Rare Hong Kong exhibition featuring 2 major Southeast Asian artists
In Hong Kong, where encounters with 20th-century Southeast Asian art are still largely limited to random auction and art-fair appearances, a new exhibition at Villepin gallery offers a rare chance to see a broad mix of works by two major artists from the region: Fernando Zobel and Le Pho.
Born in Manila in the Philippines, Zobel was a Harvard-educated artist, museum director, collector and influential figure in both his home country and his adopted home of Spain. He has long been recognised as a key shaper of the post-World War II abstract movement in both countries.
Considering his fame, it is perhaps surprising that his part in a group show within Villepin's hushed three-storey space on Hollywood Road is described as the first time his art has been shown in a Hong Kong gallery.
Similarly, while the work of Vietnamese-French artist Le is often found in major auctions in the city, Villepin curator Rishika Assomull, the gallery's new senior director, says the selection here stands out for being an unusual opportunity to see examples from all the key phases of a long career.
Mandarin Ducks and Lotus (circa late 1930s), by Le Pho, at Hong Kong's Villepin gallery. Photo: Villepin
The group exhibition, titled 'Worlds Within: Art as Refuge', positions Zobel and Le alongside two other migrant artists and Villepin regulars: Zao Wou-Ki and Kang Myonghi.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Interactive exhibition uses digital tools to show traditional Chinese patterns
Every week, Talking Points gives you a worksheet to practise your reading comprehension with exercises about the story we've written. Waves, blossoms and clouds are just a few of the patterns in traditional Chinese design. The Hong Kong Palace Museum is using technology to teach people about the meaning behind these patterns. The show is called 'The Ways in Patterns: An Immersive Digital Exhibition from the Palace Museum'. 'We hope to offer audiences a fresh lens for engaging with our heritage,' Louis Ng said. He is the Hong Kong Palace Museum's director. Museums usually show physical artefacts. But this one presents visitors with digital versions of traditional designs. It uses modern tools to show the patterns of the old architecture, ceramics and textiles in Beijing's Palace Museum. This museum is in the Forbidden City. China's leading fashion designer Guo Pei celebrated at Hong Kong's M+ museum Mixing modern and old This exhibition will run until October 13. It is the first time the Hong Kong Palace Museum and Beijing's Palace Museum have worked together on a multimedia gallery. Three-dimensional projections of the designs come alive as they move around each display. Artificial intelligence also helped find hidden links between the patterns in different artefacts. 'Many [artefacts] have already been digitised in high resolution, a process that took three years,' Ng said. 'Combining technology with our cultural and artistic heritage has become a key goal.' Ng hopes that technology can make learning about traditional culture more interesting for young people. This is especially important because 78 per cent of the museum's visitors are under the age of 45. 'We hope this exhibition will help the younger generation better understand China's outstanding traditional culture and encourage them to participate more actively in its preservation and innovation,' he said. In the Patterns and Fashion section, flowers are projected onto hanging curtains. Photo: Eugene Lee What you should see Dragons, peaches and bats are elements you can see throughout the exhibition. These motifs have long been part of traditional Chinese art. They represent long life, wealth and good luck. The exhibition also dives into the wonders of nature in Chinese art. It shows the beauty of the stars, flowers, birds and even mythical creatures like the phoenix and dragon. These patterns express a focus on beauty, harmony and joy. Ng said these designs could also be found across other parts of the museum. They can be seen in ceramics, calligraphy and paintings. He hopes that the digital exhibition allows audiences to engage with Chinese culture in a different way. 'Visitors won't just find it immersive, interactive and fun,' he said. 'They'll also walk away with a deeper appreciation of the artistic excellence found in the decorative motifs of the Palace Museum's collections.' In the fourth unit of the exhibition, visitors can look up at virtual versions of some caisson ceilings in Beijing's Palace Museum. These include the ceilings in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the Pavilion of One Thousand Autumns. Another section of the show recreates the window grilles of the Forbidden City. The display projects shapes and shadows that change with the seasons. Near the end of the exhibition, visitors can create their own digital swimming fish. Their drawings can be instantly projected onto the wall. Ng had one final point of advice: don't just look at the exhibition. Use all of your senses to explore the digital art. Use your whole body to learn about these cultural treasures. Experience the changing seasons in the Forbidden City. Photo: Eugene Lee To test your understanding of this story, download our printable worksheet or answer the questions in the quiz below.
South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
How Hong Kong director Ringo Lam freshened up the crime genre with Victim and Triangle
Ringo Lam Ling-tung, who died in 2018, was best known for his early films like the trendsetting City on Fire. Advertisement But the Hong Kong director, who would not compromise his vision in the face of commercial concerns, delivered high-quality work throughout his career. Here we look at two of Lam's lesser-seen mid-period works. 1. Victim (1999) Victim was an attempt by Lam to inject his crime thrillers with a new dimension: the supernatural. This was not a completely new genre for Lam; his 1983 movie debut Esprit D'amour was a romantic ghost story. But since the success of 1987's City on Fire , he had concentrated mainly on gritty crime stories. The film, which stars Lau Ching-wan Tony Leung Ka-fai and Lau's real-life partner Amy Kwok Oi-ming, still unspools like a standard cops-and-robbers story. But Lam buries some spooky elements in the narrative to make the viewer think there may be aspects of demonic possession at work. Advertisement 'I'd been thinking about moving away from pure crime for some time,' Lam told critic Derek Elley in 1999, noting that he was a fan of horror classics like The Exorcist and The Omen.
South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Rare Hong Kong exhibition featuring 2 major Southeast Asian artists
In Hong Kong, where encounters with 20th-century Southeast Asian art are still largely limited to random auction and art-fair appearances, a new exhibition at Villepin gallery offers a rare chance to see a broad mix of works by two major artists from the region: Fernando Zobel and Le Pho. Born in Manila in the Philippines, Zobel was a Harvard-educated artist, museum director, collector and influential figure in both his home country and his adopted home of Spain. He has long been recognised as a key shaper of the post-World War II abstract movement in both countries. Considering his fame, it is perhaps surprising that his part in a group show within Villepin's hushed three-storey space on Hollywood Road is described as the first time his art has been shown in a Hong Kong gallery. Similarly, while the work of Vietnamese-French artist Le is often found in major auctions in the city, Villepin curator Rishika Assomull, the gallery's new senior director, says the selection here stands out for being an unusual opportunity to see examples from all the key phases of a long career. Mandarin Ducks and Lotus (circa late 1930s), by Le Pho, at Hong Kong's Villepin gallery. Photo: Villepin The group exhibition, titled 'Worlds Within: Art as Refuge', positions Zobel and Le alongside two other migrant artists and Villepin regulars: Zao Wou-Ki and Kang Myonghi.
