Art Exhibitions To See This February In Hong Kong
We've handpicked some art exhibitions and events to check out this February. Read on to discover more.
Blue Lotus Gallery: Shooting Hoops
Blue Lotus Gallery is proud to announce the latest exhibition, ‘Shooting Hoops’ by Austin Bell, coinciding with the release of his self-published book of the same title.
In this ambitious project, Bell catalogued every outdoor basketball court in Hong Kong—an impressive total of 2,549 courts. His journey took him through the city’s nooks and crannies, relying solely on public transport. Through aerial photography, the images highlight the unique designs of these courts, their ubiquity, and their stark contrast against the city’s vertical density.
This exploration not only mapped the locations of the courts but also captured the diverse topography of Hong Kong.
When: 15th January - 23rd February 2025
28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan
Pace Gallery: Algorithms of Longing
What's more mystifying and seductive than encountering an other that feels familiar? Pace is pleased to present Algorithms of Longing, a group exhibition at its Hong Kong gallery charting complex ideas, desires, and resonances in the Asian diaspora, situated in conversation with works that speak to post-Socialist and post-human longings. On view from January 14 to February 27, 2025, this focused presentation, organized by Pace's Curatorial Director Xin Wang with support from the gallery's President of Greater China Evelyn Lin, will bring together works by Amanda Ba, Ching Ho Cheng, Oscar yi Hou, Yifan Jiang, Lawrence Lek, Jarod Lew, Paulina Olowska, and Stipan Tadić.
Featuring seven artists outside Pace's program, this exhibition reflects the gallery's collaborative ethos, as well as its ongoing efforts to highlight new voices in its exhibitions around the world.Activating the unique history and cosmopolitan culture of Hong Kong, Algorithms of Longing speaks to the collective familiarity of diasporic experiences and the distinct cosmos of experience and imagination embedded in each artist's practice. In her curatorial statement, Wang explains that she aims to bring together "a robust and refreshing grouping of artists whose curiosity towards certain aspects of otherness—be it cultural, technological, post-Socialist or post-Human—expand the possibilities of knowledge for both self and the world. To revisit time as place and fantasy as home-coming."
The exhibition features new, never-before-exhibited paintings by Ba, Hou, and Jiang. Hou, who presented his first institutional solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in New York in 2022–23, will debut a new work titled Self-portrait (26), aka: yat ming (2024), along with another recent painting titled To look, aka: Realest Blue (2024). Liverpool-born and New York-based, Hou creates portraits of himself and other queer, Asian, diasporic artists, and his works are often characterised by a unique syntax of symbols, references, and emotional intimacy. Replete with queer iconography and references to poetry, East Asian history and visual culture, as well as American popular culture, Hou's paintings conjure narratives that serve to represent and mystify their subjects—himself included.
When: 14th January - 27th February 2025
80 Queens Road Central
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Touch Gallery: Guides to a Better Soul
Touch Gallery is delighted to announce its second solo exhibition featuring renowned local artist Ant Ngai Wing Lam, Hong Kong-based artist celebrated for her surreal and introspective paintings. Ngai's work prominently features koi fish-headed characters, inspired by her dreams and childhood experiences with pet fish. These hybrids symbolize her exploration of themes such as relationships, identity, and ambiguity. The speechless faces of the koi fish characters conceal inner emotions, reflecting the complexities of human connections. Continuing the narrative of her previous "Fish Man" storybook series, this exhibition will showcase an array of character oil paintings and sculptures, inviting audiences to delve into a world of extraordinary tales.
The "Fish Man" series (2008-present) is a storybook collection created by Lam, narrating the lives of koi-headed characters, male and female fishmen, and their friends residing in a place. The world of Fish Man encompasses various genres including fantasy, drama, fairy tale, mystery, adventure, and romance. The world of Fish Man explores numerous themes and includes many cultural meanings and references. Major themes in the series include supernatural, self-awareness, anger and forgiveness, mistaken, madness, loneliness, friendship and love.
Ngai Wing Lam's artwork captures the tension between reality and fantasy, and we sincerely invite you to immerse yourself in this endless story, creating your own unique and personal narrative.
When: 5th February - 5th March 2025
Shop 103, 1/F, Block 3 Barrack Block, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central
10 Chancery Lane: The Tale Of Beas River
10 Chancery Lane Gallery is proud to present Hong Kong artist Lewis Lee in a solo exhibition entitled “The Tale of Beas River” at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery. The exhibition consists of a new series of paintings and an installation of relics to commemorate the historical legacy of the Hong Kong-China borderland that runs along the Beas River.
Lewis Lee is an artist who is tied to the geographical stories of land and its connected meanings. He grew up in Hong Kong’s Sheung Shui area near the Hong Kong–Mainland China border. He grew up watching the buildings of the now megapolis of Shenzhen emerge out of the landscape viewed from the rural borderlands on the Hong Kong side. Like many Hong Kongers, he is the son of a mainland Chinese immigrant. His father arrived in 1980 crossing through the barbed wire at Ta Kwu Ling, the starting point of his life thereafter. Lee likes to roam the hinterlands of Hong Kong’s border area reimagining the landscapes as a part of Hong Kong history and how the idea of being a “Hong Konger” emerged after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China when the British colonial government established a border prohibited area in 1951, creating a barrier similar to the Berlin Wall. Formally isolating the people of both regions with a serpentine river serves as a natural barrier, separating opposing ideologies in the air. The concept of "Hong Konger" began to take shape from that moment.
The exhibition combines paintings and various found object installations, merging real and fabricated "historical relics," creating a space in the bustling streets of Central that blurs the line between reality and fiction, reflecting the current environmental situation in Hong Kong through a romantic pastoral lens.
When:6th February - 12th March 2024
G/F, 10 Chancery Lane, SoHo, Centrall
Flowers Gallery: Luxuria
Flowers Gallery Hong Kong is pleased to present an exhibition of works by renowned Scottish painter Peter Howson.
Considered one of his generation’s leading figurative painters, Peter Howson was a focal member of a group of young artists to emerge from the Glasgow School of Art in the 1980s, known as the ‘New Glasgow Boys.’ Howson is renowned for his penetrating insight into the human condition, and his heroic portrayals of the mighty and meek. His art is described by Robert Heller as "founded in humanity, especially the human face."
Following Howson’s critically-acclaimed 2023 retrospective When the Apple Ripens: Peter Howson at 65 at Edinburgh City Art Centre, Flowers Gallery Hong Kong will exhibit two major paintings, Luxuria (2018) and The Banner of Saint George (2015) on which the theme of the show is based, alongside a series of drawings on paper from 2023 - 2024.
Luxuria (2018) visualises a densely populated world in decline, depicting figures engaged in a struggle for survival. Howson constructs a compelling narrative that delves into themes of conflict, destruction, human suffering, and redemption. Often drawing on Latin phrases for the titles of his artworks and exhibitions, Luxuria translates to a state characterised by excess and extravagance.
Through the interplay of the title and the painting's imagery, Howson critiques the repercussions of a life driven solely by desire and passion, ultimately portraying a self-indulgent society in decline. This painting was a highlight of Howson’s 2018 solo exhibition Acta Est Fabula at Flowers Gallery, which marked the 25th anniversary of his first visit to Bosnia in 1993, where he served as Britain’s official war artist documenting the Bosnian War. This period significantly influenced Howson's artistic practice, as it coincided with the growing prominence of right-wing politics in the United Kingdom.
The apocalyptic element in Luxuria (2018) was influenced by the experiences surrounding Brexit and the resultant surge in populism following the referendum. Drawing inspiration from the politically and socially charged works of German artists Otto Dix (1891-1969) and Max Beckmann (1884-1950), Howson offers a poignant portrayal of the far-right threat, serving as a cautionary reflection for humanity.
The Banner of St. George (2015) illustrates a tumultuous scene characterised by chaotic interactions, symbolising the disintegration of social order into violent struggles for dominance.This unsettling portrayal of a dystopian future emerges from a global crisis.The title alludes to St. George, the patron saint of England and Georgia, who is revered as one of the fourteen auxiliary saints. He has come to represent the culture, values, beliefs, and identity of the English people. St. George, an early Christian martyr, epitomised martial valor and selflessness during the Middle Ages. His significance as a religious emblem has been prominent throughout English history, particularly established during the Tudor period, owing to his popularity during the Crusades and the HundredYears' War.The English flag, which features a red cross on a white background, derives from St. George's emblem and is prominently displayed above the tumult in the composition.
In 2015, Peter Howson's work examined the political and social challenges leading up to the UK General Election.This period was marked by large-scale and intense compositions filled with chaotic arrangements of figures that convey a sense of barbarism. The depiction of disorder, violence, and the collapse of societal norms was a reflection of the growing influence and popularity of radical political movements worldwide.
The portrayal of the distorted figures pays homage to Dutch masters Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brueghel the Elder.The composition is replete with themes of violence, suffering, and confusion as the figures strive to navigate an unfamiliar and fear-laden world.
When: 16th January - 15th March 2025
49 Tung Street, Sheung Wan
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WOAW Gallery : Between Times
WOAW Gallery is pleased to present “Between Times”, a solo exhibition by artist Yam Shalev. This exhibition embarks on a profound exploration of ephemeral moments, showcasing a collection of meticulously constructed paintings that depict the most intimate yet universal scenes through Shalev’s lens. The exhibition will be on view from 18 February to 17 March 2025, which also celebrates his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong.
Time is elusive; it slips by too quickly for anyone to catch. In “Between Times”, Shalev’s works freeze time as he frames these fleeting instances on canvas. Often vanishing before we truly notice them, some moments stand out as the highlights in life. Shalev invites the viewers to embark on an intimate journey through closely observing these intense, condensed and universal daily fragments.
Consider the simple act of sneaking into the kitchen for a midnight snack or catching the golden hour light as it spreads across the room unexpectedly. Moments of drifting to sleep that we are able to leave behind the thoughts andremnants of the day. In in the morning, a gentle breeze brushes your face just before dawn with warm glow and the smell of coffee from the kitchen. These little yet significant moments are all woven into this exploration.
Rooted in an investigation of color, composition, and ambiance, Shalev constructs each painting with care, bit by bit, object by object, revealing the intimacy, serenity, luxury, light, and vulnerability inherent in our quotidian scenes. These moments may be mere fragments of our lives, yet they are opportunities we might truly recognize and appreciate if only we could pause, freeze them for a second, and contemplate.
When: 18th February - 17th March 2025
3 & 5 Sun Street, Wan Chai
Ora-Ora: Never Describe a Sunset
Ora-Ora is delighted to present Halley Cheng's solo exhibition "Never Describe a Sunset". In Cheng’s renowned "Kapok series", the works centre on the theme of chance, capturing the fleeting moments and unexpected encounters in life through the abstract forms of kapok flowers. These works, like serendipitous encounters, invite viewers to discover the overlooked details and emotions.
The exhibition title "Never Describe a Sunset" is inspired by the art critic John Berger, emphasizing the uncertainty between what we see and what we know. Halley Cheng's works not only showcase the beauty of the kapok flower but also convey the resilience and hope of life through vibrant colours and delicate textures. Against a backdrop of turmoil, these works shine like a ray of light, illuminating people's hearts and encouraging everyone to seek hope in adversity.
When: 13th February - 16th March 2025
105–107, 1/F, Barrack Block, Tai Kwun, Central
Gallery EXIT: Symphony of Light and Stone
Gallery EXIT is pleased to present ‘Symphony of Light and Stone’, with recent paintings by LAI Nga Lun, CHO Wing Ki, and LAU Siu Chung. The exhibition brings together three distinct perspectives, from architectural landscapes and human activities to the interplay between nature and the city, the artists collectively compose with colors and shapes, a symphony of light and stone, that commemorate the vibrancy of urban life.
LAI Nga Lun's artistic journey began with an exploration of diverse brushstrokes found in traditional Chinese ink art. The bold and delicate brushstrokes of this medium have profoundly inspired him. Additionally, he has studied Western painting traditions, drawing influence from Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and even street art. These varied influences have enriched his creative expression.
LAI is particularly captivated by urban landscapes. Streets divide space into geometric compositions full of tension, while the contours and windows of tall buildings create rhythmic patterns. To LAI, the flow of traffic and road signs moves like musical notes across his canvases. Over the years, LAI has developed an intuitive artistic practice that enables him to transform his observations of the tangible world into vibrant lines and colours, allowing him to pursue a painting style that reduces everything to pure visual symbols, weaving visual poetry onto the canvas.
For CHO Wing Ki, art making is a way to connect with people and her surroundings. CHO is deeply moved by those who quietly persevere in the city's hidden corners, working hard and living with determination, and she is truly inspired by the resilience of these individuals. Near her studio is the Cheung Wing Road roundabout in the Kwai Hin area, which has become a vantage point for her to observe urban life. Time passes as vehicles circle the roundabout day and night, and she notices weary passersby taking moments to rest beneath the tree shades, which form a unique ecosystem of that urban landscape.
CHO also explores other areas of Hong Kong, such as Kwu Tung in the New Territories, where she observes villagers and those who labour and are supportive of one another. This has inspired a way for her to work by using determined and bold strokes, CHO pays tribute to those who diligently live and work in the city.
LAU Siu Chung engages in his works the greenery, light, and urban spaces that he encounters in his daily surroundings. For LAU, these seemingly ordinary scenes are both poetic and vibrant. He is particularly interested in capturing subtle moments of the quotidian: sunlight filtering through leaves, plants growing in building cracks, sceneries outside the windows, and the contrasts between rooftop greenery and the skyline.
Employing warm and gentle hues such as orange, yellow, and purple, LAU portrays the delicate co-existence of nature and urban environments. His bright and intricate layers of colour serve not just as visual representations but also as a homage to the flourishing beauty within the city.
LAU emphasises light and shadow in his artworks. Light not only reveals physical forms but also serves as a key to connecting nature and the city, what is seen and hidden. His use of colour in blocks and lines intertwines organically, creating rich layers that reflect the interdependence of urban and natural environments.
When: 8th February 2025 - 8th March 2025
3/F, 25 Hing Wo Street, Tin Wan, Aberdeen
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Whitestone Gallery: Serenity
Whitestone Gallery is honored to present Serenity, a captivating group exhibition featuring the works of distinguished artists: Soonik Kwon, Masayuki Tsubota, and the duo Li Wei and Liu Zhiyin. Each artist brings a unique perspective and technique, creating a dialogue that explores the intersections of culture, memory, and the natural world.
Soonik Kwon (b.1959) was born in Seoul, Korea. He graduated from the Fine Arts Department at the Sejong University. His mixed media paintings and installations were exhibited more than 30 times in solo exhibitions and more than 50 times in group exhibitions all over the world. Soonik Kwon's technique involves repeatedly applying a mixture of fine soil and paint on canvas, allowing it to dry before rubbing and piling graphite onto the interstitial spaces. He fills gaps between color surfaces with graphite, creating a visual narrative of healing and memory. His works are the result of patience and time, such layering of paint often takes up to a month to complete. Through this continuous practice, the artwork takes shape in silent progression, allowing the artist to gradually forget himself. This ongoing state of selflessness embodies the artist's philosophical approach to creation — to live in the moment.
When: 8th Feb 2025 - 15th March 2025
8/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central
Rossi & Rossi: The Point Becomes a Circle, and Time Turns into a Ball in a Curved Space
Few artists have kept their finger on the pulse of the layered cultural, artistic and sociohistorical landscape of Central Asia as firmly as Erbossyn Meldibekov (b. 1964), who has been making works that serve as metaphors for the ever shifting geopolitics of the region since the early 1990s. The Point Becomes a Circle, and Time Turns into a Ball in a Curved Space, the artist’s fourth solo exhibition at Rossi & Rossi Hong Kong, will take place on the 8th of February 2025, showcasing a brand new body of works from the past five years. In them, Meldibekov returns to the visual foundations of his oeuvre, namely the point and the circle, as symbols to expound the art history and its contemporary discourse of the steppes in his native Kazakhstan.
When: 8th February 2025 - 8th March 2025
11/F, M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang
If you would like you exhibition featured, please email your press release to partnerships@hongkongartscollective.com
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