Weigh All Tears marked the renowned South African artist’s first exhibition in Hong Kong. Spanning film, performance, theatre, drawing, sculpture, painting and printmaking, Kentridge’s art prompted viewers to challenge their own perceptions and understanding of the world. Notable works included new tapestries featuring the artist’s signature laser-cut silhouettes created in collaboration with Marguerite Stephens and her weaving studio outside Johannesburg, as well as a sculpture series of symbols and glyphs, which—according to the artist—one can rearrange in sequences to create a new language.

The highlight of the exhibition was the film Sibyl, a re-iteration of the artist’s 2019 opera Waiting for the Sibyl, commissioned by the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and made in collaboration with music composers Nhlanhla Mahlangu and Kyle Shepherd. Picturised on an animated flip book, and played in tandem with a haunting composition, the film combined the motifs and mediums Kentridge is most fond of working with, such as symbols, glyphs, theatre, performance and drawing.

The legendary Japanese artist finally opened her blockbuster exhibition at M+ Hong Kong last month. The exhibition features more than 200 works, including three new artworks, one of which, The Death of Nerves (2022), was especially commissioned by M+ . While Kusama’s usual tropes—infinity rooms, dotted pumpkins and phallic sculptures are on display—the real viewing treats are the artist’s older works from the 1950s and 60s, which are rarely exhibited publicly and show the artist’s versatility and skills as a painter. Looking through archival material such as photographs documenting her daring performance art from the 1960s is also a fun way to understand how the artist has reached the iconic status she enjoys today. 

Read more: You’ve Heard of Yayoi Kusama—Here’s Why You Should Care

The Princes of Liechtenstein collection is considered one of the most significant collections of art and decorative items in the world, consisting of more than 30,000 pieces. More than 120 works from the collection are on display at the newly opened Hong Kong Palace Museum. Highlights from the show include a special collection of Chinese ceramics, as well as numerous paintings by renowned artists from the Baroque era including Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Guiseppe Acrimboldo. 

Okay, we’re sneaking this one in here because while it is not staged in Hong Kong, local artist Angela Su’s installation at the Hong Kong pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale deserves special mention. Also, Su’s installation and participation in the biennale on behalf of Hong Kong, was co-presented by M+ and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Using the concept of levitation as a point of departure to explore alternative methods of dealing with and righting the upheaval the world is currently facing, Su takes us on a three-part fictional journey which culminates in her film The Magnificent Levitation Act of Lauren O (2022). In the film, the artist plays the role of a circus leader and portrays herself in a state of levitation (she’s suspended from the ceiling), and eventually turns into a disco ball, which to the artist is a symbol of collective unity. 

In case you missed it: Levitating at Venice Biennale? How Hong Kong Artist Angela Su Plans to Rise Above the Rest

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