Fresh off its successful debut at Milan’s ADI Design Museum last year, the touring exhibition is on display at HKDI Gallery. A response to the enduring Italy: The New Domestic Landscape – a group exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 1972 – ITALY: A New Collective Landscape features 100 Italian designers under 35, who attempt to grapple with the challenges of the current global moment while at the same time exploring the pluralistic possibilities of design.
The configuration of the exhibition highlights congruences with respect to three design virtues – systemic, relational and regenerative – operating under the assumption this landscape could be reconfigured in a myriad of new readings and associations. The exhibition features a wide variety of design objects, including furniture, apps, clothing, prints and more.
Visitors can also discover various perspectives on the exhibition through a series of free public engagement activities, with registration at popticket.
Connecting Myanmar (a registered charity in Hong Kong) is proud to present a charity exhibition of the legendary Myanmar artist Aung Myint’s works. Aung Myint’s works are collected by major institutions including the Guggenheim Museum. All profit from the show will support sending Myanmar youth to University education.
Kwok Mang Ho, Lee Wing Ki, Prof. Lee Yun Woon, Prof. Leong Lampo, Dr Leung Kwan Kiu, Tso Cheuk Yim, Yeung Yuk Kan / University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG), The University of Hong Kong / Sep 23 – Dec 30, 2023 / Ilaria Maria Sala
As ink has become more popular, and more gallery and museum space is being dedicated to the medium, there can be a slight confusion as to what it exactly is – and isn’t. A small but very diverse show at the University Museum Art Gallery at Hong Kong University, Kings’ Inscriptions · Contemporary Interpretations, provides a suitably wide panorama of what ink can be – starting from one of its first uses: ink rubbings of engraved steles.
As the show’s title suggests, the inscriptions, especially the most ancient ones, often retell the stories of kings, expanding on their moral qualities. Travelling literati would stop and copy the engravings by covering them with ink and pasting rice paper sheets on the stones, which would then be “rubbed” by tapping a piece of bundled cloth onto the paper, in order to transfer a negative of the inscription. In the show, we can see how this operation resulted in a much more complex reworking and reimagining of the inscriptions, as some scholars would then cut up the rubbings and paste them into their inscription albums – as in one example, anonymous, which is kept in the Collection of Fung Ping Shan Library at the University of Hong Kong. Another example is the inscription album from a stele at Mount Longjiao, from Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty (618-907), pasted in a concertina album, from the collection of Lee Yun Woo.
In order to juxtapose this with contemporary artists, we can also see on show some more recent kings and their ink inscriptions: there is the King of Kowloon, aka Tsang Tsou-choi (1921-2007), who went around Hong Kong with brushes and paint or ink, writing graffiti with his own version of a stele, in which he affirmed his sovereign rights over the land of Kowloon. As with the ancient stelae, this was done by writing full genealogies, with calligraphed lists of names.
Another regal artist active in Hong Kong and represented in the show is Frog King, aka Kwok Mang-ho, with specially made installation Calligraphy and Printed Ink Rubbings Inscriptions for the Ultra-space Frog Utopia, composed of found objects, a painted mannequin, calligraphy in Chinese and English, collage and paint. The Frog King inserts himself in the royal tradition of being inscribed on stelae, stating that “I, known as the ‘Frog King’, employ textual elements to proclaim my ‘royal’ identity and aspire to achieve lasting recognition through my name”.
Eastern Echo Series by Yeung Yuk Kan. Courtesy the artist and UMAG.
Other works abandon this direct dialogue with ancient stone inscriptions by playing with very different media. Yeung Yuk Kan has produced Eastern Echo Series for the show, a series of hand-built, hand-painted and monoprint porcelains, in which calligraphy, printmaking and ceramics merge into a single expression, representing collections of words gathered by the artist by asking friends and family for their favourites. Echoing the ancient stone inscriptions and their rubbings, the words were first engraved, then transferred to a porcelain slab through black porcelain slip, a very thin, runny paste made of water, porcelain and pigment. The printed slabs have then been rolled up, revisiting the classical Chinese scroll painting.
Lee Wing Ki. Courtesy the artist and UMAG.
Also highly thought-provoking is the piece by Lee Wing Ki, commissioned for this show, in which he plays with a 1955 list of the first Chinese characters to be simplified in mainland China. We see both the original book with the suggested list, and 15 small canvases on which the Chinese characters from the list are reproduced, superimposed on one another, faded out or darkened, in a new interpretation of the play between form and meaning that is intrinsic to calligraphy. It interrogates the viewer regarding what is simplified and what is full form, adding, subtracting and smearing out, and introducing a political layer of linguistic policies into calligraphic expression.
I Love You by Leung Kwan Kiu. Courtesy the artist and UMAG.
I Love You by Leung Kwan Kiu plays with the embedded submission to rulers that is a constant of stone inscriptions, with a playful three-canvas calligraphy in which the words I Love You are written first in Chinese, to represent Hong Kong’s pre-British times, then in English, for the colonial years, and again in Chinese, for the present, in black and white paint.
As the modern takes on stone inscriptions and ink reveal, the possibilities for playfulness and serious reflection are pretty much endless. Inscriptions, and their most classical medium of ink rubbings, always carry multiple levels of meaning through the materiality of the medium. To that, we must add the meaning of the words inscribed, the energy of the strokes in the writing and the further possibilities provided by the amount the artist chooses to intervene in readability versus the manipulation of the written characters and letters. In spite of its relatively small size, this show interrogates and amuses in equal parts, and represents a rewarding approach to the many possibilities of ink – and a creative springboard for those already close to the medium.
Featured image: Calligraphy and Printed Ink Rubbings Inscriptions for the Ultra-space Frog Utopia by Kwok Mang Ho. Courtesy the artist and UMAG.
The outcome of Matthew Brandt’s (b. 1982) images are often transformed or distorted during each photo’s development process, expanding upon the limits of the medium. His oeuvre of photo-based and process-heavy works will be on view at Learning to Surf at Rossi & Rossi. Learning to Surf is Brandt’s first show with the gallery and it marks his first ever solo exhibition in Asia. The exhibition includes a new series of prints on glass titled Swell, substantiated after his last visit to Hong Kong back in September.
Subject and material entwine in the practice of Brandt, and his fixation on the methods of developing and printing images equates his photography to the process of object making. Subject makes both the pictorial element and the photographic process, clustering tactile layers of reality that was seen and experienced.
Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) proudly presents Make & Believe, the second exhibition of ARTS • TECH Exhibition 2.0. Curated and produced by Orlean Lai, Make & Believe is a performative exhibition that examines the notions of illusion and reality through theatrical display, encompassing a spectrum of sounds, performances and scenography.
Developed from the theatrical-installation performance We are for real in 2023, Make & Believe transposes the narrative into an exhibition space, inviting audiences to roam free amidst theatrical components to create a personal and intimate experience. The exhibition offers a multi- sensory encounter, embodying the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) which seamlessly integrates objects, scenography, lighting and soundscapes to foster the active observation of audiences. Unlike the conventional story-driven theatre space, audiences are liberated from the unidirectional visual perspective of the spectator seats and are subsumed into an all-around narrative spectacle, eradicating the distinctions between fiction and reality as the line between theatre and exhibition blurs.
Collaborating artists include Tung Wing-hong (mechanical installation), Ng Tsz-kwan (mechanical installation), Ho Sin-tung (text/painting/installation), Human Wu (scenography), Lam Lai (music/soundscape) and Lau Ming-hang (lighting). For a holistic experience, the exhibition also includes special sessions of two sets of programmes with music performance and live performance. For the music performance, musicians will perform a brand-new composition by Lam Lai, that will blend with the soundscape installations to render a fascinating listening experience. Creative performers from We are for real will come together in live performance to unleash a new site-referential performance. These captivating moments will harmoniously guide audiences through the meticulously crafted artistic landscapes that make up the exhibition, embarking on unique artistic journeys.
Make & Believe runs until 28 January 2024 at F Hall Studio in Tai Kwun, Central. Interested parties can register online for free to experience the unique work of the artists, that resonate with one another to form a cohesive whole and at the same time, preserve each creative voice.
After starting its artistic journey in 1967, Whitestone Gallery has steadily grown to become a renowned name in the art world. With a rich history of promoting contemporary art, Whitestone has never slowed the pace at which it grows and explores, driven by a passion for introducing exceptional art to global audiences.
In 2017, the gallery expanded its footprint when Whitestone Gallery Taipei and Whitestone Ginza New Gallery opened their doors. Further strengthening its presence in Asia and providing exposure to artists from the region, Whitestone grew further in 2018 with the opening of Whitestone Gallery H Queen’s in Hong Kong, situated at one of the city’s most prestigious art addresses. During the Covid-19 pandemic, recognising the shift towards online platforms, Whitestone opened an online gallery, allowing art enthusiasts to access and purchase works remotely. Continuing its growth, Whitestone opened three additional spaces in 2023, in Beijing, Seoul and Singapore, representing yet another exciting chapter in its ongoing mission to connect artists, collectors and art enthusiasts worldwide.
Whitestone Gallery Beijing is nestled within the vibrant heart of Beijing’s art scene, in the 798 Art District. Once an industrial zone housing state-owned factories, the district has been transformed into a thriving hub of the art community. Designed by the visionary architect Kengo Kuma, like the two other new spaces, the gallery exudes a sense of openness, effortlessly accommodating large-scale artworks.
Whitestone Gallery Seoul is located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. It is close to Mount Namsan, which is not only a popular tourist attraction, with Seoul Tower at its centre, but also a place of relaxation for the citizens of Seoul due to the natural environment it offers. With interior design meticulously overseen by Kengo Kuma, the gallery has been created to blend in with the beautiful landscape. From the rooftop, where the sculptures are displayed, visitors can enjoy a magnificent view of Seoul and the lush greenery of the mountain backdrop.
Whitestone Gallery Singapore represents the gallery’s inaugural presence in the city-state. The venue shares its space with the New Art Museum Singapore, creating a harmonious blend of art and culture in the heart of Singapore. Situated in the thriving Tanjong Pagar Distripark (TPD) art district, the gallery is poised to become a hub for Southeast Asian art.
Whitestone embarked on an expansive journey in 2023 by introducing new conversations, fostering collaborations and enhancing artistic experiences. Entering 2024, the gallery promises to continue cultivating a thriving artistic ecosystem that inspires, engages and resonates with art lovers in Asia and worldwide.
Pixy Liao / Comfort ZoneJan 23 – Mar 9, 2024 / Opening: Saturday, Jan 20, 4pm – 6.30pm / Artist talk: Saturday, Jan 20, 5pm – 6pm (conducted in English) Artist will be present.
Blindspot Gallery 15/F Po Chai Industrial Building 28 Wong Chuk Hang Road Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong +852 2517 6238 Tuesday – Saturday, 10.30am – 6.30pm
Comfort Zone is Pixy Liao’s first solo exhibition at Blindspot Gallery. The exhibition features selected works recently created by Liao, encompassing photography, video, and ready-made sculpture.
Liao is known for carefully staged portraits of her and partner-collaborator Moro. Her works upend traditional representations of heterosexual relationships by inverting gender roles, often placing Moro as the subservient male muse and herself as the domineering artist-orchestrator. Tongue-in-cheek and imbued with a sense of humor, Liao’s work straddles between the performative and the autobiographical, unfurling her and Moro’s growing relationship.
During the opening reception on January 20, there will be an artist talk at 5pm – 6pm, conducted in English.
Marking the artist’s inaugural show in Asia, White Cube is pleased to present a solo exhibition of paintings and works on paper by Léon Wuidar (b. 1938).
Chronicling the artist’s remarkable six-decade career, the selection of paintings spans from the early 1960s to the present day, uniting Wuidar’s exuberant simplicities of form with his distinctive, exacting technical precision. Further illustrating the artist’s enduring experimentations with colour, line and composition, accompanying the paintings is a series of previously unseen works on paper, created by the artist in the 1990s.
Tiger in Mountains, Deer at Ocean / Blindspot Gallery / Hong Kong / Nov 28, 2023 – Jan 13, 2024 /
Tiger in Mountains, Deer at Ocean, curated by Leo Li Chen at Blindspot Gallery, focuses on Zhang Wenzhi’s latest series of works, primarily consisting of large-format ink-on-paper pieces, accompanied by a video.
Zhang’s artistic practice is deeply rooted in the historical context of Dalian, his hometown in northeastern China, now a modern port city. Throughout history, the region has experienced various periods of foreign occupation, with the British, Japanese and Russians all leaving their imprint. Zhang’s practice is embedded in this specific colonial history, as well as in the distinctive system of beliefs that once prevailed in that part of China, a fusion of Manchu shamanism, Japanese Shinto and Han religion. Within his artworks, mythological and hybrid creatures seamlessly intertwine with forest-dwelling animals, against the backdrop of the region’s complex history of rapid industrialisation and modernisation.
Bay of the Deer by Zhang Wenzhi, Ink and color pigments on paper, 199 x 119 cm (work size), 202.2 x 122 x 4.1 cm (framed size), 2023. Courtesy the artist and Blindspot Gallery.
Bay of the Deer (2023), a large work in ink and colour pigments on paper, welcomes viewers in the first gallery space. The focal point of the composition is a majestic deer, set against a tumultuous, fantastical landscape. Its inner musculature, painted with carnal pigments, is made visible, as if we can see through the animal’s skin. While the overall palette is black and white, the sky is pierced by a scattering of golden comets, their hues mirroring the luminosity emanating from the deer. In Manchu shamanism, the spotted deer is perceived as a messenger between human beings and divinities, and these celestial elements serve as a reflection of the animal’s spiritual presence.
The whole exhibition is derived from the artist’s discovery of a stuffed spotted deer at the Natural History Museum in Dalian, allegedly made by a shaman in the 1930s. From there, Zhang delved into the life and work of this local fisherman, who could communicate with the spirits of the forest and notably with the deer god Wusizhuye. His portrait can be detected at the foot of the deer in the composition, holding a drum, his head and shoulders covered by a scaled mantle, performing amid shells, lichens and monstrous beasts. In the video work Ballad of the Deer God (2021), the artist follows the lyrics of the shaman’s song, depicting the wild forest and its transformation. The drum and bells combine to produce a breathless, powerful sound that accompanies the images, recalling the sound of express trains when they accelerate.
The Shark-Deer Chronicle, [Back] by Zhang Wenzhi, Ink, archival materials mounted on paper, teakwood screen, 175.5 x 91.2 x 3.8 cm (each panel), 175.5 x 364.8 x 3.8 cm (4 panels unfold), 2023. Courtesy the artist and Blindspot Gallery.
Both Russia and Japan invested in infrastructure in the areas they controlled for a time. The construction of railways, such as the South Manchuria Railway by the Japanese, brought radical changes to the landscape. Their presence pervades the artist’s work as a symbol of this heavy industrialisation. In Expedition in Manchuria (2023), for instance, the emblem of the company is engraved on a forgotten stone standing amid the remnants of factories in ruin, where birds are now nesting. In Bay of the Deer (2023), the dark silhouette of the train emerges from the clouds like a deity, hurtling towards a newly built bridge spanning a tumultuous sea. We see the train again racing out of a rocky mountain in the masterpiece of the exhibition, The Shark-Deer Chronicle (2023), a four-panel folded screen featuring a giant hybrid animal, half spotted deer and half shark.
In this latter, large, ink composition, the mythical deity hovers amid an array of fantastical beings, suspended in the air and soaring above the ocean. One characteristic of these mythological creatures is their ability to undergo transformation, granting them the power to exist both on land and beneath the water. Fish, for instance, possess legs, human beings are dotted with fins, and sea dragons support fox-like heads. They embody the fluidity that connects different realms: reality and fiction, past and present or life and death. Zhang’s collage-like technique, together with the absence of perspective, strengthen these connections. At the same time, the artist plays with traditional motifs and various artistic styles to question this line of continuity. For instance, his graceful, swirling waves and clouds evoke classical iconography, drawing from both Japanese and Buddhist painting traditions. This mixed aesthetic is in powerful contrast with all the modern components of his compositions, underscoring the clash between tradition and progress.
Tiger Park by Zhang Wenzhi, Ink and color pigments on paper, 94.8 x 176.5 cm (work size), 97.3 x 179.2 x 4.1 cm (framed size), 2023. Courtesy the artist and Blindspot Gallery.
It is tempting to approach his work as a critique of the colonisation of nature, an idea that finds resonance in Tiger Park (2023), where a massive Siberian tiger roams in circles, confined in a tiny cage within a zoo. At the same time, nature, in his compositions, remains almighty. Birds incorporate industrial waste to make their nest, mountains absorb construction sites, and mythological creatures continue to strive and multiply. The artist leaves us with this ambiguity, inviting us to think beyond the usual dichotomy that opposes nature and civilisation.
Serpent’s Reef by Zhang Wenzhi Archival materials, ink and color pigments on paper, 86.3 x 172.7 cm (work size), 88.7 x 175 x 4.1 cm (framed size), 2023. Courtesy the artist and Blindspot Gallery.
Some of the research materials collected by the artist are glued onto the back of the panels, or directly incorporated into compositions, as in Serpent’s Reef (2023), where an army of deceased soldiers, depicted as fish, swim between old newspaper clips and a Japanese propaganda poster. With their dark, vacant eyes, they embody the soul of the warriors who fought during Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), and who are now drawn, hypnotised, towards the isle of death. Here, the enemies of yesterday join and move away from these old archives, prompting us to think anew about history. What is left from the past? Skeletons, stuffed animals or a vital impulse that can embrace time, space and all contradictions?
Although this exhibition showcases only a few of Zhang’s artworks, it provides a profound glimpse into the complex universe of an artist who successfully transforms his research into compelling, beautiful visual narratives.
Featured image: The Shark-Deer Chronicle, [Front] by Zhang Wenzhi, Ink, archival materials mounted on paper, teakwood screen, 175.5 x 91.2 x 3.8 cm (each panel), 175.5 x 364.8 x 3.8 cm (4 panels unfold), 2023. Courtesy the artist and Blindspot Gallery.
Whispers of the Soul / Villepin Gallery / Hong Kong / Nov 26, 2023 – Feb, 2024 /
In an art market flooded with so much noise, it’s easy to overlook the work of Lawrence Carroll. The Melbourne-born American artist, who died in 2019, created works that fill a room with silence and inspire contemplation. They encourage slowness and consideration in how we approach and understand painting.
Whispers of the Soul, Carroll’s first Hong Kong exhibition, at Villepin Gallery, features a selection of the artist’s sculptural canvases, photographs and sculptures. Curated by Olivier Kaeppelin and Arthur de Villepin, in collaboration with Carroll’s wife, Lucy Jones Carroll, the exhibition juxtaposes Carroll’s works with a scattering of others by Cy Twombly, Giorgio Morandi, Giorgio de Chirico and François Halard – artists who inspired Carroll and whom the artist admired. This curation enhances and creates dialogue between Carroll’s own works and the supporting artists. But make no mistake, Carroll’s works are the stars here.
Exhibition view. Courtesy Villepin Gallery.
Throughout much of his painting career – putting aside his album cover artwork for American heavy metal band Slayer – Carroll used a restrained, muted colour palette of whites and blanched colours that became a signature, repetitiously exploring their subtle variations, nuances and complexities over the decades. On the surface, his paintings appear to owe much to the minimalist movement, but Carroll’s work is nothing like the cool, detached, slick perfection of the work of Donald Judd, whom the artist admired, or Robert Ryman, with whom Carroll was exhibited in 1989 as one of nine young American artists in Harald Szeemann’s international exhibition Einleuchten at the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, Germany. Carroll’s white is not that of a purist or perfectionist, a white on white. Most of his paintings are off-white, dirtied and stained with streaks of other colours and flecks of dust, iron, wood or whatever else happened to be in the studio the day the painting was created. In this way, the canvas is like a page of a journal – of which Carroll was a prodigious writer – containing traces of the artist’s day and activities. It is a white that encompasses everything, containing emotions, memories and experiences.
The paintings’ surfaces are made up of many stitched-together pieces of canvas or even patterned fabric, sometimes stapled or glued atop other pieces onto the wooden frame. Often the works were assembled from found materials, a nod to the arte povera movement, although Carroll’s visual language was formed before he knew much about that. Paintings are taken apart and reassembled, the surface layered with materials and gestures, reworked and textured. They may look haphazard, slapdash, but Carroll’s works belie the slowness, solitude and concentration that are required to build them. Nothing is random. The artist uses household paint, fragments of canvas and cloth layered with oil, wax and dust to create them, sometimes also incorporating objects like flowers, or a wax mould of his hands in Untitled (hand painting) (2014), hanging like a macabre fleshy trophy from the top of the canvas’s frame. Paint is used to both reveal and conceal. Traces of fabric print, stitches and fragments of sentences are visible beneath the layers of paint and wax, like a wall stripped of years’ worth of paint to reveal an old fresco beneath.
Carroll’s works embrace imperfection and the human hand, but they also highlight the medium itself – the canvas and the stretcher become the art object, rather than just the material through which to express art. The three-dimensionality of an object or sculpture is brought together with the two-dimensionality of painting to explore their relationship. Large, clunky paintings jut out from the wall like boxes, sometimes at a human scale. One needs to walk around these works, to interact with them and participate in the creation of their narrative. These sculptural paintings draw the viewer in with their intimacy and detail, materiality and texture, and scale of the support and form. The artist’s hand is visible in the uneven, hand-hewn, wooden stretchers, the stitching and creases of the fabric and canvas.
Exhibition view. Courtesy Villepin Gallery.
Getting closer to the paintings, perhaps you notice threads from a frayed piece of canvas, uneven staples holding fabric together, or marks left by the artist’s hand or paintbrush. The surface of his sculptural paintings bear the patina of the passage of time – such as the yellowing of wax of Untitled (La Città) (1998). They look a little worn and tattered. Other paintings created over the course of Carroll’s career contain Perspex boxes inlaid into the wood and canvas, filled with dried flowers, leaves or old shoes, like nostalgic mementos from special moments. Light in the room creates another dimension of time passing, as shadow and light play across the surface of the paintings, changing the colours with the shifting sun. The paintings are like characters or people, changed and affected by their environments and the passing days.
Carroll’s works quietly and elegiacally capture the human condition, with its layers and fragments of memories, experiences and emotions that we each retrieve and sift through over the course of our lives. But while they are sorrowful, mourning the loss, decay and passing of life and time, they are also joyous, revelling in the beauty of a fleeting moment, of change and of just being.
