“This is my last exhibition before I leave Hong Kong to study in the UK. Therefore, I selected a variety of works to make a summary. Some are more life-oriented and some are more abstract. I always believe that the works reflect what I usually think, see, what kind of person I am, and this exhibition describes me from the shallower to the deeper, from life to personal thoughts to personal feelings.”
— Lean

Gallery by the Harbour presents “a + b”, the sensational Japanese artist Keigo’s first solo exhibition from 2 July to 2 August, which depicts various animal characters encountering humorous real-life conundrums in their daily lives. The exhibition title “a + b” resonates with Keigo’s design concept for all his artworks: a combination of two simple elements igniting unlimited possibilities, allowing various perceptions for each individual. Come and find out why Keigo the illustrator is such a big hit on Instagram and how his quirky and witty delivery made a name for him globally.

It’s Always You is the latest immersive experience by the artist to explore individualism and the idea of self in contemporary life. The artist will transform a section inside K11 Design Store into a room that is filled with mirrors, reflections and neon slogans, creating an optical illusion of the space vanishing due to multiple reflections. Through this ‘Invisible Shop’, the artist creates a stage for visitors to perform, encouraging unselfconscious selfies inside the space, and at the same time, mocking such inflated sense of self and excessive self-admiration that echoes with the neon sign ‘It’s Always You’. Only when the visitors exit the space will they realise that the mirror is see-through from outside and their behaviours in the room just now are in fact not so private. The installation immediately switches perspective and position for the performer, and forces them to see themselves clearly ‘without the mirror’.

Under CHAN Ka Kiu’s manipulation of space and perspectives, visitors can immerse in a theatrical experience where they can be both the performer and the audience. The artist prompts us to question the ‘self’ we see and try to portray – how differently would one act and feel if he’s aware that the other side of the mirror is glass instead of solid walls? Funny at first sight, this semi-awkward yet luring installation is more than just a joke, we hope all visitors can enjoy a few moments of self-love, self-reflection and perhaps self realisation too. In a room where only your own reflections are visible and everything else is invisible, the artist challenges your sensitivity and wonders if you manage to notice other things that exist in the installation.

Conceived as a sequel to Cheng Ran’s work Always I Trust in 2014, which was inspired by a computer-generated spam email sent to the artist by an unknown woman, Cheng continues to explore the subject of emotional isolation experienced by city dwellers. Contrary to the previous piece, the new work is taken from the perspective of an abandoned hacked email account that auto-generates unintelligible messages to hundreds of recipients, creating a random list that reverberates in the virtual city network. Starring acclaimed actress Carina Lau, Always I Distrust constructs a fantasy world in a fictional setting, a space for listening and meditation, immersing the viewers in an abstract yet magnificently tactile and interactive time-space, as they traverse liquid spaces and interconnected portals in a nine-minute experience.

A picture speaks a thousand words.Held at Gallery by the Harbour from 2 to 19 April, 2020, National Geographic Wheelock Hong Kong Photo Contest 2019 Winners’ Exhibition, offers an international platform not only for Hong Kong photographers aged 16 and above to showcase their awe-inspiring works, but also to reveal the best of The Oriental Pearl to the world.

Themed “Hong Kong Story: Nature, City and People”, the National Geographic Wheelock Hong Kong Photo Contest 2019 is divided into five categories: “Nature”, “City”, “People”, “Mobile Photography” and “Monochrome Photography”. This year, the competition has received almost 3000 submissions from both photography enthusiasts and professionals from a total of 15 countries such as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Mainland China, Spain, USA, Hungary and more.

Now that the time to RECONNECT has arrived, 3812 Gallery invites you to rediscover your connection with art as we reflect on our shared values and support of one another, and as we take time to value compassion, love and laughter. Through RECONNECT, we also want to use this pause from busy city life to reconnect with our planet, and to appreciate the beauty of nature.

AISHONANZUKA is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of Japanese artist Takeshi Masada “Where the birds return, the horizon that sticks to the eyes”, which will be Masada’s first exhibition in Hong Kong.

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1977, Takeshi Masada has been highly acclaimed for his dynamic images and compositions, which are mainly paintings that reconstruct scenes from movies, TV shows and everyday life with bold brushstrokes and vibrant colors. In recent years, he has participated in a number of exhibitions, including “The Way of Painting” (Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, 2014), “The Adventure of Alter Japan Phase 01: Zen and Psychedelic” (Sprout Curation, Tokyo, 2011), and “Portrait Session” (Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, 2007).

For Masada’s first exhibition in three years, focuses on works created from the experience of spending an unprecedentedly long period of time in the house with the artist himself and his family during the declaration of a state of emergency by Covid-19 and restrictions on going out from March 2020.

Masada says that while he was forced to live under a self-restraint, he was fascinated by the unchanging and free birds outside his window in contrast to the strange, uninhabited scenery of the city, and that he began to see things that he had not seen before in a world with less noise, perhaps due to the decrease in human activity. The highly evocative title of this exhibition, “Where the birds return, the horizon that sticks to the eyes,” expresses the hope for a return to the everyday life under such special circumstances, and the importance of “imagining” in closed situations. The view from Masada’s window will surely take viewers to the horizon of their imagination.

Cang Yuan is known as “the new representative of Western contemporary abstraction”. He graduated from School of Plastic Arts at Paris VIII University and the Ecole Supérieure Libre d’Art de Paris (ESLAP), focuses on oil painting and philosophical aesthetics. From Xi’an to Paris, Cang delivers his attitude and pursuits perfection in his works through his life experience. Cang’s works present a bizarre, phantom-like landscape with gorgeous colors, fuzzy outlines and poetic languages. Influenced by Francis Bacon, the “space” Cang creates in his works breaks through the framework and gives it a sense of “infinity”. At the same time, he fuses the heroic temperament of Northwest Chinese with the Western contemporary abstraction, paying tribute to the glorious civilization of the Tang and Song Dynasties. His painting has reached the realm of “poetry within painting,” which is considered to be “another perfect embodiment of the richness and creativity of cultural exchanges between East and the West.”

“Calming down one’s mind and appreciating nature surroundings accord with Dao’s way.” This is the essence of traditional literati painting. It highlights the respect of subjective world of individuals perspective in creating, and embodies the oriental aesthetic. The theme Aesthetic Essence reflects his aesthetic value. From Sanyu, Zao Wouki to Cang Yuan, these French-based artists devoted to expressing different cultures and aesthetics. Cang is a creator, an observer, a presenter, also an interactor.

Wing Shya is a Master when it comes to capturing or amplifying particular human emotions and atmospheres. He pictures the tactile tension that exists between lovers: togetherness, intimacy or the hint of the erotic about to unfold. Or he frames the extreme opposite: the deep longing for love and connection, loneliness and isolation. Either way, there often is a sense of time being suspended. As if reality is slowing down and standing still in time. There is a strong sense of waiting. Something dramatic is about to happen.

Cheer Bell Gallery proudly presents Hong Kong ink artist Brenda Hong’s first solo exhibition with us. The exhibition will run from 2 January through 11 February 2021. You are warmly welcome to visit us on 2 January 2021, the opening day of the exhibition.
The exhibition “Rhapsody” is named after Brenda Hong’s latest series, in which she branched out into making collages with pieces of her own fresh works of paper, torn up abruptly on the spot. Despite this particular variation, her bold, energetic brushwork and expressive use of colours remain consistent. The modern artist was refocusing on turning a new page after having gone through all the chaos in 2020.
The rhythmic and vigorous rearrangement of these happenings is truly a feast for the eyes. Don’t miss the opportunity to take in the very essence and flowing brushstrokes in Brenda Hong’s ink art.