Matter exhibition spotlights Hong Kong artists

In recent years, auction houses and galleries have been cultivating young Hong Kong artists – and the results have been quite interesting indeed. On August 1, one such auction house, SA+, presented its first exhibition of Hong Kong artists, curated by renowned architect and art collector William Lim, in its gallery space on the 11th floor of H Queen’s. The exhibition, 物 Matter, features 18 Hong Kong artists as well as six Korean artists, providing a comprehensive overview of contemporary art from the city. The exhibition also boasts participation from a wide range of local galleries such as AM Space, Blindspot Gallery, Gallery Exit, Hanart TZ and Karin Weber Gallery.

Some of the highlights include a work by visual artist Tsang Kin-wah, who represented Hong Kong at the Venice Biennale. At first glance, Tsang’s works resemble the patterns of Victorian wallpaper, but upon closer look they reveal much deeper tensions and connotations via a combination of beautiful illustrations and profane words. More recently, he has explored topics related to politics and religion via large-form multimedia installations that combine music, video and light projections. Another young artist, Wong Shun Yu, paints works that look like traditional Chinese landscape paintings, but in a contemporary style with his own personal touch. Cheng Ting-ting, Chu Hing-wah and Carmen Ng’s artworks are also all deeply inspired by their experiences living in Hong Kong and the city’s uniqueness. 

In addition, a work by Korean movie star Ha Jung-woo is also on display along with a work by Korean artist Choi So-young, who creates her urban landscape compositions using discarded denim clothing and acrylic paint. Other highlights of the exhibition includes two never-before-seen realist oil paintings by Korean artist Kim Jun-sik and beautiful ceramic works by Annie Wan. Check out the gallery above to see some of the gorgeous works currently on display.

This piece was written by guest contributor Florence Tsai