First major international showcase of Hong Kong contemporary art on view at Saatchi Gallery
January 7, 2013 by All Art News
Filed under Art Events & Exhibitions
LONDON.- Hong Kong Eye presented by Prudential has opened at the Saatchi Gallery, featuring key works by 18 emerging artists from Hong Kong, in the largest touring international showcase of Hong Kong’s contemporary art to date. The majority of works in the exhibition have never been shown outside Asia, giving crucial recognition to Hong Kong’s contemporary art scene on the world stage. The exhibition will run until 12 January 2013 and will tour to ArtisTree Gallery in Hong Kong, in May 2013.
The artists exhibiting are; Amy CHEUNG, CHOW Chun Fai, Silas FONG, HO Sin Tung, KONG Chun Hei, KUM Chi Keung, LAM Tung Pang, LEUNG Kui Ting, Otto LI, LUI Chun Kwong, Florian MA, Joao Vasco PAIVA, Hector RODRIGUEZ, Angela SU, Annie WAN, Adrian WONG, Justin WONG Chiu Tat and Fiona WONG Lai Ching.
The exhibition offers insight into the contemporary art scene in Hong Kong through a diverse range of artworks. A number of works presented engage with and reinterpret traditional media and techniques, such as Fiona Wong’s hand made terracotta clothing and Leung Kui Ting’s large-‐scale hanging ink scrolls.
A visitor looks at artist Amy Cheung’s full size wooden ‘Toy Tank’ at the ‘Hong Kong Eye’ exhibition at Saatchi Gallery on December 4, 2012 in London, England. The Hong Kong Eye Presented by Prudential is the first major international showcase of contemporary art from the city anywhere in the world and runs from December 5, 2012 to January 12, 2013. Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images for Sutton PR Asia.
Visitors can experience a sense of city life in Hong Kong through Silas Fong’s immersive video installations featuring Hong Kong’s iconic outdoor escalators, and Joao Vasco Paiva’s installation which brings five Mass Transit Railway turnstiles to London. When placed alongside Chow Chun Fai’s paintings of famous Chinese movie scenes, they ask questions about cultural identity and film histories iconic to the city. Other spectacular works display the imagination of Hong Kong artists, such as Amy Cheung’s full-‐size wooden toy tank, which visitors can climb into and operate, and Adrian Wong’s large-‐scale animatronic soft sculptures.
In recent years, the global art world has increasingly recognised Hong Kong as an exceptional platform for art in Asia. It is an internationally central location and has no taxes on the import, export or sale of art. Beyond the commercial scene of galleries and auction houses, the overall creative ecology in Hong Kong is developing rapidly with major cultural infrastructure underway including the revitalisation of the Central Police Station and development of the West Kowloon Cultural District. Hong Kong is becoming a new pillar in the global art scene, making it an incredibly exciting time for the vast array of creatives in the city, including artists, designers, musicians, traditional performers and craftsmen.
