Mazzoleni returns to Art Basel Hong Kong with a curated presentation of masterworks from Italian and international art history by leading figures of the twentieth century, including Giorgio de Chirico, Lucio Fontana, Wifredo Lam and Salvo. The gallery also presents a dedicated project by Marinella Senatore within the Kabinett section.
Convention & Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong | Booth E13
VIP Days (by invitation only): 25–29 March
Public Days: 27–29 March
At the core of this year’s presentation is a reflection on artists who distanced themselves from the urgencies of their present, turning instead toward timeless, mythological or literary imaginaries. This approach resonates across the work of Jorge Méndez Blake (b. 1974), Salvo (1947–2015) and Zao Wu-Ki (1920 – 2013), whose practices are connected through a dense network of references, quotations and visual parallels. Their shared position at the margins of major artistic movements underscores an ideological and expressive independence.
A particular focus is dedicated to Wifredo Lam (1902–1982), an artist whose uniquely recognisable visual language cannot be ascribed to a single movement. Born in Cuba to a family of Spanish, African and Cantonese Chinese origins, Lam developed an entirely personal vocabulary. The artist described his practice as an “act of decolonisation”, a perspective that sets him apart from the movements of his time and confirms his position as an independent voice within twentieth‑century art. Following the 2024 exhibition Wifredo Lam: Homecoming at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center in Hong Kong and the retrospective Wifredo Lam. When I Don’t Sleep, I Dream, currently on view at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (until 11 April 2026), his work continues to attract international attention for its exploration of cultural hybridity, spirituality and resistance.
The presentation also highlights the cosmopolitan dynamism of the École de Paris, which attracted artists from across the world after the Second World War. Key figures such as Hans Hartung (1904–1989), Georges Mathieu (1921–2012) and Zao Wou‑Ki (1920–2013) each developed distinct visual languages while engaging with the rich artistic atmosphere of postwar Paris.
Kabinett | Marinella Senatore
Marinella Senatore (born 1977, Cava de’ Tirreni; lives and works in Rome) grounds her practice in collective participation and the transformation of shared experience into visual form. Her neon works and collages exemplify complementary aspects of her language.
The light sculptures — green neons derived from her Luminarie — reinterpret Baroque architectural motifs such as rose windows and portals, using light to generate spaces of encounter, dialogue and collective presence. The collages, conceived as visual maps of gestures, thoughts and shared narratives, retain the participatory energy of her research while acquiring an autonomous material presence.
Senatore’s work has been presented in numerous institutions and biennials including the São Paulo Biennial, Manifesta 12, Centre Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo, MAXXI, Castello di Rivoli, Serpentine Gallery, the High Line (New York), the 54th Venice Biennale, and the 2026 edition of the Chengdu Biennale, The Pulse of Life.
