Cover Nicholas Party (Image: Hauser & Wirth)

Not sure where to go over the long weekend? Check out these Hong Kong museums and galleries with new art shows.

No matter whether you’re an art fanatic, wanderlust or nature geek, there’s something for everyone in these summer art shows. Local and international artists have created artworks inspired by everything from climate change and cultural heritage to the zodiac, horses and gold. Other artists have chosen to respond to the recently popular topic of the digital world by creating works that question the consumption culture on shopping platform Taobao and the boundary between the virtual and the real world.

1. RNH Space: Liquid Homes: Building, Living and Other Stories of Hong Kong Fishing Villages

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Above Liquid Homes: Building, Living and Other Stories of Hong Kong Fishing Villages (Image: RNH Space and the artists)

The exhibition is a research, curatorial and design project that explores the culture of Tanka people in three local fishing villages—Tai O, Kat O and Po Toi O—and their fluid state of living and building. Headed by Su Chang, who teaches architecture design at the University of Hong Kong, and curated by Yang Jiang, the founder of RNH Space, the research and art team looks into government land documents, and the design and “amphibious” function of the fishing village houses, which accommodate their inhabitants’ lives on land and at sea. The show highlights the dynamic between the urban and the rural, and reflects on the role of contemporary architects in preserving these temporary structures, which the government or developers often dismantle for development, safety or environmental reasons.

From July 1 to August 6. RNH Space, Godfrey Centre Shop 121, 175-185 Lai Chi Kok Road, Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon. Find out more at rnhspace.com

2. Hauser & Wirth: Nicholas Party. Red Forest

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Above Red Forest (2022) by Nicholas Party (Image: Hauser & Wirth and the artist)

New York-based Swiss artist Nicholas Party is known for pastel work that captures landscapes, portraits and still life. In his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, he asks the question: is humanity part of nature or an external force that dominates and destroys our environment? Through referencing the five elements of the material world in Chinese philosophy, namely wood, fire, earth, metal and water, he has created 13 new pastel landscapes and portraits which reflect on nature’s complex and inextricable ties with humanity.

Until September 24. 15-16/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central. Find out more at hauserwirth.com

3. Kiang Malingue: Sssssssssculpturesque

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Above (Image: Wong Pak Hang)

This group exhibition features eight artists’ playful use of relics and daily life objects, now arranged as sculptures—such as a Han Dynasty ceramic burial object, mattress springs, a stack of Robin Day chairs, window blinds, rice, dollar bills, door frames and Balenciaga coats. They examine the ways in which the reality, which is full of these sculpture-like and sometimes functionless objects, contributes to our understanding of domesticity, survival and existence in the post-pandemic era.

Until August 20. 13/F, Blue Box Factory Building, 25 Hing Wo Street, Aberdeen. Find out more at kiangmalingue.com

4. Hanart TZ: Nothin’ Like the Taste of Print

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Above Before the Trial (2022) by Jay Lau (Image: Hanart TZ and the artist)

Hong Kong has a strong tradition of printmaking, but there is also the misconception that fine art prints are secondary to a medium like painting, given how they are reproductions and not “originals”. In this exhibition, curated in collaboration with printmaking studio MablePrintClay, 21 up-and-coming Hong Kong printmakers showcase their broad range of the understanding of the word “print”, and the printing process, creative approaches, techniques and styles, including relief, intaglio and stencil.

Until August 13. 2/F, Mai On Industrial Building, 19 Kung Yip Street, Kwai Chung. Find out more at hanart.com

5. Denny Dimin: The Wild and The Tame

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Above Catching the Night by Paula Wilson (Image: Denny Dimin and the artist)

The group exhibition features six artists with various creative backgrounds, including painting and multimedia art, who look into the relationship between nature and mankind. While climate change and extreme human impact on the environment are increasingly apparent, humans also rely on nature’s restorative energy and are fascinated by its magical phenomena.

Until September 4. Unit 612, 6th Floor, Remex Centre, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road. Find out more at dennydimingallery.com

6. Ora-Ora: When You Rise

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Above From When You Rise by Huang Dan (Image: Ora-Ora and the artist)

Inspired by her move to Beijing and subsequent separation from the natural world due to living in a city, Chinese artist Huang Dan often depicts horses, young children and acrobats positioned in a dreamy natural world with azure water, sinewy trees and black skies. In this new series, titled Gold Series, Huang moves away from the usual narrative in her paintings and adopts an approach in which horses become the protagonists, opening the contexts to the viewers’ interpretation. The pieces, some of which were shown at this year’s Art Basel, are made of gold leaf on canvas, a contrast to her usual ink-on-paper art. The artist’s newfound interest in this material stems from her assessment of the value of one of the world’s most desired commodities.

Until August 7. Shop 105-107, Barrack Block, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central. Find out more at ora-ora.com

7. Mine Project: Interrupted Dream

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Above Triptychs (2020-2022) by Xiong Jiaxiang (Image: the artist and Mine Project)

Chinese artist Xiong Jiaxiang likes printing screenshots or images shot by phones, especially those from popular keyword searches on Taobao, onto stretchy fabric by heat transfer, and distorting these images by dragging or stretching them. Through this process, he creates a bridge between the virtual and real worlds. Curated by Zhang Cheng, this exhibition features Xiong’s latest installations and sculptures which question mass image production and the boundary between the digital and the tangible.

From July 9 to August 6. 202, The Factory, 1 Yip Fat Street, Wong Chuk Hang. Find out more at mine-project.com

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