Tang Contemporary, a gallery first founded in Bangkok in 1997, has closed its branch in Hong Kong’s Wong Chuk Hang area and is facing allegations of outstanding debts to its artists, landlords and logistics providers. The gallery’s locations in Bangkok, Beijing, Seoul and Singapore, and its other Hong Kong branch in Central remain operational.
Vivian Har, the director of Tang Contemporary in Hong Kong, acknowledged that the gallery is facing major operational challenges across the region, but denied that any lawsuits have been brought by its artists.
Communications allegedly sent to gallery contacts in early August first sparked concern about Tang Contemporary’s future, and on 19 August a legal notice was affixed to the door of its Wong Chuk Hang space.
Legal demands for unpaid rent
The two-page document from Sino Real Estate Agency Ltd—acting on behalf of landlord Grand Apex Ltd—demands that Tang Art Foundation Company Ltd settle HK$1.57m ($201,000) in unpaid rent accrued from 1 January to 31 August, alongside outstanding management fees and interest. The notice, which was obtained by The Art Newspaper, further indicates that despite a previous court distraint action, in which a bailiff seized and auctioned property from the premises, the tenant remains in substantial arrears.
Tang Contemporary's space in Bangkok. The Thai capital is the location of Tang's first gallery, which opened in 1997 Opas Chotiphantawanon/Alamy Stock Photo
On 29 August Tang Contemporary publicly confirmed that its Wong Chuk Hang location had closed indefinitely from 21 July.
Simultaneously, several artists who have exhibited with Tang accuse the gallery of withholding consigned works while failing to disburse sales proceeds for up to a year.
The Shanghai-based artist Lin Fanglu tells The Art Newspaper that the gallery owes her 160,000 yuan ($23,800) and continues to hold eight of her works in overseas locations. Ling notes that she previously offered to cover all incurred logistics and transport fees herself simply to recover two works currently stored in Beijing.
The New York-based artist Li Nianxin, who recently exhibited with the artist Deng Shiqing at the shuttered Hong Kong location, claims Tang Contemporary owes both artists around $10,000 each, while retaining six to eight works per artist.
Similar challenges have arisen across the gallery’s network. According to a statement provided to The Art Newspaper by the legal representative of a Thai artist who declines to be named, a complaint was filed on 14 August with the South Bangkok Civil Court in Thailand. Alleging breach of contract, the lawsuit seeks the recovery of outstanding amounts exceeding 15m baht ($450,000). The case is currently pending before the court, with the first hearing scheduled for October.
Li Nianxin says that she knew of many other artists in a similar situation who were reluctant to speak publicly. “I’ll speak out on social media soon,” she adds. “They owe us money, not the other way around.”
“Many artists had concerns about speaking out because as long as the gallery remained open, they held out hope that they would eventually get paid and have the chance to collaborate again,” says Wang Jiannan, the former artistic director of Tang Contemporary Hong Kong. “But when they saw the space fold, they began taking action.”
Wang attributes the situation at Tang Contemporary to a combination of systematic flaws and strategic missteps. She cites the absence of a standardised structure for processing artist payments, recent expansions into Singapore and Seoul, and founder Zheng Lin’s unwillingness to relinquish the high-profile H Queen’s space in the Central district when its lease expired last year.
Working through its obligations
Vivian Har says that the gallery is actively working through its financial obligations. She confirmed that Tang has cleared its overdue rent for its flagship H Queen’s space, though the gallery remains temporarily closed during renovations to accommodate staff relocating from the Wong Chuk Hang venue. She adds that outstanding balances to logistics provider Crozier are currently being settled in installments.
Regarding artist payments, Har claims that artist liaisons are negotiating individual payment schedules to reach mutually agreeable terms, though she declines to disclose a specific timeline for when all debts would be fully cleared.
Har adds that the Wong Chuk Hang space was closed in order to concentrate resources on the Central location. She says Tang’s scheduled art fairs participation will continue through next year.
“We had a number of good years, and when business was thriving, we always supported our artists—whether that meant producing catalogues for them or investing in media promotion for their exhibitions,” Har says. “As long as we had the budget, we tried to meet their requests. So now, when the situation is tough, I hope they can understand.”
