Latest news with #PicassoforAsia—AConversation
New York Times
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Hong Kong Picasso Show Aims to Help Viewers See Him ‘in a New Light'
Pablo Picasso stands, cigarette in hand, gazing intently at the viewer. A white pocket square pokes out of his suit jacket; strands of hair reach up to the top of the canvas. 'Picasso' is a 2011 oil portrait by the Chinese contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi, and it is the first piece visitors see walking into a new exhibition at the M+ Museum in Hong Kong: 'The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia — A Conversation.' Running through July 13, the show combines 72 Picasso works — most of them loans from the Picasso Museum in Paris — with about 140 works by 31 Asian and Asian-diasporic artists, most pulled from the museum's own collection. The aim is to set up a dialogue between the Spanish master and four generations of Asian artists, the oldest born in the 1860s, and the youngest in the 1990s. Zeng, who was born in 1964, explained why Picasso was important. 'His work impressed me with its vitality — the fearless innovation, as well as the ventures into the unknown,' Zeng said in an email interview. While he started studying Picasso in his student days, and was long inspired by the Spanish master's Rose Period, Zeng said that he kept making surprise discoveries, when, for instance, he saw the sketches and preparatory drawings recently shown at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the sculptures in the 2015-16 survey of Picasso's three-dimensional works at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. 'Picasso's career was no static journey,' Zeng said. 'I was struck by this pioneering spirit.' Five decades since his death, and nearly 150 years since his birth, the 20th century's most famous artist continues to dominate the international art conversation. And now, M+, a museum of visual arts and culture that opened in Hong Kong in late 2021, is continuing that conversation with this exhibit — the first of its kind. Picasso has, in recent years, been blasted for his treatment of the women in his life, notably in the 2023 Brooklyn Museum exhibition 'It's Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby,' curated by Gadsby, an Australian comic who had taken on the artist in a Netflix special. The M+ exhibition curators have deliberately mentioned those debates in the show. Yet as Doryun Chong, the artistic director of M+, writes in the catalog, the 'revisionism' of the past few years appears not to have 'curbed the public interest in, if not the appreciation of, Picasso's art in our time.' In a video interview, Chong, who co-curated the exhibition, explained that while the show contained direct homages to Picasso such as the Zeng painting and Simon Fujiwara's 2024 revisiting of Picasso's 'Massacre in Korea' — 'Who vs Who vs Who? (A Picture of a Massacre)' — 'it was also really important to think about other modalities of relationship' besides 'the one-way direction from the master to the follower.' Chong and his exhibition co-curator François Dareau (an associate curator at the Picasso Museum in Paris) worked out that Picasso represented four archetypes (or commonly held views) of the artist: the genius, the outsider, the magician and the apprentice. Those archetypes are the four component sections of the exhibition. In early 20th-century Asia, Picasso was widely known, and many artists painted in the style of synthetic Cubism (a later stage of the Cubist movement) in Japan, Korea, China, India and different parts of Southeast Asia, Chong said. But from the mid-20th century onward, artists in Asia didn't necessarily 'think of him and his particular style as an inspiration anymore,' he added, because they were more interested in artists such as the Abstract Expressionists. Chong said that for the general public, however, the interest in Picasso 'continues and even grows' across Asia, irrespective of controversies and debates. 'There is a bit of a gap between his influence on more recent generations of artists and the public's continued and increasing passion for his work,' he said. Among Western artists, Picasso continues to have impact and influence. As the catalog points out, numerous living artists in the West represent him or his art in their work, such as David Hockney, George Condo and Maurizio Cattelan. Yet Picasso himself was not interested in spawning a following, said Anne Baldassari, one of the world's foremost Picasso scholars. Baldassari was the president of the Picasso Museum in Paris from 2005 to 2014, and in 2012 staged what was then the largest Picasso exhibition in Hong Kong: a solo show with 56 paintings and sculptures from the museum's collections. 'Picasso always denied wanting to establish a 'school' or contribute to any artistic movement,' Baldassari said. She added that having gone through 'what he viewed as years of sterile academic training in the exact representation of reality,' he was 'an anarchist and a freethinker' who sought a 'complete break' with what came before. He also liked working away from the public eye. Between 1906 and 1914, a period of experimentation during which he radically reinvented painting, he refused to exhibit his paintings or allow them to be published or marketed, said Baldassari. Only those who visited his atelier or acquired the works — such as his collectors Gertrude and Leo Stein — could see them, she noted. What is also true is that during his lifetime, Picasso actually met few Asian artists: 'You could count them with the fingers of one hand,' said Dareau, the M+ exhibition's co-curator. How did the Picasso Museum decide what to lend to the M+ show? Dareau noted that the works selected enabled 'an interesting and coherent dialogue' with the M+ collections, and allowed 'a visitor to the exhibition who knows nothing about Picasso to get a sense of the different periods and styles in his career.' There are loans from the Blue Period, the Cubist period, and from Picasso's Surrealist period, in a variety of media: painting, sculpture, drawing, prints and ceramics. The largest Picasso loan from Paris — and the work that ends the M+ exhibition — is 'Massacre in Korea,' completed in January 1951. The work, which Dareau said was the only painting by Picasso of an Asian subject, shows gun-wielding men in armor taking aim at a group of naked women and children. It was inspired by past art-historical masterpieces: Goya's 'The Third of May 1808 in Madrid' (1814), and Manet's 'The Execution of Emperor Maximilian' (a series painted between 1867 and 1869). Chong noted that 'Massacre in Korea' was a powerful antiwar manifesto, completed 14 years after 'Guernica,' at a time when Picasso was known across the world as a pacifist and the creator of a famous series depicting the white dove of peace. Chong said that the 'less than savory aspect' of Picasso's personality — his relationship with women — was explored in the second section of the show, focusing on the idea of the artist as outsider and on the 1920s and 1930s, when the human body was Picasso's main subject. The painter's successive female partners are represented alongside allusions to the abuse and mistreatment that they experienced. Chong noted that by displaying these Picasso works alongside 'artists making feminist or postfeminist critiques' about 'gender dynamics,' you end up with 'an indirect but still very pointed critique' of Picasso's relationships with women. One example in the show is the work of the Shanghai-born, New York-based artist Pixy Liao, whose humorous photographs portray her and her male life partner in a variety of poses. They 'subvert conventional representations of heterosexual relationships and challenge traditional notions of masculinity,' Chong writes in the catalog. Chong said he hoped that visitors to the exhibition would see Picasso as an artist who was still 'a relevant and very productive interlocutor,' and one who was 'able to have a dialogue with artists from our part of the world.'
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
French May Arts Festival 2025 Co-presenting the groundbreaking cross-cultural exhibition 'The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia--A Conversation' with M+
From March to July, venture along the cultural bridges of East and West and discover a kaleidoscope of more than 60 programmes featuring the best of French art, cinema, circus, music, dance, theatre and gastronomy. HONG KONG, March 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust as Major Partner, alongside other patrons and partners, The French May Arts Festival (French May) 2025 is delighted to announce the launch of this year's programmes. Themed 'Vive L'art' – In Art We Live, the 32nd edition of French May is returning with more than 60 arts and cultural programmes spanning art, cinema, circus, music, dance, theatre and gastronomy. Supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust alongside other patrons and partners, the festival runs from 15 March to 13 July, beginning with the groundbreaking The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia—A Conversation exhibition co-presented with M+. By providing a platform for local and international arts and cultural talent through vibrant cross-cultural collaborations, French May hopes to enrich and enliven audiences with the best of French culture and heritage, bolstering cultural bridges between East and West. Through partnerships with M+, Tai Kwun and others, this year French May is reaching out to touch everything and be everywhere for everyone through the best of French arts and culture. Highlighted programmes include: The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia—A Conversation Co-presented by French May and M+, co-organised by M+ and Musée national Picasso-Paris (MnPP), The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia—A Conversation is the opening programme of the French May Arts Festival 2025. It is generously supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust as Title Sponsor and financially supported by the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The exhibition is also among activities marking the 140th anniversary of The Hong Kong Jockey Club. The groundbreaking exhibition brings together more than 60 works by Spanish master Pablo Picasso and over 80 pieces by Asian and Asian-diasporic artists from the M+ Collections. This is the first time that masterpieces from the Musée national Picasso-Paris have been shown in dialogue with a museum collection in Asia. It marks the first major exhibition of Picasso in Hong Kong in more than a decade, examining Picasso's enduring influence in and connections with Asia for the first time. Tickets are now available for purchase. For details, please visit M+ website. Dates: 15 March – 13 July 2025 Venue: West Gallery, M+ French GourMay Food and Wine Festival French GourMay is the only major festival in Hong Kong dedicated to French gastronomy. From 1 to 31 May, discover the diverse world of French spirits. Be it as an ingredient in cooking, as a component in cocktails or as a digestive served after a meal, explore the many faces of French spirits and liquors. Stay tuned for more information on exclusive restaurant and bar offers, retailer promotions, thematic workshops at learning centres and more! Dates: 1 – 31 May 2025 Le Bal Experience the splendour of the Belle Époque period with this fanciful street parade inspired by the works of Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas. Produced by Remue Ménage, a world-renowned French company that marries visual arts with circus, dance and puppetry art, party the night away with magnificent horse-drawn carriages, dancers and acrobats. A signature event of the French Rendezvous@Tai Kwun series. Dates: 9-11, 13-18 May 2025 Venue: Parade Ground, Tai Kwun Gautier Capuçon plays Shostakovich Presented by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, catch the debonair French cellist Gautier Capuçon alongside Austrian conductor Christoph Koncz live on stage in a concert that honours a double musical anniversary – of French composer Maurice Ravel's 150th birthday, and Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich's 50th death. Dates: 8 – 9 May 2025 Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Trio Wanderer Hong Kong Début Co-presented by the French May Arts Festival and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Trio Wanderer will be making their much-anticipated Hong Kong début with a recital of exquisite piano trio classics by Debussy, Ravel and Mendelssohn. They will also join hands with Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Music Director Designate of Prague Symphony Orchestra Tomáš Netopil to present Beethoven's iconic Triple Concerto. Dates: 14 & 17 May 2025 Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall French May Cinema Programme Organised by the Alliance Française de Hong Kong, catch a selection of French films across a wide variety of genres. Check out screenings at designated cinemas on the Broadway Circuit and more. Stay tuned for more details! Dates: 20 May – 4 June 2025 Venues: Broadway Circuit and other cinemas Corps extrêmes Presented by West Kowloon Cultural District, Corps extrêmes (Extreme Bodies) explores the human desire for weightlessness through an exhilarating mix of dance, acrobatics and extreme sports. Intimate yet larger than life, the gravity-defying performance combines projections, spoken word and a musical score, revealing an existential human experience anchored in reality and suspended in the world of dreams. Dates: 30 May – 1 June 2025 Venue: Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre Giselle Presented by the Hong Kong Ballet (HKB), let HKB's Artistic Director Septime Webre and South African ballet artist Charla Genn take you away on a tale of love, betrayal and redemption in one of the most romantic ballets of all time. Immerse in the poignant story of carefree peasant girl Giselle who unexpectedly falls in love with Albrecht, a flirtatious nobleman in disguise. Featuring brand new sets and costume designs by Jérôme Kaplan, winner of Benoir de la Danse, and guest appearances of Paris Opera Ballet principal dancer Hugo Marchand and The Royal Ballet principal dancer Marianela Nuñez and Matthew Ball. Dates: 30 May – 8 June 2025 Venue: Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Jazz Female Duo – Paris Rendezvous Experience an enchanting performance by the talented jazz female duo – Joyce Cheung from Hong Kong and Sarah Lancman from France, who promise to deliver a captivating soundscape that weaves together the unique cultural heritage of jazz standards and French hits. Date: 6 June 2025 Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall Erik Truffaz – Rollin' & Clap! Follow trumpeter Erik Truffaz, one of the world's leading jazz stars, to the golden age of French cinema in a riveting performance of work by composers Nino Rota, Michel Magne, Ennio Morricone and Philippe Sarde. Joining him are his long-time accomplices Marcello Giuliani and musicians Raphaël Chassin, Alexis Anérilles and Matthis Pascaud. Discover the beauty of a sensitive homage that still shines in today's collective imagination! Date: 7 June 2025 Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall Echoes of the Heart Discover a rich cross-cultural musical performance delivered straight from the heart by Cantopop sensation Jay Fung and talented French singer Joyce Jonathan. Performed in Chinese, English and French, revel in the dynamic synergy of the two performers. Date: 14 June 2025 Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Souvenirs Co-produced by French May and Alliance Française de Hong Kong, catch the dance couple Claire Théault and Anthony Figueiredo of France's Got Talent fame live on stage as they take audiences on a journey through their memories in their luggage of life. A visual, poetic and choreographic performance mixing live shadows, dance and physical theatre. Dates: 14 – 15 June 2025 Venue: Theatre, Sheung Wan Civic Centre The Jockey Club Community Outreach and Arts Education Programmes Thanks to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, which is supporting the festival for the 14th consecutive year, French May is able to share the pleasures of French culture with the wider community. The Jockey Club Community Outreach and Arts Education Programmes – comprising outreach projects, educational talks, workshops, masterclasses and free performances – will enable a wider and more diverse audience to experience French arts and culture first hand. More detailed information for individual programmes and activities will be available in April. Please click here to download the high-resolution image. About the French May Arts Festival Established in 1993, French May is one of the largest cultural events in Asia. With about 100 programmes presented across two months, we showcase the most diversified art forms – from heritage and contemporary art, paintings and design to classical music and hip-hop dance, cinema and circus. It has become an iconic part of Hong Kong's cultural scene, reaching over 200,000 visitors each year. French May brings the arts to everyone, not only in cultural venues, but also in public spaces, shopping malls and more, inviting everyone across Hong Kong to enjoy art in their daily lives. With the aim of promoting accessible arts for all, French May places a strong emphasis on education through outreach programmes, guided tours, workshops, masterclasses and free performances. The festival strives to reach the widest possible audience and contribute to education of the young and less-privileged, working closely with over 50 local institutions and organisations to establish barrier-free access to the arts. Contact For further enquiries and requests for interviews, please contact: Occasions PR & Marketing Ltd. Stella Wong Email: stellawong@ Tel: +852 3678 0123 Cecilia Li Email: cecilia@ Tel: +852 3678 0135 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE French May Arts Festival 2025
