public:
Director Magnus Renfrew has also consciously structured the fair to develop it as an educational tool, not least by encouraging galleries to present in-depth offerings by a single artist rather than the usual piecemeal fare. “If you see seven or eight works by one artist it gives you a frame of reference, a better chance of understanding the artist’s intentions,” he explains. The ploy has also paid off commercially for the dealers (expect shows of Louise Bourgeois, Olafur Eliasson and William Kentridge this year).
Asia One, with its solo presentations of artists of Asian origin, was similarly devised and it reflects a desire to illuminate a western audience as much as an Asian one about work created in a different cultural and aesthetic environment. China, Japan and Australia will be fielding the most galleries, followed by Taiwan and Indonesia. Chambers Fine Art from Beijing, for instance, will present a series of bronze and paper-cut works by Chinese artist Wu Jian’an. Its centrepiece “Rainbow, 201”, a free-flowing paper-cut installation was created specifically for the fair. “We want to help develop the art scene in Asia and that can feed back into the other Art Basel fairs,” says Renfrew. As the western art trade beats its path eastwards, it is important to realise that it is not a one-way street.
The New World’s Fair (Financial Times)