Asian Art Hong Kong 香港東方藝術週

This talk centres around the newly published book Art Criticism for the People, which presents a selection of Oscar Ho's art writings in Hong Kong newspapers from the 1980s–90s. Edited by Anthony Leung Po Shan, the book pays tribute to Ho's role as an art critic and curator who helped shape the cultural landscape of Hong Kong over the last few decades.

On this occasion, Asian Art Archive brings together Anthony Leung Po Shan and two cultural critics: Howard Yuen Fung Choy, who has worked as a theatre critic since the 1980s, and Grace Gut, a culture reporter and editor. They ask: How has the role of the art writer as a public intellectual changed over the decades? What type of community of writers and readers are they building?After the discussion, Oscar Ho, theatre critic Bernice Chan, and researcher Michelle Wong offer responses based on their work on art writing in Hong Kong.This event is organised in partnership with the International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). It builds on AAA’s Hong Kong Conversations 2014, which focuses on art criticism in Hong Kong, and It Begins with a Story: Artists, Writers, and Periodicals in Asia, AAA’s symposium organised in collaboration with The Department of Fine Arts at The University of Hong Kong in 2018.

The event will be held in Cantonese, with English simultaneous interpretation.

Art Criticism for the People An independent non-profit that documents the multiple recent histories of art in Asia, with a valuable collection about art available from its website and onsite library.

Alisan Fine Arts is pleased to announce the opening of their third solo exhibition Silent Mountains, Meandering Rivers by internationally renowned contemporary artist Wei Ligang from 3 October 2020 to 2 January 2021.

Showcasing fifteen of his recent works, the selection focuses on his iconic calligraphy paintings which continue to explore abstraction through the use of his invented Chinese calligraphic script. Together with his ever-popular flower and peacock series, the body of work offers a contemporary take on the classical literati study of poems, flowers and birds. Also included in this exhibition are Wei’s latest abstract paintings based on “Universalism”, a theory that purports truth is beyond secular emotion and religion, highlighting the fact that his paintings have universal appeal and are beyond cultural boundaries. When talking about this exhibition, Wei says, “It is my hope that the refreshing art forms of flowers, birds, and poems about winding rivers meandering in the mountains can provide a momentary refuge for those living in the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.”

As early as 2002, Wei had already been recognized as an important propagator of contemporary Chinese calligraphy with the success of the group exhibition "Brushes with Surprise: The Art of Calligraphy in Modern China" held at the British Museum. In the catalogue published in conjunction with the exhibition, Professor Gordon S. Barrass, the curator of the exhibition wrote: "…one way in which Wei Ligang is unique is that he comes from a scientific background. His familiarity with some of the arcane concepts of mathematics has no doubt informed his rigorous efforts to turn Avant-Garde calligraphy into a purely abstract art.” (P. 244)

For more information, visit the website below:

Alisan Fine Arts

OCS London has organised an online lecture Gifts from the Kangxi Emperor to his Grandmother presented by Rosemary Scott, which will take place on Tuesday the 15th of September at 20:30 Hong Kong time.

To read more about the abstract and the speaker please see below:
The Kangxi Emperor, who ruled China from 1662-1722, was devoted to his grandmother, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (1613-1688). Born into the Khorchin Mongol Borjigit clan, and given the personal name Bumbutai, the Empress Dowager was hugely influential not only during Kangxi’s childhood, but also after he took up the reigns of government. He is quoted as saying: ‘I credit her with the accomplishments of my entire career.’ On the occasion of his grandmother’s birthdays the Kangxi Emperor commissioned special gifts to be made for her. This lecture will examine some of these gifts in the context of the relationship between Kangxi and his grandmother.
Rosemary Scott took an honours degree in Chinese Art & Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, where she went on to do postgraduate research into early Chinese lacquer and its relationship to other materials. On leaving university she joined the Burrell Collection in Glasgow as Assistant Keeper for Oriental art. She became Deputy Keeper of the whole collection the following year. Four years later she became Curator of the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, SOAS, University of London, combining the running of the museum with undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research. In 1995 she became the first Head of the new Museums Department at SOAS, responsible for both the David Foundation and the new Brunei Gallery. In 1997 Rosemary Scott joined Christie’s, becoming International Academic Director, Asian Art. Since 2016 she has been an independent academic consultant. She has curated a number of exhibitions and has translated, researched and written numerous books and articles on the Chinese decorative arts. One of her most recent was an article entitled ‘Tea and the Changing Status of Materials in Tang Dynasty China’ in Arts of Asia, Nov-Dec 2018. She has travelled extensively, researching and lecturing in Asia, America, Australia and Europe. She is a former President of the Oriental Ceramic Society.

Chinese Export Wallpaper Zoom Lecture
by Dr. Lesley Lau
Monday, October 5, 2020 at 6:30pm
Language: Cantonese

The golden era of the China trade happened mainly between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries primarily in the port city of Canton (present-day Guangzhou). A type of art known as "Chinese export art", was produced in large quantities specifically for the Western market by Chinese artists and craftsmen. These commercial art and craft objects were introduced to the merchants mainly from Europe and the US with a view to satisfy their rising curiosity about the East. These Chinese export art objects demonstrate the life, custom, landscapes and many other 'visual history' of China in the preceding centuries through blending artistic traditions, materials and technologies, etc. Chinese export art is characterised by great variety, including paintings, porcelain, lacquer, textile, silver, furniture, wallpaper, etc, etc. Among these art types, many experts consider Chinese export wallpaper as a prominently displayed category of good imported from the East that is frequently mentioned and appears in widely differing sources. The talk will focus on Chinese wallpaper and three representative Chinese export wallpapers now kept by the Coutts Bank, PEM and the Guangdong Museum.

Tai Kwun Contemporary is launching an online series of tours and conversations for the exhibitions “They Do Not Understand Each Other” and “My Body Holds Its Shape” today, in addition to the VR 360° virtual gallery. By which, audience from around the world are invited to stay connected with art from far and near.

On designated Wednesdays and Saturdays in August, Tai Kwun Contemporary will live-stream tours and conversations with artists. In the live presentations, audience can submit questions and engage with fellow attendees through the chat function.

“They Do Not Understand Each Other” is co-presented by The National Museum of Art, Osaka and Singapore Art Museum. With an aim to contemplate the communication and interaction between different Asian cultures through art, audiences are offered with a journey towards the intricacy of cultural exchange and the understanding it promotes.

With travel is still severely restricted, we can still read about all of the places on our bucket list.

To immortalise the view that he was heaven-blessed, the emperor [Yongle] turned to construction, erecting a shrine and a now long-vanished stele with an inscription describing the supernatural event. Discovering this text in an ancient gazetteer was a highlight of Campbell’s research, and she found its Donald Trump-like qualities revealing.

How the Yongle Emperor built Beijing in his honour Completed 600 years ago, China’s capital was to serve as its ruler’s legacy – big, bold and gaudy, constructed at the expense of his people and, often, the truth.

The Hong Kong Art Gallery Association is launching , a new initiative which galleries on the south side of Hong Kong Island run happenings on the first Saturday of every month starting TOMORROW, 4th July 2020.

Pianist Erickson Ting will perform a recital of Étude as heard in Nicole Wong’s neighbor’s daily practice, with its pronounced hesitation and errors. Resembling the form of a concert, the recital will be performed in two separate sessions with a fifteen-minute intermission in between. Each session lasts about forty-five minutes, the first one will start at 2:30pm. We invite you to join us for this occasion and experience a professional’s rendition of an amateur’s “failure”.

Taking inspiration from her everyday surroundings, Wong conceived the exhibition, After Nothing Happens, as one that pokes fun at failure’s comical face. As exemplified in the work Étude (2019–20), the humor and futility of failed attempts may not manifest themselves in the beginning but could eventually dawn on the person in hindsight.

Composed of one self-playing piano and a series of musical scores, the work reproduced notes transcribed from recordings of piano practice sessions. Inspired by the sound of her neighbor’s piano lessons, Wong aims to redefine what failure means to different people, revealing the dark comedy between the differences in perspective. Wong describes her neighbor’s practice as extremely repetitive, with minimal progress, and that it suspends the listener’s expectations indefinitely – yet to the pianist it may be the only way to improve. For Wong, the consistent practice and the player’s unyielding spirit is documented within the mistakes and variations of each musical sheet, mimicking the human spirit of trial and error.

The recital will have two sessions, please arrive 5 minutes prior, late arrivals will not be permitted:
14:30 session
15:30 session

SouthSideSaturday Organized by The Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, is a new initiative which galleries on the south side of Hong Kong Island run happenings on the first Saturday of every month.

Guided Viewings: “Zao Wou-Ki: Friendship & Reconciliation” with Arthur de Villepin at Villepin and “Uniquely Hong Kong — A Celebration of Hong Kong Art” with Daphne King at Alisan Fine Arts

Date : Tuesday, 7 July 2020 Time : 15:00 – 17:00 Venue : Meet at Villepin, G-2/F, 53-55 Hollywood Road Central, Hong Kong Cost : $150 Member; $250 Non-member Limit : 8 Enquiries : Chung Yan Chan at [email protected] or 2241-5507 Note : Please send email to [email protected] to register for this event

Guided Viewings: “Zao Wou-Ki: Friendship & Reconciliation” with Arthur de Villepin at Villepin and “Uniquely Hong Kong — A Celebration of Hong Kong Art” with Daphne King at Alisan Fine Arts – The University of Hong Kong Museum Society Villepin opens its doors with an exhibition of work by the late artist Zao Wou-Ki, the Chinese painter most celebrated for his embrace of Eastern and Western artistic traditions. Titled ‘Friendship and Reconciliation’, the exhibition aims to address not only Zao Wou-Ki’s creative resolution of...