Cover The Painters in action (Photo: courtesy of The Painters)
The Painters in action (Photo: courtesy of The Painters)
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From a performance that blends dance and painting to an art project that uses AI to create artworks based on visitors’ emotions, this month’s cultural events make sure you have plenty to do, see and enjoy in Hong Kong
February will be an exciting month for arts (and sports) lovers. After weeks of waiting, Tatler’s very own XFEST is finally taking place on February 4. As well as the exciting game at which Inter Miami CF will play against the Hong Kong Team, there will also be a line-up of music performances by Anson Lo and Keung To of Mirror, Gareth T and GEM.
That’s not all. For the culture vultures who are looking forward to something artsy, a number of established international artists will be coming to Hong Kong: London’s West End singers will be performing iconic songs from Chicago and Evita classics; and British music protégé Alma Deutscher will make her debut in Hong Kong. What’s more, The Painters, an all-male painters-dancers group from South Korea, will put on their multimedia headline show this month.
In the visual arts world, Hart Haus opened a new art space in Kennedy Town with a debut exhibition. Oslo-based Chinese American artist Doris Guo opened her first solo exhibition in Asia. Remember to also check out the qipao dresses worn by the likes of Maggie Cheung and Brigitte Lin in old Hong Kong movies at the Hong Kong Film Archive before it ends in May.
Don’t miss: Hong Kong International Film Festival 2024 names Karena Lam as ambassador
1. The Painters Immersive Tour
Above The Painters (Image: courtesy of The Painters)
The Painters (Image: courtesy of The Painters)
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When: February 3 and 4
Where: Star Hall, Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Centre
What: Founded by arts graduates Jay Hong and Kim Young-gyun in 2014, The Painters is a performing arts group from Seoul which specialises in blending live painting with dance, martial arts, mime, theatre and technology to stage a multi-sensory, interactive experience. The artists paint and sketch with a wide variety of materials: pencils, phosphorescent paint, sand and banana peels. In 2019, they made it to the semi-finals of Asia’s Got Talent, and topped the theatre box office in South Korea in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Since then, they have gone on to perform in 47 countries. This will be their second visit to Hong Kong after 2013.
2. Alma Deutscher + CCOHK
Above Alma Deutscher (Photo: courtesy of Alma Deutscher)
Alma Deutscher (Photo: courtesy of Alma Deutscher)
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When: February 4
Where: Hong Kong City Hall, Central
What: British-born music protégé Alma Deutscher surprised the world when, at the age of 12, she composed a full-length opera called Cinderella. Since then she has established herself as a pianist, violinist and composer. In 2021, at age 16, she became the youngest person to be admitted to the conducting degree at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
Deutscher will be coming to Hong Kong for the first time to perform with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. As well as a piece by Marianna Martines, a female contemporary of Mozart whose music has only been recently discovered, the programme also features three of Deutscher’s original compositions: Concerto for the Violin in G Minor, Concerto for the Piano in E Flat Major and Waltz of the Sirens, a piece inspired by the street noises and sirens in Vienna.
In case you missed: Violinist Hilary Hahn on ‘feeling like Taylor Swift’ ahead of her Hong Kong concert and why you can’t ‘plan to win’ a Grammy
3. Perpetual Records by Xcept
When: until May
Where: Mercury Recalls, Shop A, G/F, Fairview Mansion, Causeway Bay
What: Hong Kong creative studio Xcept’s latest digital art project turns vinyl record-themed café-bar Mercury Recalls into an immersive space of kaleidoscopic patterns. Inside Infinity Mirror Room, the collective information of the visitors is coupled with real-time learning by AI; the artwork responds to environmental stimuli and visitors’ emotions to generate geometric forms and colours in different speed. This installation will be paired with cocktails served in the hidden bar Corsican Stars. The experience was launched in Taiwan last year; and this Hong Kong edition will feature slightly different elements.
4. Sounds Great! Movies and Musicals
Above London's West End (Image: courtesy of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta)
London's West End (Image: courtesy of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta)
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When: February 17 and 18
Where: Auditorium, Yuen Long Theatre, 9 Yuen Long Tai Yuk Road, Yuen Long
What: London West End singers Jayne O’Mahony and John Langley are coming to Hong Kong to perform some of the most beloved numbers from screen and stage, from Les Misérables, Chicago and Evita classics and Bond movie theme songs to kids’ favourites from Beauty and the Beast and The Prince of Egypt. Their performance will be supported by the live accompaniment of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, conducted by Nick Davies, a regular guest conductor with the orchestra and many others, including Britain’s Royal Philharmonic.
5. ‘Back’ solo exhibition
Above “Anti Discarnate” (2023) by Doris Guo (Photo: courtesy of the artist and Empty Gallery)
“Anti Discarnate” (2023) by Doris Guo (Photo: courtesy of the artist and Empty Gallery)
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When: until February 17
Where: Empty Gallery, 19/F, Grand Marine Center, 3 Yue Fung Street, Aberdeen
What: Oslo-based Chinese American artist Doris Guo opened her first solo exhibition in Asia, Back, at Empty Gallery. Guo’s works, which are often a combination of sculpture, projections and photographs, delve into topics of memory and belonging. Back is based around a collaborative project which Guo and her mother, Weili Wang, have undertaken to organise and conserve the latter’s artwork. Formerly stored in and around her Seattle home, Wang’s oil paintings and sketches—mostly executed between 1980 and 1990 around the Yangtze River Delta—are the products of a truncated and perhaps unfulfilled art career.
Wang’s older works are presented as diptychs together with Guo’s pinhole photographs depicting the suburban interior of Wang’s study—replete with cardboard boxes, filing folders and other marginalia. In a highly personal and intimate intergenerational juxtaposition, the work highlights the irony of how physical or geographical proximity can amplify distance, and separation can foster feelings of closeness. A series of new sculptures depict enlarged and altered found objects which further allude to memory and the past.
6. ‘Cinderella and Her Qipao’ exhibition
Above “Cinderella and Her Qipao” (Image: courtesy of Hong Kong Film Archive)
“Cinderella and Her Qipao” (Image: courtesy of Hong Kong Film Archive)
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When: until May 5
Where: Exhibition Hall, Hong Kong Film Archive, 50 Lei King Road, Sai Wan Ho
What: Part of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival, this exhibition brings together a collection of qipao dresses from movies that span decades of Hong Kong filmmaking, some of which were worn by stars such as Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Sia Moon and Li Lihua. The exhibition also includes the screening of Cinderella and Her Little Angels, a 1959 Hong Kong musical film about fashion design; and, in March, a seminar on the history of qipaos close up.
7. ‘Saudade Chandelier’
Above “Saudade Chandelier” (Image: courtesy of Hart Haus)
“Saudade Chandelier” (Image: courtesy of Hart Haus)
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When: until February 25
Where: Hart Haus, 3/F, Cheung Hing Industrial Building, 12P Smithfield, Kennedy Town
What: Hart Haus opened a new art space in Kennedy Town on the ground floor of the Cheung Hing Industrial Building with a debut exhibition featuring a large chandelier installation. Saudade Chandelier (2023) is a sculptural assemblage created by Hong Kong artist Andrew Luk that captures the ancestral roots and unique landscape of Hong Kong. The piece was inspired by the artist’s memories of exploring Hong Kong’s coast and colonial defensive structures in Kennedy Town, and consists of upcycled Taobao chandelier components, oyster shells, temple pinwheels, and light bulbs from an ancestral altar. Previously exhibited at Blindspot’s Wong Chuk Hang’s gallery, the installation’s new location in Kennedy Town gives the work amplified meaning.
8. ‘Whispers of the Soul’ exhibition
Above “Grotte Paintings” (2017) by Lawrence Carroll (Image: courtesy of the artist and Villepin Arts)
“Grotte Paintings” (2017) by Lawrence Carroll (Image: courtesy of the artist and Villepin Arts)
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When: until February 29
Where: Villepin Arts, 53 Hollywood Road, Central
What: Villepin Arts is showcasing the first presentation of Australian-born American artist Lawrence Carroll’s work in Hong Kong with the exhibition Whispers of the Soul, co-curated by Arthur de Villepin and art critic and curator Olivier Kaeppelin. The late artist is known for his subtly coloured, textured canvases in which he often incorporated unexpected materials such as dust and paint from the walls of his studio. Oil paintings were often stitched or stapled together for a worn, faded aesthetic that evokes memory, time and nostalgia. Paintings by Giorgio Morandi, who inspired Carroll by finding beauty in everyday, essential objects such as kitchenware and utensils, are on view, as well as works by Cy Twombly, Giorgio de Chirico and François Halard. The exhibition provides a tranquil, cosy viewing experience, prompting visitors to meditate on the feelings of home and memory.
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