Every month, different artists bring us new perspectives and visuals through their works. Following the selected exhibitions recommendation in May, this time, we won’t hold back either and present to you the editor’s selected pocket list of June exhibitions. Why not take a stroll together on holidays!
1. M+ Museum
“Rock Hsia: Transforming Images into Words”
Known as the father of graphic design in Hong Kong, Roman Tam (born in 1934) has been closely associated with the city through his design works, such as the hexagonal red and white logo of HSBC, banknote designs for Standard Chartered Bank, and logos of numerous prominent Hong Kong companies.
Born in Austria, Hans Rudolf Giger moved to Hong Kong in 1961 where he lived and worked. He studied under the renowned American designer Paul Rand, and his graphic design is deeply influenced by the principles he learned from Rand. Giger pioneered a unique way of conveying meaning through images, skillfully juxtaposing different cultural elements with a sharp visual sense, designing works that are lively, unexpected, and thought-provoking.
The special exhibition “Graphic Heroes of Hong Kong: A Retrospective of Milton Wong” showcases over 200 exhibits, divided into two parts: the first part introduces Milton Wong’s growth years and early experiences in Hong Kong; the second part features selected works from the M+ Milton Wong Archive, demonstrating how his designs reflect Hong Kong’s development and changes in daily life for its citizens. From iconic landmarks like the Ocean Terminal, the Jubilee Lau Yat Wai Campus (now The Excelsior), to various promotional materials, consumer products, banks, hotels, and private clubs, these curated items present some enduring brand images in Hong Kong, honoring his greatly influential graphic design language and tracing over six decades of Hong Kong’s development.
Shi Hanrui said: “M+ is a museum rooted in Asian visual culture. I am honored to hold a solo exhibition here, witnessing my creative journey and works. Hong Kong has always been my home, providing me with endless inspiration for my creations over the years. I am proud to contribute to the various innovative developments in Hong Kong; moreover, I hope that through this retrospective exhibition, global audiences can understand the art of visual communication and view it as part of Hong Kong’s visual culture from a new perspective.”
In addition to the exhibition, the book “Hong Kong by Stonexco ” has been released, collecting the classic works of the father of Hong Kong graphic design. Founded by Zolima’s Editor-in-Chief, Nicole Andrianjaka de Surville, with contributions from Christopher DeWolf, Poyi Tam, and Angela Chan; MAJO Design, a local design company, meticulously designed the layout. Photography by May James, Kevin Mak, and William Furniss, with illustrations by Yee Tung. This book will be launched on the first day of the “Going Graphic: The Stonexco Story” thematic exhibition at the M+ Museum, definitely worth collecting!
“Shi Hanrui: From Image to Language”
Date: Opens officially on June 15, 2024
Location: M+ | Bao Peili, Do Sendai Exhibition Hall
(For more information and registration details about the lecture, please refer to the M+ website.)
Further Reading:
- 【Local Photography Artist David Leung Interview】 From the banquet emerges a little monster, to deconstruct the deliciousness of “Not Just a Meal”
- Limited Edition Prints X Photography X Design, Fosun Asia’s first cross-category physical auction will be officially held on June 14th!
- It’s like stepping into a Lilliput! Loewe’s early autumn ad was shot in the world’s oldest model village, presenting whimsical and imaginative scenes
2. WOAW Gallery
Willem Hoeffnagel Solo Exhibition “Embodied”
“Embodied” presents the latest paintings of Dutch artist Willem Hoeffnagel, capturing the subtle emotions in his life, continuing to experience and create his iconic characters, embarking on a journey of introspection and emotional exploration.
Hoeffnagel believes that the uniqueness of human beings among all things lies in the presence of emotions—emotions that are generated by various experiences in life and are also the basic elements that make us human. For him, emotions are not inherently good or bad, but rather a presentation and reflection of the state of mind. The cartoon-like characters in his paintings are images that can represent anyone, without pointing to specific individuals, allowing the stories or situations in the artwork to be presented in a vague manner, giving viewers space for their own interpretations.
The works in the exhibition “Embodied” are not about defining emotions clearly, but about allowing each piece to convey the emotions that the audience feels and resonates with.
Embodied | Willem Hoeffnagel Solo Exhibition
Date: May 16 – June 14, 2024
Location: WOAW Gallery | 5 Sun Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
3. Quiet Gallery
Japanese artist Kazusuke Naida’s solo exhibition “Sally Dynasty”
Japanese artist Nobuyuki Netshiro is a self-taught and versatile artist. Apart from painting, he is also a graphic designer, animator, music creator, and craftsman, showing his diverse talents. His creations are inspired by the ruins, myths, and fables of medieval Europe, combined with memories, dreams, and imagination from his childhood, deeply passionate about medieval culture. His works are meticulously composed, featuring a rich array of novel elements, primarily depicting people, animals, bizarre scenes, and some fictional objects. Therefore, his paintings are imbued with uniquely personal qualities—mysterious, eerie, whimsical, and diverse.
This exhibition will showcase 21 pieces of different sizes. Through the interplay of the depth of watercolors and the heavy texture of acrylic paints, it presents to the viewers on the canvas a unique world that separates fantasy and reality, both strange and charming.
If you quietly gaze at the works of Wanda Hsiung, you will feel as if a strong force is surrounding you, drawing you into this splendid and rich imagery, fueling curiosity to grow wildly within. This is because his works are full of childlike innocence, humor, warmth, and nostalgic emotions, while also hinting at some melancholy and unease, tempting people to greedily linger in them.
He spent a long time constructing a meticulously designed “Another Realm” in his mind, where every character and creature in this world has a name and a story, such as creation myths, legends of gods, fables, or traditional festivals, forming a complete universe with its own culture, history, chronicles, belief system, and language.
Are you interested in learning about the unknown dynasty of Sally Dynasty?
“Sally Dynasty” Exhibition by Shindai Yukisuke
Date: May 31 – June 16, 2024
Location: Quiet Gallery HK | 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong (Shop 1, BELOWGROUND, Landmark Atrium)
4. Zuna Gallery
A solo exhibition “Nature” by American artist Merrill Wagner
American artist Merrill Wagner excels at drawing inspiration from salvaged steel and canvas scraps to create geometric bas-relief walls, crafting austere, hard-edged abstract works. In fact, as early as 2022, Wagner’s solo exhibition was already presented at the Zorna Gallery, and this May she is making a comeback. This marks her first solo exhibition in the Greater China region in nearly 15 years.
This exhibition covers Merril Wagner’s career and her creations on various traditional and non-traditional backing materials, including canvas, paper, slate, stone, organic glass, and steel plate. These alternative media are not only valued for their textured appearance but also for the myriad of natural hints they encapsulate, resonating with Merrill Wagner’s upbringing in the Pacific Northwest. The exhibited works delve into Merrill Wagner’s enduring interest in the creative process, contingency, and the transformative effects of time, with particular emphasis on the attention-grabbing piece “Bridge Across.”
Meryl Wagner “Nature”
Date: May 30, 2024 – August 2, 2024
Time: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Location: 5-6/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
5. Soluna Fine Art
《Park Yoon-Kyung: In Between Islands》
Contemporary Korean artist Park Run-gyeong’s third solo exhibition, “Between Islands,” co-organized with a gallery, draws inspiration from the unique scenery, culture, and dialect of Jeju Island. The entire gallery space is transformed into a group of islands, inviting viewers to appreciate the artwork from different perspectives by walking around the painting installations, freely wandering between the islands of art.
She paints on a semi-transparent organza picture frame, reinterprets traditional Korean letter graphics in a modern abstract form, discovers infinite possibilities beyond traditional canvases, and explores the connection and communication between humans and nature through this.
Humans have characteristics of both independence and the need to gather, which are also reflected in their works – each painting can stand alone as an independent piece or be layered to create a composed composition, combining artworks into three-dimensional art installations. Even in different lighting or environments, they exhibit different variations.
“Park Yoon-Kyung: In Between Islands”
Date: May 9, 2024 – June 15, 2024
Time: Tuesday to Saturday | 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Location: Soluna Fine Art | 52 Sai Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
6. “Light and Shadow Workshop” Image Curator Training Program Exhibition
“Corner of the Factory Building”
When it comes to industrial buildings, what do you think of? Is it a garage, hardware store, factory, or warehouse? Erase the stereotypes, in some corners of industrial buildings, there are antique shops, hand-painted porcelain factories, and beautiful tranquil moments.
The inspiration for “Corner of Industrial Buildings” comes from the exhibiting venue – the independent art space WURE AREA in the Pao Lung Centre. It extends to the industrial buildings around Kwun Tong. The name “Corner of Industrial Buildings” was chosen after coincidentally hearing the lyrics of the local band KOLOR’s song “Factory Buildings”: “Lights are not turned off / A small corner of a factory unit is lit up”.
In the corner, it not only corresponds to the “triangular octagon” of the exhibition space but also refers to a remote and unnoticed place. Although most industrial buildings are located in urban corners, they have witnessed the prosperity and decline of Hong Kong’s manufacturing industry, now also nurturing creativity and aesthetics, craftsmanship, and human emotions.
Curated by Liu Tung Pui, founder of the Hong Kong photography platform “The Darkroom,” the exhibition “Corner of Industrial Buildings” features the work of two local photographers – Lam Hiu Man and Ho Yat. They capture the appearance of industrial buildings, combining interior and exterior views to focus on different aspects of these urban landscapes. This juxtaposition of inner and outer views is inspired by the photography collection “City of Darkness Revisited” by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot, who explored the Kowloon Walled City. Lam Hiu Man, founder of “Hong Kong Reminiscence,” has authored “Hong Kong Reminiscence – Records of Hong Kong’s Old Shops” and has curated exhibitions like “In the Light of Dust” (2023) and “Showing Up in Pink Wheat” (2024). Ho Yat, known as Rabbit Ho, integrates photography into his writing, having organized the exhibition “A Great Hideout Like a Rabbit” and published a fairy tale photography collection of the same name.
Therefore, Ho Yat captures the appearance of buildings, integrating cute bunny patterns into inconspicuous buildings. Through a seemingly hide-and-seek viewing method, reminding viewers to pay attention to the details of buildings that are easily overlooked in daily life; while Lam Hiu Man focuses on the space of industrial buildings and the distinctive shops within, the silent toilers, upholding an attitude towards traditional craftsmanship and lifestyle aesthetics, reflecting the vitality and diversity of industrial buildings.
“Corner of the Factory Building”
Date: June 15 – 30, 2024
Time: Friday to Tuesday (Closed on Wednesday and Thursday) | 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Address: WURE AREA | Room 707, 7/F, Block B, Bo Lung Centre, 11 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay
7. The Stroll gallery
“Ambiguous Intimacy; So Close Yet So Far”
Living in a colorful world, if you could only choose one color to represent it, which one would you choose?
For South Korean artist Jeong JiYoon, it would probably be blue.
In her works, blue serves as the dominant color and she excels at evoking a sense of familiarity through gaze, smile, and sensory qualities in monochromatic compositions.
She collected sensory traits from online images and presented them in a monochromatic style, representing both traditional painting schools and achieving abstract feelings through image distortion, surpassing conventional interpretation methods. The monochromatic blue tones and dripping brushstrokes removed the visual characteristics of the original photos, breaking not only the original form of the artwork but also making artistic expression more liberated.
She hopes to share her unique insights on digital images and contemporary human relationships with people through these 20 works.
“Ambiguous Intimacy: So Close Yet So Far”
Date: June 7, 2024 – August 3, 2024
Time: Tuesday – Saturday | 11 AM – 7 PM
Location: The Stroll Gallery | Room 504, 5th Floor, Hung Tat Industrial Center, 21-33 Tai Lin Pai Road, Kwai Chung
8. Breakthrough Mechanism
“#HereWeAre: Exhibition for Each Other”
Unknowingly, “Breakthrough” has taken root in Hong Kong for 50 years. Under the theme of “#HereWeAre,” a series of activities such as exhibitions, youth exchanges, and seminars have been organized to encourage the public to care about the current situation and needs of local young people. Though each young person is unique, they are interconnected in a network of relationships, shaping their own identity and values through each other.
The exhibition is divided into three parts, attempting to organize the overview and trends of Hong Kong youth (aged 10-29) through data analysis, artistic creation, simulated experiences, and on-site interactions, presenting the pursuits and anxieties, struggles, and expectations of Hong Kong youth. We sincerely hope that through understanding and communication, we can also see our own place and take a small step towards each other.
“#HereWeAre: Exhibition x Youth Exchange x Seminar”
Date: June 6 – 16, 2024
Time: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm (Monday to Thursday)
10:00 am – 9:00 pm (Friday to Sunday and public holidays)
Location: Tai Kwun, Central｜Duplex Studio｜Duplex Studio 01
9. Hauser & Wirth – Contemporary & Modern Art Gallery
《Tetsumi Kudo: Cages》
Japanese postwar artist Tetsumi Kudo (1935-1990) had a rich artistic practice that spanned over forty years, delving deep into human experiences and processes, questioning the expansion of mass consumption and the rise of technology. His works, combining bio-morphic sculptures with ready-made materials and assemblage art, explore themes such as colonialism, racism, social cohesion, and environmental degradation.
This exhibition features a selection of Toshimi Kudo’s iconic Cage Series created between 1966 and 1980. These different worlds created within the artworks’ environments encourage the audience to see themselves as a part of a complete and complex universe. Nature, technology, and humanity interact with each other, which he refers to as “new ecology.” Running through all of Toshimi Kudo’s works on display is the artist’s interest in how systems such as time, nature, and culture are interrelated and overlapping, and how individuals integrate into the order of nature and the universe.
“My focus is on ‘observation.’ I observe you, observe myself, and everyone else, like a doctor observing guinea pigs.” – Tetsumi Kudo
Tetsumi Kudo: Cages
Date: May 31, 2024 – August 31, 2024
Time: Tuesday – Saturday｜11AM – 7PM
Location: Hauser & Wirth Hong Kong｜8 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
10. France May x JPS Gallery
“A Glimpse on the Bridge”
“Un regard depuis le pont” (“A Glance from the Bridge”) brings together five contemporary artists, each of whom has developed a unique artistic style due to their connection with France. Artists Edmond Li Bellefroid, Kean, Lokz Phoenix, Ricko Leung, and Timm Blandin were all born in or settled in France. In this exhibition, they will showcase a series of works in different mediums, highlighting the rich diversity and influence of French culture in today’s contemporary art scene.
A Glimpse on the Bridge
Date: June 14, 2024 – July 6, 2024
Time: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Location: JPS Gallery | Shops 218-219, 2/F, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong.
