From Mak2 to Trevor Yeung, these are the Hong Kong artists showing their work at international shows and shining a spotlight on our local talent this year
Following the social unrest of 2019, there has been a newfound interest in Hong Kong artists, both those based in the city and the diaspora. It became even more pronounced during the pandemic as travel restrictions were enforced: with the limited or delayed transportation of international art, many galleries and institutions opened their spaces to local artists, giving them more visibility. Forcibly grounded, local collectors had more time on their hands to discover—and buy—work by the city’s artists.
While some artists have moved abroad, many still in Hong Kong are experiencing a surge of international interest in their work. The following six have solo exhibitions at prominent galleries and institutions around the world coming up this year.
Leung Chi Wo and Sara Wong
Museum of the Lost (Strangers at Home) at SCAD Museum of Art,Savanah, Georgia, US January 27-July 3, 2023
Leung Chi Wo and Sara Wong are pioneering figures in the Hong Kong art scene and were among the seven co-founders of Para Site when it was set up as an artist-run space in 1996. Leung, known for his photography and installations, often collaborates with Wong, whose background in landscape architecture informs her artwork, which focuses on the idea of space. Their Museum of the Lost series is a result of that partnership. It examines the identities of people who were accidentally captured in the background of photographs.
This exhibition at Scad focuses on a group of works the artists made from family photo albums shared by people in Nagoya, Japan. The artists re-enact the scenarios, posing as these unaware, unidentified characters. They subsequently take pictures and print life-sized photographic cut-outs, which are accompanied by text imagining the characters’ experiences and personalities.
