10 Must-See Art Exhibitions In Hong Kong In February 2021
By Zabrina Lo
February 01, 2021
February’s exhibitions take you around the world, thanks to international artists who have documented their culture in their work
Celia Ho curated these two solo exhibitions by Hong Kong-based artists Luke Ching Chin Wai and Vvzela Kook, which are taking place concurrently at Para Site. Inspired by The Matrix, Luke Ching’s art examines the current social climate in Hong Kong, while Vvzela Kook is showing installations inspired by Kowloon Walled City.
Until February 21. 22/F, Wing Wah Industrial Building, 677 King’s Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. Find out more at para-site.art
This joint exhibition features the work of American abstract painter Sam Francis and Chinese-American artist Walasse Ting. Francis and Ting met during the 1950s in New York, where the abstract expressionist movement was a major influence on both of them. The show features 18 works on paper created between the 1960s and the 1990s that provide insight into their friendship.
Until March 20. 21/F Lyndhurst Tower, 1 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Hong Kong. Find out more at alisan.com.hk
© Raoul De Keyser / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SABAM, Belgium
(Courtesy of Family Raoul De Keyser and David Zwirner)
Belgian painter Raoul De Keyser, who died in 2012, was a pioneer of the new vision movement, which developed in the 1960s and encouraged the use of simple shapes, gestures and painterly marks to convey powerful emotions. This exhibition features paintings from throughout De Keyser’s five-decade career. His work has been collected by several major international museums, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
Until March 6. 5-6/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong. Find out more at davidzwirner.com.hk
Members of the Min Chiu Society, a group of art collectors based in Shanghai and Hong Kong, have been committed to promoting Chinese art at home and abroad ever since the club was founded in 1960. This exhibition, held to celebrate the society’s 60th anniversary, showcases more than 300 antiques and artworks. Among the pieces on display are Chinese paintings and calligraphy, ceramics, jade, lacquerware, bamboo carvings, furniture and textiles.
Until April 28. 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Find out more at hk.art.museum
Pieces by some of Gagosian’s most famous artists have been gathered together in this group show. Highlights include a new painting by American artist Ed Rushca and a large-scale photograph of the HSBC Building in Hong Kong by German photographer Andreas Gursky. Also on show are one of Korean artist Nam June Paik’s famous robot sculpturs, an oil painting by Cy Twombly and works by Takashi Murakami, Zeng Fanzhi and Jenny Saville, among others.
Until April 30. 7/F, Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central. Find out more at gagosian.com
Beijing-born artist Zheng Bo, now a lecturer at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, is known for exploring ecological engagements in his artistic practice. He has created weedy gardens, living slogans and eco-queer films with and from multiple plant species. His latest exhibition that features words made up of orchids is inspired by the TED talk “Life is easy. Why do we make it so hard?” by Jon Jandai, Thai activist for sustainable living. Through working with resident ecologists and artificially repositioning the orchid plants, Zhang portrays his apprehension about how modern life is made convenient at the expense of other species in nature.
Until March 14. Walter Kerr Gardens and Art House, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, Lam Kam Rd, Tai Po, Hong Kong. Find out more at newartspower.hk
Japanese multidisciplinary artist Dai Fujiwara experiments with a multitude of materials, including fabric painted by drones. Famous for his innovative designs, he is the director of the MUJI to GO project and Shiseido’s open-innovation lab. His latest project in Hong Kong is inspired by his fascination over hand anatomy. It places his previous and new works side by side, inviting viewers to travel between the world today where we still rely on our human hand and the future where robot hands will replace us. “This title envisions our future,” says Fujiwara on HKDI’s website. “The fusion of cyber and physical. The two will intermingle in our daily lives and create a new lifestyle.”
Until March 28 online. 3 King Ling Road, Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong. Find out more at hkdi.edu.hk
Conversation #4, (2018) (Courtesy of the artist and Massimo De Carlo)
Beijing-based artist Lu Song is inspired by imaginary places and the natural world. His early works featured jungle foliage and water. Recently, he has focused on painting purple flowers, sometimes enlarging them to fill the whole canvas and using layer and layer of paint as a reflection on the power of nature.
February 5 to March 18. 3/F Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central, Hong Kong. Find out more at massimodecarlo.com
Hong Kong-based American Chinese multi-discipinlary artist Ernest Chang was diagnosed with red-green colour-blindness, but this doesn’t stop him from exploring art. In his exhibition Bling Dynasty, his new works are created with techniques from Western and Chinese art and handicraft traditions, including silkscreen prints on plexiglass, resin and bronze sculptures, embroidery as well as calligraphy. Known for confronting contemporary mass culture and consumerism, Chang combines pop art with Tang and Han Dynasty painting iconography. One can find visual references from animations and games such as South Park, Rick and Morty and Family Guy. The resulting visual juxtaposition offers a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the domination of Chinese consumerism on the global marketplace.
From February 20 to April 4, 2021. G/F, 82A Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Find out more at thestallery.com
Originally curated by The Museum of Photography in Seoul, the photography exhibition presents 62 images by 12 Korean photographers who capture the evolution of the capital city that spans four decades between the 1970s and the 2010s, from tearing down historic buildings to the rise of a modern metropolis. The Hong Kong show is supported by The Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong as a part of its third anniversary celebration.
Until March 20. Korean Cultural Centre, 6-7/F and Unit S414, Block A, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong. Find out more at hk.korean-culture.org
