Cover Seated woman with fan. Image Courtesy of the University Museum and Art Gallery, HKU.

The best new gallery offerings in Hong Kong this month include contemporary and classic artists from around the world

The best gallery offerings in Hong Kong this month include contemporary and classic artists from around the world. Here are ten new shows not to miss.

1. David Zwirner: Isa Genzken

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Above Installation view of Isa Genzken: Paris New York 2020 at David Zwirner Paris © Isa Genzken / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner and Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne.

German contemporary artist Isa Genzken, whose prodigious body of work includes paintings, collages, drawings, films and photographs, is best known for her sculptures. This show features key works from the past ten years of her career, including her Schauspieler (Actors) series.

From October 20 to December 18. 5-6/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central. Find out more at davidzwirner.com

2. Flowers Gallery: Into a Carpet Made of Water

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Above Into a Carpet made of Water (2021) by Aida Tomescu. © Aida Tomescu, courtesy of Flowers Gallery.

Sydney-based painter Aida Tomescu’s exhibition is inspired by Thomas Bernhard’s Under the Iron of the Moon, a collection of poems exploring mortality and nature. Tomescu applies layers of paint, then scrapes and repositions them to depict natural elements. This process of continued modification contributes to what she calls the “living structure in the painting”.

Until November 13. 49 Tung Street, Sheung Wan. Find out more at flowersgallery.com

3. Axel Vervoordt: Shen Chen

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Above Untitled No.71313-21 by Shen Chen. Courtesy of Axel Vervoordt Gallery and the artist.

Mainland Chinese artist Shen Chen’s work is as much philosophical as physical. While creating his Chinese ink pieces, he uses a wide variety of traditional ink art brushes to create abstract, minimalistic paintings inspired by meditation and philosophy, a modern take on some very ancient practices.

From October 16 to December 25. 21F Coda Designer Building, 62 Wong Chuk Hang Rd, Wong Chuk Hang. Find out more at axel-vervoordt.com/gallery

4. White Cube: Unbuilt

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Above Square Drawing by Minoru Nomata. Courtesy of the artist and White Cube.

Japanese painter Minoru Nomata grew up in Tokyo’s industrial Meguro district at a time when the country was undergoing rapid economic growth, which is reflected in his art, where he explores the aesthetics of machinery and structural designs. For the past four decades, he has created a rich visual vocabulary of imaginary buildings, monoliths and “eco-scapes”. His architecture may not be functional, but it encourages conversations about the sense of time and space.

Until November 13. 50 Connaught Road Central, Central. Find out more at whitecube.com

5. Tai Kwun: Poetic Heritage

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'Poetic Heritage', Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong, 2021
Above Pallet in Repose, Barren Rock by Leelee Chan. Photo by Kwan Sheung Chi. Courtesy of Tai Kwun.

Six artists and artist groups from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Switzerland, Brazil, Spain and the US explore the relationship between heritage and contemporary art in this exhibition curated by Tam Hok-nang Alex. The artists collect and create art out of discarded materials from their daily lives. By doing so, they open up the discussion about what differentiates debris from art, and what criteria determine what is worthy of being preserved.

Until November 21. Tai Kwun Contemporary, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central. Find out more at taikwun.hk

See also: K11 Musea Presents New Arts and Cultural Experiences in Hong Kong This Fall

6. Blindspot Gallery: The Last Night

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Above Time Shop by Chen Wei (2019). Courtesy of the artist and Blindspot Gallery.

This exhibition takes its title from the song sung by Tsai Chin, performed at the end of the 1984 film, which in turn was adapted from the 1971 short story The Last Night of Taipan Chin by Taiwanese author Pai Hsien-yung. The tale of a veteran nightclub hostess pondering the fading glamour of old Shanghai inspired Beijing-based artist Chen Wai to create large-scale photographs and multimedia light installations that capture the scenes of a city. He explores the melancholia and emptiness that derive from China’s drastically changing cityscapes.

Until November 13. 15/F, Po Chai Industrial Building, 28 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang. Find out more at blindspotgallery.com

7. HKU University Museum and Art Gallery: Reflected Beauty: Chinese Reverse Glass Paintings from the Mei Lin Collection

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Above Flowers and Scholars' Objects from the late Qing dynasty, borrowed from the Mei Lin Collection. Courtesy of Rupprecht Mayer.

The exhibition displays reverse glass paintings from the late Qing dynasty and early Republican period, which are rarely displayed in museums. Reverse glass paintings are created, quite literally, by applying paint to a glass surface then viewing the artwork by turning the glass over. In 19th and 20th-century China, such works tended to depict auspicious Chinese symbols and literary references; the pieces on display at HKU showcase domestic scenes and natural landscapes of modern China.

Until January 30, 2022. 1/F, TT Tsui Building, UMAG, HKU, 90 Bonham Road, Pok Fu Lam. Find out more at www.umag.hku.hk/en/

8. Pearl Lam Galleries: Dale Frank

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200cm x 200cm
Above James and John (1959) by Dale Frank. Courtesy of the artist and Pearl Lam Gallery.

Australian artist Dale Frank creates minimalist and expressionist paintings that suggest the transformation from the state of being solid to liquid and vice versa, by experimenting with different types of paint. In his new pieces for this exhibition, Frank plays with the varying textures and states of epoxy paint. He compares the flowing and rupturing painted surfaces to a living being. By using Perspex as the canvas, he creates a reflective surface that disorients the viewer, in a metaphor for how what we think we see is not always what is actually there.

Until October 30. 6/F, Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central. Find out more at pearllam.com

9. Tang Contemporary: Xue Feng

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Above 笔触之港 by Xue Feng. Courtesy of the artist and Tang Contemporary.

Shenzhen and Hangzhou-based modern and contemporary painter Xue Feng specialises in using powerful brushstrokes to both express his inner state of mind and negotiate for space on two-dimensional canvases, such as by changing the size and frequency of the figures that engulf or are laid across the canvases. In the works featured in this exhibition, Xue explores the use of colours, space and brushstrokes to present his perspective of colours in printmaking.

From October 20 to November 20. 10/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central. Find out more at tangcontemporary.com

10. Hong Kong Museum of Art: Touching: A Journey through Chinese Landscapes from the Xubaizhai Collection

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Above 明 沈颢 山水册. Courtesy of the Hong Kong Museum of Art and Xubaizhai.

Instead of depicting a realistic landscape or garden, Chinese landscape paintings are known for reflecting the artists’ temperament and aspirations as they create imaginary, and often ethereal, worlds. A total of 27 works from the Xubaizhai Chinese landscape collection are presented in this exhibition. Set up by art connoisseur Low Chuck-tiew, the Xubaizhai collection has a large collection of Chinese paintings and calligraphy works dating from the fifth to the 20th centuries.

Until February 16, 2022. 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Find out more at hk.art.museum

See also: Fine Art Asia 2021 Returns This October

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