Continuing the artistic atmosphere of the Art Month, many unique exhibitions have been featured in the surrounding galleries.
1. Hong Kong Arts Centre
Hong Kong Art School Gallery – Boundless / The Jockey Club Gallery Exhibition Series: Some Stories
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The Hong Kong Arts Centre and Academy have long been important bridges in supporting local artists, dedicated to showcasing and promoting the works of local artists. This month, the Hong Kong Art Academy Gallery will exhibit wonderful artworks by Hong Kong artists from Melbourne and alumni artists, breaking geographical boundaries and enriching the diversity of art!
The group exhibition “Boundless” features a multimedia art showcase by Melbourne-based Hong Kong artists Judy Kong, Kelly So, Cheryl Liu, and Wise Yeung, including sound installations, sculptures, and ceramic works. The exhibition reflects on the dual identity of being “Australian/Hong Kongese,” as in a foreign land, they are strangers to both, yet when they arrive in a fertile ground for creativity, they may pause their journeys to establish artistic bases. Just like in one of Australia’s most famous poems, “Waltzing Matilda,” the four artists’ experiences in “Boundless” parallel the eager travelers depicted, resonating with the rapid growth of populations in Australia and Hong Kong in recent years. Leveraging their unique historical positions, the artists portray the survival status of new immigrants from the perspective of “outsiders/insiders.”
Another exhibition entitled “Some Stories” features four alumni artists who use photography, painting, animation, and video art to capture defining moments, express personal thoughts and states through their works, or connect personal experiences with the current social context, giving visual form to their specific narratives and the meanings they contain.
Hong Kong Art Gallery Exhibition – Boundless
Date: April 12, 2024 – May 23, 2024
Time: 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays)
Location: Hong Kong Arts Centre 10th Floor
Jockey Club Gallery Exhibition Series: Some Stories
Date: May 11 – June 28, 2024
Time: 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Location: Jockey Club Gallery, Ground to Fourth Floor, Hong Kong Arts Centre
2. AISHONANZUKA
Maiko Kobayash “HOME”
Japanese artist Maiko Kobayashi held a solo exhibition titled “Home” in Hong Kong. The characters in Kobayashi’s paintings have gentle features and almost ghost-like expressions, clearly inspired by individuals in the artist’s real life. These half-human, half-rabbit/dog characters seem to be threatened by invisible forces and can also disappear with the wind. Their eyes are always quietly observing this chaotic world, with a gaze that exudes an enduring melancholy. These portray the anxieties, conflicts, hopes, and strengths hidden in people’s hearts as they live in this ever-changing society.
“The more I understand things in the world, the more often I feel helpless. However, when I discover the basic vitality that humans possess and never lose in any situation, my heart fills with courage and hope. The ‘friction’ caused by this contradiction is the motivation for my paintings.”
Kobayashi’s artwork is not only a window into her inner world, but also an outlet for the audience to express personal emotions.
Kobayashi’s artworks have the ability to penetrate deep into the viewer’s heart, forcing them to confront their own vulnerabilities, engaging in an emotional dialogue with the protagonists in the artwork, facing the absurdity of the world together. At first glance, viewers might feel melancholic when looking at Kobayashi’s artworks, but behind the sorrowful faces, they will discover that the turbulent past leads to tranquility – Kobayashi firmly believes that humans have enough resilience to face adversity.
Welcome to embark on a magical journey!
Maiko Kobayashi’s Solo Exhibition “Home”
Duration: April 19, 2024 – May 18, 2024
Location: Hysan Place (shop116, 1F, Landmark, Central Hong Kong, Central & Western District, Hong Kong)
3. Tai Kwun Contemporary Bruce Nauman’s Major Retrospective Exhibition
The first major retrospective exhibition in Hong Kong of the influential American artist Bruce Nauman has finally arrived in Hong Kong. This exhibition will examine the artist’s diverse career, encompassing works from different facets, reexamining the fundamental elements consistently used by the artist, including early neon light pieces, the recent “contrasting balance” series, as well as paintings, large sculptures, and sound installations created over more than sixty years.
This exhibition is organized by Tai Kwun Contemporary in collaboration with the Bruce Nauman Studio. The exhibits mainly come from the Pinault Collection, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and display treasures loaned from the Tate, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Dia Art Foundation, The Sonnabend Collection Foundation, and the Sperone Westwater New York Gallery.
Artist: Bruce Nauman
Curators: Carlos Basualdo (Philadelphia Museum of Art), Caroline Bourgeois (Pinault Collection, Paris), Dr. Pi Li (Tai Kwun Contemporary)
Exhibition Dates: May 15, 2024 – August 18, 2024 (Tuesday to Sunday 11am–7pm)
Location: Tai Kwun Jockey Club Art Square
(Online / Onsite: $120 (Adult Ticket) / $60 (Concession*)
*Applicable to students with valid student ID, persons with disabilities, and seniors aged 60 or above.
4. Quiet Gallery HK
《 Portrait of Dazzle 》Matsuki Matsumaki Solo Exhibition
Contemporary Japanese artist Shigeki Matsuyama has broken away from tradition with his unique artistic style and painting techniques, creating a distinctive form of “modern portraiture.” Traditional portraiture typically focuses on depicting the likeness of individuals, emphasizing the accurate portrayal of facial features, physique, expressions, and attire. However, in the realm of contemporary art, portraiture no longer solely emphasizes realism. Since 1998, Matsuyama has worked as a freelance illustrator, creating illustrations and advertisements for various products. In recent years, he has expanded his artistic endeavors to include installation art in addition to painting.
In his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, “Portrait of Dazzle,” Matsumura Shigeki once again used his expertise in creating dazzling camouflage elements to bring a series of new portraits to the audience. Although the works are very simple in color, lacking rich colors, and only consist of stark black-and-white stripes with realistic eyes, this is the distinctive artistic style of the artist, making it very unique.
Matsuyama’s painting style may appear simple and plain, but the complexity of the scenes in his works overflow from the screen. Over time, one will always discover that his works withstand repeated viewing. Although Matsuyama does not depict the full appearance of the characters, through various portrait details, viewers can still feel the impact of the works. These works may appear similar, but in fact, they are not entirely the same, just like human beings themselves, having commonalities as well as individualities.
In addition to paintings, there are also character sculptures with the characteristic style of Songshan Art for viewing and ordering on site, allowing the audience to gain a deeper understanding of the world view of Songshan from another perspective.
“Portrait of Dazzle” Shigeki Matsuyama Solo Exhibition
Exhibition Period: May 3, 2024 – May 19, 2024
Location: Shop 1, BELOWGROUND, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
5. Heavenly Interest International Art
Silent Poetry – French Art Exhibition
Artists evoke viewers’ visual experiences and emotions through colors and their relationships. The rhythms of colors become a dynamic silent poetry, thus strongly capturing the viewers’ hearts.
This exhibition will present works by 5 outstanding artists—including French artists Rémy Aron, Marc Tanguy, Natalie Miel, Jean-Baptiste Née, and the work of the outstanding Franco-Japanese artist Zangyuan, acclaimed as the “new representative of Western contemporary abstract art.” From Marc Tanguy’s dreamlike landscapes, Rémy Aron’s geometric balance in motion, Natalie Miel’s joyful presentation of life through decorative “scriptures,” Jean-Baptiste Née’s mountains and clouds full of philosophical meaning, to Zangyuan’s life poetry portrayed through images, this exhibition will explore how artists describe poetry outwardly and inwardly, hoping that the audience will spend a delightful journey filled with French romantic poetry through the exhibition.
The vibrant colors and blurred outlines presented through the screen depict nature transformed by the artist’s unique perspective. Time suddenly stops, everything is burning and freezing at the same time, creating a stirring image that the artist pens as a poem of life.
Silent Poetry – French Art Exhibition
Featured Artists: Marc Tanguy, Natalie Miel, Rémy Aron, Zang Yuan, Jean-Baptiste Née
Location: Galerie de l’Instant, Central (2/F, Phase 2, New World Tower, 18 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong)
Schedule: Monday to Saturday 10 AM – 7 PM (Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays)
6. Hong Kong Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Research and Creation Association
Guangzhou Lingnan School Master Chen Ziyi and Master Yu Yuanjia’s Works Exhibition
The Hong Kong Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Research and Creation Association will exhibit the ink paintings of Chen Ziyi (1919-2019), a famous artist of the Lingnan School in Guangzhou, his first disciple Yu Yuanjia, and nearly forty of his students.
Guangzhou Lingnan painter Chen Ziyi is a member of the China Artists Association, an art consultant for the Guangzhou Artists Association and the Gao Jianfu Memorial Hall; Yu Yuanjia was awarded the honorary title of “Calligraphy and Painting Celebrity” by the “World Arts and Celebrities Evaluation Committee,” and his biography has been included in the “Chinese Contemporary Calligraphers and Painters Dictionary,” and appointed as a compiler for the “Chinese Contemporary Art Celebrities Directory.” Their works have been exhibited in various cities in the United States, Canada, Russia, Europe, Asia, and China.
This exhibition is the first large-scale joint exhibition in Hong Kong by Chen Ziyi and Yu Yuanjia. In addition to showcasing over 130 brilliant paintings by the master and apprentice, most of which have never been publicly exhibited in Hong Kong, the exhibition also features nearly 40 outstanding works by Yu Yuanjia, who has close ties to Macau. One of the highlights of the exhibition is the two large-scale works with a plum blossom theme created separately by Chen Ziyi and Yu Yuanjia: Chen Ziyi paints “Plum Blossoms ‧ Bu Suan Zi Ci” on a 146cm long and 202cm wide sheet of ancient paper, displaying vigorous strokes and a blending of colors, inscribed with Mao Zedong’s poem “Bu Suan Zi ‧ Yong Mei”, a perfect match; Yu Yuanjia responds with a ten-meter giant banner “Plum Grove”, created in 2015, which breaks away from the conventional style, with each stroke embodying over forty years of Yu’s skill, showing a distinct style compared to the works of his teacher Chen Ziyi, equally outstanding.
For the first time in over five years since Chen Ziyi’s passing, more than thirty traditional Chinese paintings are being exhibited in Hong Kong. It has been a decade since Yu Yuanjia’s last solo exhibition. This time, he has selected over a hundred pieces, the majority of which have never been publicly displayed. The exhibition of works by this teacher and student, spanning three generations, goes beyond time and space with unwavering dedication, making this joint exhibition of their works exceptionally meaningful and precious.
Chen Ziyi and Yu Yuanjia’s Student Works Exhibition
Date and Time:
May 23, 2024｜2:30 pm to 7:00 pm
May 24-26, 2024｜9:30 am to 7:00 pm
May 27, 2024｜9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Location: Exhibition Halls 1-5, Ground Floor, Hong Kong Central Library, 66 Causeway Road, Causeway Bay
7. Dessa Gallery
Hong Kong artist Mak2 Mak Ying Tung’s “Art Survivors”
With the end of the the art week, this exhibition provides a perfect chance to escape.
The annual event in Hong Kong in March exposes the calculations of capitalist reality under the glamorous facade of art, aiming to allow players in the art world to escape tangible reality and unwind amidst self-deprecating laughter. The exhibition, presented from a first-person perspective, features a zombie shooting game set at a virtual art fair, alongside a series of innovative canvas works titled “Second Home.”
The exhibition humorously hints at the undercurrents of the art system and congratulates those who have survived until now.
Hong Kong artist Mak2 Mak Ying Tung’s “Art Survivor”
Exhibition Period: May 4, 2024 – June 22, 2024
Location: DeSAA Gallery, 26th Floor, Man Shing Cheong Building, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
8. artellex
Feng Feng’s 1800 days of visual memory
Hong Kong veteran photojournalist Fung Hon Chu spent many years taking a photo with his phone every day, marking the date on each photo, accumulating memories of 1,800 days. This project may not be grand, but it definitely requires persistence and passion. Fung Hon Chu has published a record of the Victoria Harbour reclamation project, “Burial · Victoria,” and some of his works are also collected by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum.
From walking in the mountains after work, you will always find unfamiliar sights, or passing under the same bridge on the way to work – almost every day – to capture it, the same scene transforms with variations in weather, people, and colors. A collection of fifty images under the bridge, as if reality and illusion intertwine, providing viewers a blank space for imagination. These city landscapes, street corners, and the people’s scenery that everyone overlooks, frozen in time for many years, may evoke shared memories, or perhaps, whether remembered or forgotten, may no longer be significant at this moment or that.
“One day, I suddenly thought of adding a date to the works I shoot every day. Although it doesn’t have much effect on memory enhancement, it can help me rediscover my life and identity.” Feng Hanzhu said, “Even in familiar places, the city is alive. The creatures in the city constantly grow, move around, disappear, reappear, these changes attract me to record with my phone, day after day.”
Through Feng Hanzhuo’s visual interpretation, he often presents a different image, even reinterpreting the atmosphere of the scene, capturing the moment in his images, bringing new excitement to the viewers.
FUNG Hon Chu’s Daily Life Journey: 1800 Days Image Memory – A Collection
Date: From now until May 25, 2024 (By appointment only, closed on Mondays)
Time: 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Address: Unit 204A, 2/F, Sun Cheong Industrial Building, 1-3 Lai Chi Kok Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon (Exit A, Lai Chi Kok MTR station)
Appointment Link: https://artellex.simplybook.asia/
