Antonio Casadei & Hong Kong’s first public art commissions
Exhibition and Talks
Mar 18 – Jul 10, 2023
Ping Pong Gintonería
129 Second Street
L/G Nam Cheong House
Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong
+852 9035 6197
Tuesday – Sunday, 6pm – 10pm
@PINGPONG129
The exhibition shows a selection of work completed by the artist in Hong Kong and includes a photo-essay by Hong Kong photographer William Furniss about Casadei’s public art installations in Statue Square and Mei Foo Sun Chuen.
Antonio Casadei (1923-2014) was born in Forli, Italy and had a long career as a renowned painter, ceramist, photographer and cinematographer, and as a professor at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. After studying ceramics in 1948, he built a reputation for large ceramic and sculptural installations for residential and commercial projects in Italy during the 1950s.
Arriving in Hong Kong in 1962, coinciding with Hong Kong’s post-war building boom, he set up a ceramic studio in the New Territories, holding regular exhibitions of his paintings, drawings, sculptures and ceramic works during the 1960s and 70s. He was commissioned to design prestigious mural projects in the Mandarin Hotel and the Prince’s Building (both since demolished). A large bas-relief installation in Tai Ping Koon Restaurant in Causeway Bay can still be seen. Major public commissions include his stainless steel and ceramic sculptures at Mei Foo Sun Chuen (1968-78) and the iconic Statue Square fountains and ceramic murals (1965), which are still enjoyed by the Hong Kong public. His work can also be seen in Singapore and Manila. After leaving Hong Kong, Casadei lived in Spain and continued working until his death in 2014.
Talks
During Art Basel week, Ping Pong Gintonería, in association with Artomity, Hong Kong’s art magazine, will host a series of talks focusing on Hong Kong’s changing urban landscape in art and public art design over the past 60 years.
Wednesday, 22 March, 4.30pm – 6pm
Bouie Choi & John Batten: Seeing Hong Kong Now
Hong Kong artist Bouie Choi’s current exhibition of groundbreaking landscape paintings at Grotto Fine Art and art critic and photographer John Batten’s recent street photographs each try to capture the feeling of Hong Kong now. In a frank conversation, they will discuss each other’s work.
Thursday, 23 March, 4.30pm – 6pm
Joyce Wong: The Fantasy World of Luis Chan
Joyce Wong, curator of the recent Luis Chan retrospective exhibition at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, will discuss the art and life of Chan, whose visionary paintings captured the freewheeling zeitgeist of 1960s and 70s Hong Kong.
Friday, 24 March, 4.30pm – 6pm
Fionnuala McHugh: The Art of Antonio Casadei
Journalist Fionnuala McHugh will discuss Antonio Casadei, whose 1960s and 70s public art commissions were some of the first to be included in private interior design and large public landscape building projects in Hong Kong.
Each talk will be illustrated, conducted in English and presented by Artomity at Ping Pong Gintonería. Entry is free.
