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"HONG KONG \u2014 On VIP opening day of Art Basel in Hong Kong,&amp;nbsp;May 22, initial reactions seem to be generally positive, with much higher expectations than those at last year's&amp;nbsp;Hong Kong International Art Fair (Art HK).&amp;nbsp;BLOUIN ARTINFO took some time to walk around during the VIP viewing to collect first impressions from exhibitors and collectors, before the fair opens to the public on May 23. Here is what we heard:\u2014 Japanese art collector Kosuke Mori: \u201CI think the fair has tried to adjust its taste to Asia, with works that have color, that are more fun.\u201D&amp;nbsp;\u2014 Lorenz Helbling, owner of&amp;nbsp;ShanghArt: \u201CI think there is a better mix and integration of Asian and Western work. No one is shouting in their corner, \u2018We're Western! We're Chinese!\u2019\u201D\u2014 Pearl Lam, founder of Pearl Lam Galleries: \u201CI have high expectations for the show because I paid a lot more for the booth so I expect much better sales figures.\u201D\u2014 Johnson Chang, founder of Hanart: \u201CI feel there is an upgrade in the way galleries display their works. I think they make an effort to create an exhibition, rather than just a display of goods.\u201D&amp;nbsp;\u2014 Rachel Lehmann, co-founder of Lehmann Maupin Gallery: \u201CThere is a more international crowd of collectors and more international galleries. I saw works by Shahzia Sikander at Pilar Corrias Gallery that were very interesting.\u201D\u2014 Martin Clist, director of Rossi &amp;amp; Rossi:  We haven't noticed any new collectors, and honestly haven't observed a great difference between this year and the last. This year's fair is better organized, but it doesn't feel as 'family.' We are still relating and connecting with the same Art HK people, but this year, with Basel on board, there seems to be a more rigid Swiss shell. &amp;nbsp;\u2014 Cesar Villalon Jr, owner of&amp;nbsp;The Drawing Room: \u201CIt feels the same [as] the years before, there are just a lot of bigwigs from Art Basel walking around.\u201D\u2014 Indonesian art collector Deddy Kusuma: \u201CI see a lot of Western art here. I've already told Marc (Speigler) we should promote Asian art because we are in Asia. Western art has other platforms around the world, but it should be up to places like Hong Kong and Singapore to promote Asian art.\u201D &amp;nbsp;\u2014 Wei-ling Lim from Wei-ling Gallery: \u201CThere are more U.S. and European collectors who seem to be attracted to Hong Kong for first time by the quality that the Basel name represents.\u201D"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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