We've handpicked some art exhibitions and events to check out this December. Read on to discover more.
Digitales
Kick off the holiday season at the opening reception of DigiTales - a group exhibition featuring the fascinating work of four digital artists: Rob Sketcherman, Felipe Risco, Rick Lo, and OddIndv.
On display you will see limited edition prints depicting a broad range of subject matters, including masterful sketches of local street life, surreal depictions of iconic Hong Kong scenes, thought provoking pop-culture references, as well as floral motifs showing eye-popping vibrancy in natural settings.
When: 2nd December - 18th January 2023
Image: courtesy HKI Gallery
HKI Gallery, Suite 701, 7th Floor, Chinachem Johnston Plaza, 178-186 Johnston Rd, Wanchai, Hong Kong
(+852) 2153 3325
Tik Ka From East: Constant As The Sky...
The cool, autumn wind blows under the blue sky, and when one looks up, the white cumulus clouds in the sky resemble animals, flowing water, or even falling flower petals; the short-lived reality is then blown away by the wind until it vanishes into thin air. How would it capture our brief attention to admire the ever-changing clouds if our eyes are always glued to our mobile phone screens?
Tik Ka, a Hong Kong artist who has recently migrated to the U.K. in the past year, deeply feels the unpredictability of life and the world. Leaving behind the dense concrete city of Hong Kong and now living in a detached house with a tranquil and blossoming garden, Tik Ka said he has never seen such a vast endlessness as far as the eyes can see: the sky. "Every day I would sit in the garden and watch the white clouds change, while looking back at the era of rapid changes, reminiscing about Hong Kong and missing the old days, all of which has inspired me to spend a year painting these new works."
Nostalgia for childhood, the charm of being carefree and the beginning of a life story yet to be written. Any child loves watching animation and has their own favorite cartoon characters growing up, particularly an admiration for superheroes who make a difference. As we get older and experience the complexities and changes in our life, we have become more conscious to an extent that we are concealing our true selves, perhaps even feeling lost in some way. It leaves us questioning what excites us to this day?
This solo exhibition “Constant as the Sky..." is a brand new collection of original paintings by Tik Ka after a five-year absence since 2017. Drawing inspiration from the clouds, the artist has created 20 original paintings. Throughout his works, he had been a master in incorporating Chinese and Western culture in a comical manner, until an epiphany to return to the simplicity of the basics: "An attempt to filter out all distractions and embrace my own interpretation in the midst of fickleness."
When: 19th November - 14th December 2022
Photograph: courtesy Shout Art Gallery
Shout Gallery, Shop OT308A, 3/F, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, 7 Canton Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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Nonsensical Ways Of Seeing
As Liu discards his rigid studio practice and instead pursues disengagement from reality, “set your sights,” or more formally “to set one’s sights on,” becomes an appropriate idiom to contextualise his work. It suggests that we can project a certain future and, with the necessary discipline, achieve it. By letting his gaze wander, Ticko Liu challenges this very conception which underlies the logic of Hong Kong —a city known to favour fast-paced structured development with measurable outcomes.
When: 26th November - 14th January 2023
Image: courtesy Square Street Gallery
G/F, 21 Square Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Half The Sky The Sky Is The Limit
In support of the consequential cause of Jennifer Yu Cheng Girls Impact Foundation to nurture a strong talent pipeline of teen girls to become the “future ready” leaders of tomorrow, the exhibition Half the Sky; The Sky is the Limit brings together twelve artists, Hector CHAN, Anna Ngan Leong CHEUNG, Winki CHO, CHUI Pui Chee, Vivian HO, MAN Fung Yi, MOK Yat San, NGAI Wing Lam, OFFGOD, Sara TSE, SHI Xin Ji, and XUE Ruo Zhe, six males and six females from Hong Kong and China with the aim to inspire young girls to pursue their goals in life and to celebrate their diverse traits through art.
Half the Sky; the Sky is the Limit is a representation that women are holding up half the sky, below which there is no limit for women. With the notion of celebrating female’s multifaceted talents, we have invited both male and female artists to offer their perspectives through art creation. We trust empowerment to women is stronger when the drive is stemming from both males and females. Incidentally, there are two couples among the participating artists. They are MAN Fung Yi & MOK Yat San from Hong Kong, and Anna Ngan Leong CHEUNG & XUE Ruo Zhe from Beijing. Both couples make wonderful examples of how women shine in their own career while sharing lives and running families with supportive male counterparts.
Some of the participating artists explore the emotional side of females through their art works. In the past, women’s emotions were often viewed as frailty. Contrarily, the strength of women lies exactly in their emotional life while some send messages to young girls through their artworks.
When: 16th November - 15th December 2022
Image: courtesy Shout Art Gallery
Shout Gallery, Shop 2046, Metal Zone, Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Diane Arbus: First Coming
David Zwirner and Fraenkel Gallery are pleased to announce Diane Arbus: First Coming, on view at David Zwirner’s Hong Kong location. This will be the artist’s first solo presentation in Greater China, and it will follow the September through October 2022 exhibition Cataclysm: The 1972 Diane Arbus Retrospective Revisited at David Zwirner New York, which commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of Arbus’s momentous 1972 retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The exhibition in Hong Kong will feature a range of the artist’s photographs spanning her brief but phenomenally influential fifteen-year career.
When: 17th November - 21st December 2022
Image: courtesy David Zwirner
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Photography. My Passion. My Life
Fan Ho’s new exhibition plus his latest publication “Photography. My Passion. My Life.”, bundling the best of his work, intertwining his internationally renowned works with those that have yet to be released. The book contains an essay “My Quest”, written by Fan Ho himself in the 70’s, explaining his own practice and his stylistic journey as he was influenced by different movements in photography occurring at that time. Through his essay, we learn about his interpretations of aesthetics, poetics, philosophy and synergy, as seen in his photographs.
As per the Fan Ho family, “Fan Ho will always have a special place in our hearts, and we feel closer to him through the lasting legacy of his work. We know we will continue to discover something refreshing every time we look at his unforgettable images, be they portrayals of a bygone era or of the endurance of the human spirit.”
When: 18th November - 18th December 2022
Photograph: courtesy Blue Lotus Gallery
G/F 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan Hong Kong (+852) 5590 3229
Peter Howson Solo Exhibition: Lacrimae Rerum
Flowers Gallery is delighted to present new works by Scottish artist Peter Howson, marking his first solo show in Asia. This exhibition of apocalyptic paintings and drawings borrows its name from the Latin phrase from Book 1 of Virgil’s Aeneid, Lacrimae Rerum, which translates as ‘the tears of things’, and addresses themes of crisis, violence, collectivity, technology and its impact on contemporary experience.
Throughout his career, Howson has confronted subjects of human conflict and destruction, both in his former role as a war artist in Bosnia in the 1990s and his own personal understanding of the struggles of everyday life.
When: 17th November - 13th February 2023
Photograph: courtesy Flowers Gallery
Flowers Gallery, 49 Tung Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
(+852) 6208 7800
Ann Ng X Lewis Lau: Once Upon A Time
“Once upon a time“ that’s how most stories began when we listened to tales while we were kids, as if what happened in the past was the most beautiful. What happens today doesn’t appear to be as beautiful as those happening in the past.
Long Long time ago: indeed how long ago? When we were kids, our moms always said: “Yes, it was long long time ago.” When we grow up, we then understand that most things can change within a minute. “Long Long time ago” might mean “split-seconds” ago. What has been beautiful has all faded.
Changes are quick and it’s easy to lose: that’s our generation’s common experiences. The Hong Kong that we knew when we were kids has long gone. Although our steps have to follow the momentum of the city and the world to move forward, we have to bear silently the consequences of the changes, good or bad. Our inner hearts, however, invariably attach to what has disappeared, both people and issues.
When: 7th November - 10th December 2022
Image: courtesy SC Gallery
Unit 2, 19/F, Sungib Industrial Centre, 53 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong
(+852) 3795 3826
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Stone Stealer
Contemporary by Angela Li is proud to present Stone Stealer, solo exhibition of Hong Kong artist Wong Sze Wai. Wong proposes an investigation of the relationship between memory and consciousness, extending beyond the canvas to an intertwined space of the imaginary and the forgotten. Inspired by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard’s literature La Poétique de l’Espace, Wong guides the audience into a mysterious yet poetical habitat of our inner self. The exhibition opening will be held on Friday, 18th November, 2022 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and will remain on view until 17th December, 2022. The artist will be present during the opening.
When: 18th November - 17th December 2022
Image: courtesy Contemporary By Angela Li
G/F, 248 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan (+852) 3571 8200 www.cbal.com.hk
The Dream Shops
" There is a variety of beautiful shops with different decorations and aesthetics. As we embark on our journey to explore dream shops, what kinds of people and scenery will be waiting for us to discover?"
When: 1st December - 15th December 2022
Image: courtesy Carrie Illustration
5B, KT ONE, 158 Wai Yip St., Kwun Tong www.instagram.com/carriedraw
tags: #exhibitions
