Cover The best art exhibitions happening in Hong Kong this April. Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner)
April’s exhibitions bring art powerhouses from around the world to Hong Kong––here's what not to miss:

1. Lévy Gorvy: Eternal Seasons

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Above Vincent Van Gogh, View of a Park in Paris (1886) (Courtesy of Lévy Gorvy)

Themed around the four seasons, this exhibition features masterpieces from across 150 years of art history. The list of works includes pieces by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Odilon Redon, Raoul Dufy and Henri le Sidaner, many of which are being shown for the first time in Asia.

This show will be followed by the second presentation, opening on April 28, that focuses on postwar and contemporary artists, including Zao Wou-ki and Takashi Murakami.

Until May 31. Lévy Gorvy, Ground Floor, 2 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong. Find out more at levygorvy.com

See also: Artworks By Van Gogh, Yayoi Kusama And More Will Be On Display In Hong Kong From March 2021

2. Hauser & Wirth: Jack Whitten

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Above Jack Whitten, Windows Of The Mind: A Monument Dedicated To The Power Of Painting! (1995) (Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth)

American abstract artist Jack Whitten was celebrated for the innovative methods he used to apply paint to canvas, and the many ways in which his work explored his experiences of living as a Black man in America. 

His bold, experimental work blurs the boundaries between mechanical automation and personal expression, as well as sculpture and painting.

This show—his first solo exhibition in Asia—features rarely seen paintings, sculpture and works on paper from the 1960s through 2010s.

Until July 31. 16-15/F, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong. Find out more at hauserandwirth.com

3. David Zwirner: James Welling: Metamorphosis

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Above James Welling Lavender Mist, (2014) (© James Welling. Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner)

American photographer James Welling was a pioneer in the 1970s when he, then just a student, began taking black-and-white photographs of aluminium foil. These early works marked a shift in the history of photography, encouraging artists to think about how they can make images for the camera, rather than simply taking photos of what was around them. 

The solo exhibition is Welling’s first presentation in Hong Kong or China. It offers an overview of his career from the 1980s and explores the tension between abstraction and figuration in his photographs.

Until May 5. 5-6/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong. Find out more at davidzwirner.com.hk

4. Pace: Signs

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'Signs' installed at Pace Gallery, 12/F, H Queen's, 80 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong, March 4–April 24, 2021. from left: Qiu Xiaofei, Snow House 2, 2020, #77264; Qiu Xiaofei, Snow House 1, 2020, #77263. format of photography: digital, name of photographer: Louise Lo, date of photography: 3/3/2021
Above Exhibition view: Qiu Xiaofei, Pace Gallery, Hong Kong. (©Qiu Xiaofei. Courtesy of: Pace Gallery. Photography: Louise Lo)

The group exhibition gathers paintings and drawings made during the early stage of the pandemic by China-based artists from Pace’s roster, including Li Songsong and Mao Yan. It showcases the creative responses of these artists to the pandemic and their reflections on the forces that shape civilisations.

During the pandemic some of these artists changed their practice: Mao Yan, for example, started making ink-on-paper works alongside his more famous oil paintings. 

Until April 24. 12/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong. Find out more at pacegallery.com

5. Perrotin: Laurent Grasso

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Above Laurent Grasso, Future Herbarium. (© Laurent Grasso / ADAGP, Paris & SACK, Seoul 2021. Courtesy of Perrotin.)

French artist Laurent Grasso is a multi-disciplinary artist who works with videos, paintings, sculptures and public installations. His art is concerned with time, geography and paranormal phenomena—it tries to offer viewers a new perspective on history and reality.

His solo show in Hong Kong features his latest works from the Studies in the Past series as well as his recent Future Herbarium series, which documents flowers in Japan that have mutated since the Fukushima nuclear disaster. 

Until April 24. K11, Atelier, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Find out more at perrotin.com

6. Blue Lotus Gallery: Yasuhiro Ogawa: The Dreaming

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Above Yasuhiro Ogawa, 'Untitled' , Guatemale(1997) (© Yasuhiro Ogawa, Courtesy of: Blue Lotus Gallery)

Japanese photographer Yasuhiro Ogawa finished his book project The Dreaming last February. This exhibition, which showcases roughly 20 handmade dark room prints, will be the first in the world related to the book.

Both the book and the exhibition reflect on Ogawa's travels through Southeast Asia and Latin America over the past 30 years, which he has immortalised in serene, otherworldly photographs. 

April 9 to May 4. Blue Lotus Gallery, G/F, 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Find out more at bluelotus-gallery.com

7. Galerie Du Monde: Exposé

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Above Wu Chi-Tsung, Exposé. (Courtesy of: Galerie Du Monde and the artist)

Cyanotype was invented to duplicate engineering drawings and was one of the first ways of creating photographic images in the 19th century.

But in 2012, Taiwanese artist Wu Chi-Tsung invented his own cyanotype process by crushing the light sensitive paper, exposing it to light and flattening it. This creates an illusion of traditional Chinese landscape painting when, in fact, it’s Wu’s contemporary interpretation of landscape paintings.

Exposé, curated by Ying Kwok, showcases Wu’s Cyano-Collage series and explores its relationship to traditional art and aesthetics.

March 25 to June 16. Galerie du Monde, 108 Ruttonjee Centre, 11 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong. Find out more at galeriedumonde.com

8. Asia Society Hong Kong Center: Extended Figure: The Art and Inspiration of Lalan

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Above Xie Jinglan, At Full Moon (1984) (Courtesy of Lalan Estate.)

Xie Jinglan, who is better known as Lalan, was a pioneer of modern dance, electronic music and abstract painting, whose work drew inspiration from ancient Chinese landscape art. She was married to fellow painter Zao Wou-ki for more than 15 years, with whom she had a son.

Featuring more than 30 works by Lalan and performances by local musicians and dancers, this exhibition marks what would have been the late artist’s 100th birthday.

April 27 to September 19. Chantal Miller Gallery, Asia Society Hong Kong Center, 9 Justice Drive, Admiralty, Hong Kong. Find out more at asiasociety.org

9. Simon Lee Gallery: Hans-Peter Feldmann

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Above Hans-Peter Feldmann, Untitled (© Hans-Peter Feldmann)

The German artist enjoys modifying historic oil paintings and blurring distinctions between high and low cultures to create humourous and absurd outcomes. For instance, in A Story, he places three found paintings together where viewers can reinterpret the originally irrelevant subjects as a fable.

This third solo exhibition in the Hong Kong space displays sculpture, photography, installation, collage, the appropriated image and found object from across Feldmann’s nearly five-decade career.

Until May 8. 304, 3/F, The Pedder Building 12 Pedder Street, Central, Hong Kong. Find out more at simonleegallery.com

10. Hong Kong Museum of Art: NOT a fashion store!

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Above Shieh Ka-ho, Wilson, Chow Yun Fat’s fitting room (2009) (Courtesy of: HKMoA)

This exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art transforms the institution into a 'shopping mall', where more than 70 pieces of contemporary and classic clothes, shoes and accessories are displayed.

These exhibits are selected from museum's four core collections— Chinese Antiquities, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, China Trade Art, and Modern and Hong Kong Art—showing how fashion has influenced the arts throughout history. 

March 19 to January 5, 2021. Hong Kong Museum of Art, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Find out more at hk.art.museum

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