Courtesy of the Artist and Perrotin. ©2021 Izumi Kato
Cover The first-ever bronze sculptures by Japanese artist Izumi Keto (Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin. Photo: ©2021 Izumi Kato)

See our picks for the must-see items at K11 Musea’s Art Karnival, which is taking place this art month at the cultural-retail destination.

K11 Musea gets a ‘rosy’ makeover this month as it celebrates the city’s annual art festival. Called Art Karnival, the arts programme features pieces based on the theme of roses and the pink colour that tickle your senses of sight, smell and touch. Adrian Cheng’s harbourside retail and cultural centre, which is known for bringing together art, music, design and gastronomy, will launch a multitude of exhibitions, tours and workshops through K11 Art Karnival as a month-long art programme starting from mid-May. There are also a number of arts programmes presented by NGO K11 Art Foundation. Here are five highlights not to be missed.

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Isa Genzken, Rose II, 2007 at MoMA, The Abby Aldrich
Above Isa Genzken, Rose II, 2007 at MoMA, The Abby Aldrich. (Photo: MoMA)
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City As Studio book
Above City As Studio, published by K11 Art Foundation which will accompany the forthcoming exhibition of the same name.

Rose II

German female artist Isa Genzken, who is known for experimenting with materials and form to contemplate on the relationship between nature and city created Rose II.  An 8.5-metre-tall rose sculpture that seemingly rises from the sea against the skyline of Hong Kong’s architecture along the harbour that debuted in New York in 2010, the steel, aluminium and lacquer made rose is the largest sculpture exhibited in Asia to date.

From end of May. Promenade, G/F, Visual Corridor, K11 Musea

K11 Arts Foundation's International Arts Programme

K11 Art Foundation presents an international arts programme at K11 Musea this month. The programme introduces bronze sculptures by Japanese artist Izumi Kato; the inaugural edition of the Micromégas artist residency and cultural exchange programme between Hong Kong and France by the Consulate General of France and Videotage; an all-digital collaborative video art programme co-presented with Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art; as well as German artist Katharina Grosse’s extended solo exhibition in China. Also part of the programme, the publication book launch of City As Studio, which offers an exciting preview of the forthcoming 2022 exhibition of the same name. City As Studio will be helmed by art curator Jeffrey Deitch.

From May 14 to June 27.

See also: Adrian Cheng And John Dodelande's New Book, "Chinese Art: The Impossible Collection", Launches In May 2021

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Georges Mathieu painting Les Capétiens partout ! in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 10 October 1954. © Comité Georges Mathieu _ ADAGP, Paris - SACK, Seoul,
Above Georges Mathieu painting Les Capétiens partout !, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 10 October 1954. (Photo: © Comité Georges Mathieu)

Calligraphy Rhapsody – Retrospective Exhibition of Georges Mathieu

Co-presented by the K11 Art Foundation and the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, the retrospective exhibition presents the French oil painter’s oeuvre spanning the 1950s through to the 1990s. Mathieu was a painter, philosopher and pioneer of Lyrical Abstraction. He was known for curating exhibitions that connected the new School of Paris artists in post-war France and the Abstract Expressionists in New York in the 1940s and working with Asian calligraphy to re-explore pictorial and abstract visual languages.

May 19 to July 4. 605, K11 Art & Cultural Centre, 6F, K11 Musea

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BROKEN SERIES PINK EDITION
Above Broken Series Pink Edition. (Photo: Courtesy K11 Art Foundation)

Broken Series Pink Edition

Gufram and Snarkitecture, the New York design practice, debuts its Broken Series Pink Edition at K11’s art month pop-up. Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham toy with the concept of “soft/not soft” by using polyurethane to mimic concrete. Piecing together the Broken Mirror, Broken Square Mirror and Broken Bench, the handmade artwork creates the illusory optical effects where seemingly hard appearances and the materials’ softness seem to collide.

May 14 to June 27. Muse Edition, G/F, K11 Musea

 

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Xu Zhen’s In Just a Blink of an Eye
Above Xu Zhen’s In Just a Blink of an Eye, Supported By K11 Art Foundation. (Photo: Courtesy K11 Art Foundation)

In Just a Blink of an Eye by Xu Zhen

Contemporary Chinese artist Xu Zhen created In Just a Blink of an Eye (2005/2021), where he portrays a human figure suspending mid-fall for hours at a time through means invisible to viewers. His work questions the constructed reality of the viewing experience and explores temporality and space.

May 18 to 23. K11 Sculpture Park, 6F, K11 Musea

See also: 10 Must-See Art Exhibitions In Hong Kong In May 2021

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