JONATHAN NAPACK DIES AT THIRTY-NINE

Jonathan Napack, an art writer and the Asia advisor to Art Basel, died suddenly, of unreported causes, in a Hong Kong hospital on Saturday, January 20. He was thirty-nine. After getting his start covering the New York art scene for publications including the New York Observer and Spy, Napack moved to Hong Kong in 1997, where he covered art for the International Herald Tribune and food for the Asian Wall Street Journal. His long relationship with Art Basel was formalized in 2003 with his appointment as the fair’s official representative throughout Asia, with responsibility for vetting applicants and furthering Basel’s interests in the region. In June 2006, he organized a Chinese VIP delegation to Art 37 Basel, and in September he spearheaded the fair’s first official foray into China, an Art Basel Conversations panel at the National Art Museum of China. He was a frequent contributor to artist books and exhibition catalogues, including Cities on the Move, Ai Weiwei: Works 1993–2003, and, most recently, 10 Years Shanghart. A memorial service is to be held later this week in Beijing.