We've handpicked some art exhibitions and events to check out this July. Read on to discover more.
SC Gallery: Anomalous Gloaming
SC Gallery is proud to present a joint exhibition “Anomalous Gloaming” featuring three artists Doris CHUI, Hilarie HON, and Stanley SHUM. The three artists depict the familiar landscapes of their homeland using vibrant colours with strong contrasts. Whether it’s the iconic Lion Rock tunnel or the common storefronts on the streets, these familiar scenes take on a sense of unfamiliarity, a distance of being both in and out of this place, under the strange twilight.
When: 11th July - 24th August 2024
Image: courtesy SC Gallery
1902, Sungib Industrial Centre, 53 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang
Yrellag Gallery: SPY x OL
"SPY×FAMILY" is a Japanese animation about a spy having special operations and covering identity by forming a fictional family. Inspired by the series, the artist sees herself as a person who paints, trespassing and cosplaying as an "office lady", working in a traditional corporation while maintain her artistic practice.
“Everyone goes to work. Yet, is everyone want to go to work?”
Yrellag Gallery is proud to present “SPY x OL”, a solo exhibition by Shum Hok Kiu. This exhibition showcases 9 paintings that resemble investigations into office ecology by observing the daily work life as a “spy”, with observation detaching scenes and subjects from reality, being transformed and reassembled. They presented the ordinary office scenes from a different and playful perspective.
When: 2nd July - 30th July 2024
Image: courtesy Yrellag Gallery
13A Prince's Terrace, Central
HKBU AVA MA Graduation Show 2024
The MA Grad Show celebrates the outstanding accomplishments of twenty one graduates from various fields, including fine art, design, artisanship, and photography. Through their multifaceted expressions, these artists explored the complexities of human condition; delving into the realms of time, ecology, history, diaspora, memory, identity, and the essence of existence.
"Time Tracing" draws inspiration from Carol Becker's perspective on temporality. It invites the viewers to ponder over the dynamic nature of our existence and the transformative power of time. The exhibition explores adaptation and navigation through the constant flux of time. As the audiences witness the captivating artworks, they are reminded of the ever evolving nature of their experiences, where the past, present, and future intersect in a harmonious symphony of creative expression.
The collection of artworks covers a wide range of themes and ideas: from protecting animals on highways to connecting nature and memorials; from reflecting on the desire to transform childhood traumas to contemplating the diaspora of present circumstances; from reminiscing one’s past to commemorating traditions. Through the viewers' unique perspectives, the artists challenge them to confront the intricacies of human existence, prompting thought-provoking dialogues while fostering a deeper understanding of shared narratives.
As a celebration of personal growth, artistic transformation, and the indomitable spirit of creativity that transcends boundaries, the MA Grad Show manifests the artists' journeys. It reflects their commitment to honing their skills, exploring their identities, and emerging as beacons of artistic brilliance, ready to illuminate the world with the works of art.
When: 13th July - 27th July 2024
Image: courtesy HKBU
HKBU Kai Tak Campus, 51 Kwun Tung Road, Kowloon
Exit Gallery: Those Off-duty Gazes
For this group exhibition ‘Those off-duty gazes’, Gallery EXIT collaborates with WURE AREA, as we review and reveal our mission, and explore possibilities for the future. This exhibition is curated by WURE AREA, showcasing in the exhibition space of Gallery EXIT the new works of ten young artists: CHAN Kam Lun, Mae CHAN, CHEUNG Tsz Ki, GO Hung, Jeremy IP, Rico LAU Ching Hei, LEE Chiu Sun, LEUNG Hoi Nga Livy, Giraffe LEUNG Lok Hei and WONG Winsome Dumalagan, with an original and experimental curatorial strategy that presents a different approach to a gallery/experimental space.
The habit of observation that comes with one’s character/identity is absorbed into life, and the thoughts that precede the inspiration of art are embedded in the daily routine. Intelligence, grand and trivial, is always collected in the artist's pocket in their off-duty-time, and at some point it is interpreted as the motivation and rationale for their work.
This exhibition begins with a fictional scene and character setting. The juxtaposition of the works of ten (five pairs of) artists promotes dialogue between the works, each in their own language, and attempts to open up new pathways between similar perspectives. From these works derived from moulding, painting, shaping, sculpting, drawing, recording and other actions, the audience can investigate into the origins of their creation; at the same time, the artists’ persons, habits, hidden perspectives and preferences become subtle footnotes to the works. Through this fragmented information, the audience gets acquainted with the artists’ lives or characters via an open form of encountering and seeing.
When: 29th June - 27th July 2024
Image: Exit Gallery
3/F, 25 Hing Wo Street, Tin Wan, Aberdeen
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Mooroom: Ungenerating AI
AI simulates the mind to project a form. When we frame an exhibition with its walls, its contents become replicable. An exhibition no longer opens a window to the experience of art. One creates something, technology recycles. If mastery, discipline and discourse are replicable, why create? The postmodern is a primal fear.
“Ungenerating AI”, in avantgarde terms, distinguishes between “arty tech” and “techie art”. Arty tech is the uncanny valley, a seamless replica of forms, like automata. It is “neither artificial nor intelligent” (Note 1). Techie art returns to institutions because its wordiness gets appropriated and absorbed, as if whatever one creates immediately belongs to institutions. It is “artificial stupidity”(Note 2). What was the original relationship between art and technology? Is it really necessary to have such a dichotomy, or even to be anti-technology?
“Ungenerating AI” not only invited 5 non-AI artists who use traditional and non-traditional materials, but also self-published a 6500-word curatorial statement. After a deep dive, everyone dismantled the narrative that their forebears had given technology. Subversively, how does AI find its way to become ”the” missing puzzle? Defining AI could also be beyond its mechanisms, sociocultural distribution and exhibition histories - what we won’t see but already know…
When: 4th July - 29th July 2024
Image: courtesy Mooroom
The Stroll Gallery: Ambiguous Intimacy
The advancement of technology in the modern world has brought about a revolutionary shift in the way people form human relationships. Through the power of technology, people now have the incredible ability to connect with others regardless of time zones and geographical boundaries. They can peer into someone's life and experiences without the need for face-to-face interaction. This has not only broadened our social connections but has also invigorated the realms of culture and art.
The artistic process of Jiyoon Jeong, a painter who transforms found web images into paintings, shows a strong resemblance to the way modern individuals form relationships online. This parallel is not a mere coincidence. Jeong's approach goes beyond the mere replication of images. Instead of solely focusing on the emotions, narratives, or memories captured in the photographs she collects, the artist relies on the formal elements that constitute the composition, such as poses, expressions, and the states of the subjects. She uses these visual elements to craft her paintings, daringly reshaping the original image. By reconstructing the composition in monochrome, removing the original colors, and applying dripping techniques that scatter paint, Jeong pulls the image into the realm of "painting" from "photography." The once intangible and anonymous image now take on a physical form capable of facilitating two-way communication.
What sets Jeong's work apart is the way she invites viewers to actively engage with her artwork. By distorting and reinterpreting the original images, she sparks curiosity and encourages viewers to form their own connections. When encountered with a gaze that reaches beyond the screen or a gentle smile radiating a laid-back happiness, sensations of sunlight and the aroma of dry earth, viewers briefly experience a fleeting familiarity within the monochromatic screen, where even the time seems elusive. In that moment, the image transcends its role as a personal record of a stranger and embarks on the first step of forging new connections by acquiring fresh interpretations and meanings.
Jiyoon Jeong's artwork presents a unique visual language that stems from the superficial relationships found within web-based images, beckoning viewers to embark on an exploration of the underlying human connections. Through her solo exhibition, "Ambiguous Intimacy," held at The Stroll gallery, she explores the notion of intimacy in today's digital age. By reflecting on the core of human connections through her artistic expression, viewers are encouraged to envision the vast array of possibilities that await us in terms of communication and interpersonal bonds.
When: 8th June - 3rd August 2024
Image: Courtesy of The Stroll Gallery
Unit 504, 5/F, Vanta Industrial Centre, 21-33 Tai Lin Pai Road, Kwai Chung
Ora Ora Gallery: Miroku
Ora-Ora is delighted to announce the much-anticipated solo exhibition of Beijing-based artist Huang Yulong at our Tai Kwun gallery space. Titled Miroku, the exhibition explores the themes of time and the future. While this marks Huang’s first solo show with Ora-Ora, it signifies his dynamic return to Hong Kong after nine years.
Huang’s artistic practice merges motifs from youth and hip-hop culture with the vitality of urban environments. The centerpiece of Miroku is a large-scale inflatable sculpture, also titled “Miroku”, showcasing a new medium the artist is exploring. This exhibition celebrates an emotive journey and a breakthrough in his oeuvre, reflecting on themes of leisure, curiosity, and passion.
Epitomizing the receptiveness and dynamism which is apparent in China's rapid urbanization, this exhibition invites viewers to experience Huang Yulong’s unique fusion of tradition and modernity. Miroku not only highlights Huang’s innovative use of new mediums but also his continued exploration of Eastern traditions and hip-hop aesthetics. Join us in celebrating this significant milestone in Huang Yulong's artistic journey, where the past meets the future in a vibrant and compelling display of creativity and vision.
When: 11th July - 10th August 2024
Image: courtesy Ora-Ora Gallery
105-107, Barrack Block, Tai Kwun
Novalis Art Design: Smoking
The exhibition is Alessandro Busci’s first solo exhibition in Asia, supported by the Italian Cultural Institute in Hong Kong. The exhibition will feature Busci's paintings as well as art jewellery from his collaboration with Babs Art Gallery. babsartgallery Busci generates delicate signs as a sapient calligrapher, outlining dark flashes, nocturnal lights, hypnotic monochrome landscapes with difficult promise. A dark vision of the urban drama in the world. His paintings full of gestures that prophesy the oily, petroliferous worlds, of atmospheres where hope persists only through some rare concession of a few touches of yellow or orange.
Since 2002 Busci has been painting on iron or metal sheets, dipped in acid solution to activate the oxidation process. While the rust is forming and spreading, Busci works on the damp sheet using mainly acrylics and enamels and a Japanese calligraphy brush.
When: 21st June - 20th July 2024
Image: courtesy Novalis Art Design
G/F, 197 Hollywood Road
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