Hong Kong Art Week might be over, but what’s in store for us in April is far from lacking. From artworks by avant-garde artists to an event celebrating Hong Kong's independent filmmakers, the exhibitions happening this April are guaranteed to keep you entertained as you slowly recover from Art Week withdrawal. Scroll down to check out the Tatler-approved list of the best art exhibitions in Hong Kong to see this month:

1. Antony Gormley: Rooting the Synapse

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Above Antony Gormley, Fall (2017), cast iron, 67 x 142.5 x 113.6 cm. (Photo: Stephen White. Courtesy of the artist)

Acclaimed sculpture artist Antony Gormley returns to White Cube Hong Kong for the second time with a solo exhibition featuring new sculptures. With one of his sculptures currently on display at Harbour Arts Sculpture Park, Gormley’s works already got the city’s attention with pedestrians mistaking his Naked Man sculptures erected on the top of skyscrapers as suicide attempts back in 2015.

This time, Gormley presents a development in his recent practice with a new series of sculptures that apply plant-like branching systems to map a human body in space. Made of iron, the works draw upon a wide range of cultural references and further our fascination with patterns within the natural world such as traditional Greek patterns and ancient Chinese cloud motifs.

Rooting the Synapse runs until May 19 at White Cube Hong Kong, 50 Connaught Road, Central; +852 2592 2000; whitecube.com

See also: First Look: Inside Hong Kong's First International Sculpture Park

2. Independently Yours

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Above Image: Courtesy of Hong Kong Arts Centre

Hong Kong's film industry has an irreplicable reputation of its own as some prominent Hollywood movies were inspired by Hong Kong’s distinct cinematography. As the city’s independent filmmakers get their fair share of attention, the Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) continues to support the development of Hong Kong independent cinema.

Independently Yours was a regular film programme established in 1997 that showcases some outstanding indie production such as Made in Hong Kong by Fruit Chan, Neon Goddesses by Yu Lik-wai and In the Dumps by Kwok Wai-lun. 20 years after its debut, the HKAC is relaunching the programme at the HKAC Cinema with four titles from local production including Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei’s Human Flow.

Independently Yours runs until April 22 at the Hong Kong Arts Centre Cinema, 2 Harbour Road, Wan Chai; +852 2582 0247; hkac.org.hk

3. Hiroshi Mori: Laughing Quietly To Myself

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Above Hiroshi Mori, If There Was Impossible Campbell's Soup Cans…Nissin Demae Ramen, Sesame Oil (2018), acrylic, urethane, silver mirror coating, UV silk screen printing on wood panel, 60.6 x 45.5 cm. (Image: Courtesy of Art Experience Gallery)

Having made his Art Central debut this year, Tokyo-based artist Hiroshi Mori will return to Art Experience Gallery this month to have his second solo exhibition in Hong Kong. Mori’s works fall into the grey area between cartoon and realistic paintings, an elaboration of the simulation art and appropriation art of the 80s that amalgamates and recontextualises characters from Japanese animé and scenes from European religious paintings.

Known for producing his works on aluminium surfaces, the artist will showcase a large collection of his works at Laughing Quietly To Myself, including some of his past works and the paintings he specifically created for Art Central 2018.

Laughing Quietly To Myself will run from April 28 until May 26 at Art Experience Gallery, Room 2009, 20/F, Cable TV Tower, 9 Hoi Shing Road, Tsuen Wan, New Territories, Hong Kong; +852 2110 9928; artexperiencegallery.com

See also: First Look: Inside Art Central Hong Kong 2018

4. Emerald City

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Above Ashley Bickerton, Seascape: Floating Ocean Chunk No. 1 (2017), resin, fiberglass, oil paint, enamel, aluminium, plywood, 144.8 × 188 × 53.3 cm. (Image: Courtesy of the Artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong)

Presented by Adrian Cheng’s K11 Art Foundation, Emerald City is a group exhibition that highlights the connectivity of universal knowledge through space. Featuring artists Ashley Bickerton, Dora Budor, Doris Wong Wai Yin, Alice Wang and more, the exhibition examines how geometry shapes our conception of the world around us.

By bringing different mediums of works along with basic geometric concepts that represent spatial relations, Emerald City looks into the structures and meanings of the cosmos, land and sea, architectural environments, the human body and other physical and abstract spaces. 

Emerald City runs until April 22 at K11 Art Foundation pop-up space, 33 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan; k11artfoundation.org

See also: Exclusive: K11 Emerald City Opening And Private Dinner

5. Ai Weiwei: Refutation

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Above Ai Wei Wei, Law of the Journey (2016), reinforced PVC, 1640 x 580 x 350 cm. (Image: Courtesy of Tang Contemporary Art)

Returning to Hong Kong for the inaugural show of Tang Contemporary Art’s new space at H Queen’s, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s second solo show in Hong Kong looks into one of the most pressing global issues: refugees.

Ai began filming video with his phone when he saw refugees climb out of a simple inflatable boat on the Greek island of Lesbos back in 2015. Since then, his team has shot nearly 1,000 hours of footage in 40 refugee camps in 23 countries. One of the notable pieces at the show is Law of the Journey, a giant black inflatable boat carrying 61 human figures.

Refutation runs until April 30 at Tang Contemporary Art, 10/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central; +852 2682 8289; tangcontemporary.com

See also: Game Changer: Pansy Ho Steers Macau In A New Direction

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