Cover Installation view of “Dreamskin,” a solo exhibition by Chan Ting, at PHD Group, Hong Kong, 2024. (Photo: Felix SC Wong, Courtesy the artist and PHD Group)
Installation view of “Dreamskin,” a solo exhibition by Chan Ting, at PHD Group, Hong Kong, 2024. (Photo: Felix SC Wong, Courtesy the artist and PHD Group)
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From sculptures made out of found objects at PHD gallery to a multiscreen installation at Current Plans, these exhibitions by Hong Kong’s local artists will cater to your artistic cravings this month
While Hong Kong’s arts calendar traditionally winds down in summer, that doesn’t mean there’s nary an art exhibition happening in the city. On the contrary, a plethora of galleries, museums and art spaces have been shining the spotlight on local talent.
As Asia’s dynamic arts hub, Hong Kong continuously draws a diverse range of international artists. However, this season, we turn towards our homegrown artists and curate five must-see exhibitions that showcase the best of Hong Kong’s artistic prowess.
In case you missed it: Hong Kong gets two new art fairs, Art021 and Photofairs, adding to the city’s packed arts calendar
‘gok3/gaau3’ at Rossi & Rossi
Above Installation view of Reo Ma’s “gok3/gaau3” at Rossi & Rossi gallery (Photo: courtesy of Rossi & Rossi)
Installation view of Reo Ma’s “gok3/gaau3” at Rossi & Rossi gallery (Photo: courtesy of Rossi & Rossi)
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If you’ve walked around the Wong Chuk Hang neighbourhood over the past couple of years and noticed small concrete cast objects—sockets, switches, milk cartons—embedded into the walls along the main road, the flyover and the pass underneath it, it’s likely the work of former designer/ pattern maker-turned-artist Reo Ma. It’s part of his movement called “war on culture”, in which the artist stages subversive but playful interventions in unexpected locations.
Ma has now brought his street sensibilities indoors to Rossi & Rossi gallery with his first solo exhibition gok3/gaau3, which features multimedia works and installations that reflect on themes of childhood, identity and nostalgia. Ma uses found and scavenged materials ranging from rusting metal to horse hide to create dioramas, sculptures and assemblages.
The exhibition title refers to the Romanisation of the Chinese word 覺, with gok3 meaning ‘awakening’ and gaau3 denoting ‘slumber’ - referencing various cycles we go through in life. The theme is visually emphasised and reinforced through numerous works on view including a spinning chandelier and a film, Dark Room featuring footage of the artist racing a motorcycle on a circular track.
Until September 14
Address: 11/F, M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Rd, Wong Chuk Hang
‘The Archivist Augurs, The Larper Dreams’, Square Street Gallery
Square Street Gallery’s The Archivist Augurs, The Larper Dreams is a group exhibition displaying the works of Dony Cheng, Dave Chow, Jennifer Yeung (aka These Faces) and Brandon Tay. Except for Tay, who hails from Singapore/Shanghai, the rest of the artists are from Hong Kong. Inspired by Hong Kong philosopher Yuk Hui’s 2020 essay, For Planetary Thinking, the exhibition brings together artists who have a sceptical approach to our current cultural standards surrounding technology and its relationship to the material world.
By taking the idea of technology as an enabler of capitalism and recontextualising it into an artistic one, all four artists offer their own projection of how technology affects us.
Until August 24
Address: 21 Square St, Tai Ping Shan
‘Dreamskin’, PHD gallery
Above Chan Ting’s “Lake Dream” (2024), (Photo: Aaina Bhargava)
Chan Ting’s “Lake Dream” (2024), (Photo: Aaina Bhargava)
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Hong Kong-based artist Chan Ting transforms PHD gallery’s space into a serene nature-inspired haven. Chan is known for breathing new life into discarded, second-hand and vintage objects by transforming them into sculptural works and “expanded paintings.” She begins her creative process by salvaging discarded or rejected objects such as an unusually shaped wooden lamp or a discarded folding screen from public sites or residences, and then applies or removes layers of plaster pigment pastels to reshape and recontextualise the objects, highlighted by the added use of the colour green. Her work is inspired by the city itself and is informed by her background as a former hypnotherapist and an energy healer.
Until August 31
Visit by appointment only
‘The Twist of a Halo’, JPS Gallery
For his latest exhibition at JPS Gallery, Hong Kong artist Kazy Chan puts a conceptual twist on the idea of a halo. Chan is typically recognised for his dry-brush painting style that creates a hazy, stylised aesthetic as well as for his ceramics. For his new exhibition, he takes inspiration from the idea of the halo as a figment of our imagination and deliberately distorts and reimagines the motifs to reflect their ethereal and abstract nature. In addition to halo-inspired light effects, the exhibition also features Chan’s latest and largest ceramic sculptures as well as paintings on wood with halo-shaped frames and ceramic-on-canvas pieces.
Until August 18
Address: Shops 218 - 219, 2/F, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central
‘Mass Transit Railway’, Current Plans
Artist Sing Jantzen Tse is known for his audio-visual works that contemplate the complex and inextricably linked relationships between people, language and urban landscapes. As such, his films are often presented together on the same screen to reflect the entangled thematic nature of his subjects. His latest installation, Mass Transit Railway, is on view at Current Plans and considers the impact of how images are produced on a daily basis through exploring the personal-public and interior-exterior dichotomies. Using a multiscreen display and audio injected with bouts of self-deprecating humour, Tse replicates the sensory overload we experience while consuming the plethora of information and media we have at hand today.
Until September
Address: 3F, Remex Centre, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Rd, Wong Chuk Hang
Aaina was the Arts and Culture Editor of Tatler Asia. A passion for history and all things visual led her in the pursuit of art history. With extensive experience in the art world working for a range of art institutions, she combined her passion and expertise in the form of art and culture journalism. Prior to Tatler, Aaina worked as a culture reporter for South China Morning Post and editor at the online art platform Cobo Social. Additionally, she has contributed to a variety of prestigious art publications including Art Review, The Art Newspaper, Ocula, Art Agenda, Artsy, Design Anthology, and Artomity. Follow her on Instagram.
