Asprey Studio makes its Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 debut with a multimedia presentation that moves between sculpture, ink painting and AI-driven works, positioned within the fair’s Zero 10 sector dedicated to digital-era practices.
Bringing together artists across generations, the presentation pairs Oscar-winning artist and art director Tim Yip with ink master Qu Leilei, digital artist All Seeing Seneca, and works by Jack Butcher reimagined in solid silver.
At its centre is Lili, a monumental 4.5-metre sculpture by Tim Yip. Emerging from an earlier work titled Desire, the figure appears mannequin-like — stylised, distant, and suspended between memory and projection. More than an object, Lili operates as a psychological surface, inviting viewers to project their own narratives into a speculative, AI-shaped future.
Tim Yip, Lili, Installation sculpture, 450cm high, Courtesy of the artist and Asprey Studio
The work expands into moving image through two AI-generated films, The Courier and Introspection, where Lili reappears in shifting forms, exploring identity, transformation and layered realities. A smaller bronze counterpart, Natural Lili, introduces a quieter, more intimate register to the installation.
Elsewhere, the presentation turns to history and memory through a series of ink works by Qu Leilei, a founding member of China’s influential Stars Group. His paintings from the war series, including Invincible, depict rows of Terracotta Warriors rendered as part of a mechanised system — stripped of individuality, yet echoing across time. A single contemporary soldier stands among them, collapsing the distance between ancient and modern conflict.
Qu Leilei, Invincible, 2020, Ink on xuan paper. Courtesy of the artist and Asprey Studio
Presented alongside these are AI-generated prints created using Qu’s own imagery. The juxtaposition sharpens the tension between human gesture and machine output, foregrounding the expressive intelligence of the hand while exposing the limits of artificial systems.
All Seeing Seneca extends this dialogue into questions of identity and cultural inheritance. Her sculptural series After Jade, made from cast glass and jade, reworks traditional materials into speculative forms. Combining Eastern and Western references, the works sit somewhere between ritual object and personal mythology, accompanied by digital paintings that build out their narrative worlds.
All Seeing Seneca, After Jade, Goddess in Rupture Bloom, Digital Painting, 2026
The presentation concludes with Jack Butcher’s WORK (2024) and LUCK (2026), translated from digital compositions into solid silver sculptures by the Asprey Studio atelier. Crafted using traditional silversmithing techniques, the works bring Butcher’s graphic language into physical form, exploring value, labour and the shifting status of digital culture.
Art Basel 2026 Hong Kong, 27th-29th Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Booth Number: Z4 | Section: Zero 10
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Mark Westall is the Founder and Editor of FAD magazine –