Week In Review: June 11-15, 2012

In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of June 11-15:

Uli Sigg Donation Will Be Game-Changer For Hong Kong & Chinese Contemporary Art

The big news this week in the Chinese art scene is the announcement that famed Chinese contemporary art collector Dr. Uli Sigg will donate over 1,000 pieces from his vast collection to Hong Kong’s upcoming M+ Museum, due to open in 2017. Comprised of 1,463 works of art, valued conservatively at US$163 million, Sigg’s incredible collection includes historically significant works by China’s top blue-chip artists, among them Zhang Xiaogang, Liu Wei, Zeng Fanzhi and dozens of others. Along with these pieces, Sigg will sell an additional 47 works to the M+ Museum for US$22.7 million.

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J. Crew Partners With Lane Crawford For China Rollout, E-Commerce

One of many mid-range American retailers set to debut or expand in Hong Kong or mainland China this year, this J. Crew announced a new partnership with the Hong Kong-based high-end department store Lane Crawford that will make J. Crew’s collections available in the region this October. According to Hypebeast, the partnership will, initially at least, comprise the F/W 2012 women’s ready-to-wear, men’s apparel and accessory collections, stocking them at Hong Kong’s ifc mall Lane Crawford location and its Seasons Place location in Beijing, as well as online at lanecrawford.com.

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Jing Daily Interview: Young Chinese Artist, Mu Lei

Recently, Jing Daily spoke with the young, Beijing-based painter Mu Lei (穆磊), whose works have steadily gained notoriety in China and elsewhere for their blend of dark, almost gothic sense of femininity and ’80s-influenced surrealism — what one critic called “the unlikely crossroads where Black Swan meets Galaga.” Born in 1984, Mu’s artwork has been shown at home at prestigious venues such as the Today Art Museum in Beijing and Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, and as far afield as the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Singapore Art Fair, Wereldmuseum Art Museum in the Netherlands and the Robinsons Art Gallery in Belgium. Last year, along with a group of other young Asian artists, Mu was invited to take part in the 54th Venice Biennale, and more recently, an exhibition of Mu Lei’s work was launched at New York’s Asian Art Piers.

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With E-Commerce Surging In China, Who Needs Brick-And-Mortar?

Though not without its own very particular (and ever-changing) set of challenges, China’s booming e-commerce market is convincing some aspiring fashion and luxury retailers to skip brick-and-mortar stores and go online-only. As Jing Daily noted last month, it’s been an interesting year for China’s burgeoning high-end e-commerce market, amid the earliest signs of an industry shakeout and announcements by the likes of Net-A-Porter and Neiman Marcus, as well as designers like Alexander Wang and — soon — brands like J. Crew, that they’re ready to launch e-commerce options in China.

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Hong Kong’s Top 10 Wine Trends

We might think of Hong Kong mostly as a hub for high-end wine auctions and a city neck-deep in small wine boutiques and bars, but more is happening in the city’s wine scene than many would think. Seasoned local wine lovers, as well as the city’s growing foreign population and younger drinkers, are creating new opportunities for winemakers from around the world, exploring wines beyond the typical bold Bordeaux. This week, The Drinks Business profiles 10 key trends now shaping the Hong Kong wine scene.