Spring is here! And along with that is a range of art events in Hong Kong for its Art Month in March. This year, the range of art fairs is happening in the later part of the month starting this week, and there’s a number of “satellite” exhibitions ongoing now which I’m interested to see!

HONG KONG

Art Fairs

• Asia Contemporary Art Show

I didn’t realize that this art fair opened a few days before the others! In case you missed it like I did, there’s also a Fall edition that will be held in September.

17 – 20 March 2017, Conrad Hong Kong— Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong, more info here.

• Art Central

Art Central tends to show more edgy and provocative contemporary artworks in its giant marquee! To see more from the past two years of the fair on the blog, go here.

21 – 25 March 2017, Central Harbourfront Hong Kong, ticketing info here.

• Art Basel Hong Kong

Art Basel shows a vast mix of contemporary and modern artworks that takes hours to trek through. I recommend checking out the magazines booths after you are all done looking at the art, I tend to bring home a number of free art magazines! To see more from the past two years of the fair on the blog, go here.

23 – 25 March 2017, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wanchai, ticketing info here.

• Kingsley Ng’s Twenty Five Minutes Older

There are events part of Art Basel happening outside the HKCEC as well! One of it is local artist Kingsley Ng’s Twenty Five Minutes Older that is happening in trams going between Wanchai and Sheung Wan! I’m so excited because I love love love trams and it’s so fun to have them incorporated into an art piece. The trams will become moving camera obscuras (first form of cameras), displaying images of Hong Kong streets. It sounds like a great way to experience Hong Kong in a new way – in a tram, through art.

20 – 28 March 2017, aboard trams going from Wanchai to Sheung Wan, free admission but requires tickets, limited tickets still available – go here, more info here.

• Sir Michael Craig-Martin’s Bright Idea, 2016 for ‘Love Art at The Peninsula’

Photograph of Bright Idea 2016 at the evening discussion with Sir Michael Craig-Martin (right) and Tim Marlow (left) at HKU last night

I don’t know why I’d missed The Peninsula Hong Kong’s collaborations with Art Basel every year since they started their ‘Love Art’ series with Tracey Emin’s My Heart Is With You Always displayed on the facade of the hotel in 2014 (which I very unfortunately had to miss). So I am determined to catch Michael Craig-Martin’s Bright Idea 2016 at The Peninsula this time!

Bright Idea 2016 continues in Martin’s style of taking mundane objects in daily life, producing them in much-larger-than-life forms and placing them in unexpected sites, like The Peninsula’s fountain for one.

20 March – 31 May 2017, The Peninsula Hong Kong, more info here.

Exhibitions

• Picasso and Jacqueline

I wished I had known about this earlier, so I would have more time to go check it out! The exhibition centres around 13 artworks of Picasso’s that were dedicated to his last wife Jacqueline.

Some points to note: It’s free admission, but you have to queue outdoors for quite a long time, I heard. And no photography is allowed, sadly.

26 February – 21 March 2017, Times Square Living Room Museum, more info here.

• The Legend of Hong Kong Toys

This is such a great exhibition that I recommend for all kids and adults alike! It gives a look into Hong Kong history through the toys people played with over the last century. I will be sharing more photos from the exhibition on the blog soon!

2 March –  15 May 2017, Hong Kong Museum of History (closed on Tuesdays), 100 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, HKD10 standard tickets, HKD5 concession tickets, more info here.

• Zaha Hadid: There Should Be No End to Experimentation

Zaha Hadid’s architecture is so iconic and creative, and I’m waiting for the day when I can finally visit one of her creations Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul! In the meantime, I’m so glad that an exhibition of her paintings and drawings is now in Hong Kong! The exhibition also includes a few virtual reality experiences, which should be interesting.

17 March – 6 April 2017 (17-21 March: 10:00-18:00; 22 March – 6 April: 10:00-21:00), ArtisTree, 1/F Cornwall House, Taikoo Place, 979 King’s Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, more info on Taikoo Place’s site and on Serpentine Galleries’ site.

• It Speaks to Me

Ng Lung Wai’s exhibition ‘It Speaks to Me’ features mixed media paintings that uses objects such as shirts and architectural models to create large-scale pieces, which sounds like a fun way to make artworks! To see more of Ng’s previous exhibition ‘1960s Big Era’ which featured portraits of historical figures made out of pins, badges, and other collectibles on the blog, go here.

21 March – 3 April 2017, G/F, Open Space, Central Plaza, Wanchai, more info here.

SINGAPORE

• i Light Marina Bay

Singapore’s also having some really cool stuff going on with its fifth edition of i Light Marina Bay, a sustainable light festival. Wish I could be there to see it! Check out the video above to see more.

3 – 26 March 2017, Marina Bay Waterfront, more info here.

• Shakespeare In Print:  The First Folio

Something a little different from the other exhibitions above – an exhibition that displays Shakespeare’s plays in their first printed form. I can’t say that I am the biggest fan of Shakespeare, but his works are so influential and I think it’s good to have an understanding of them. For all fans of the Bard and literature fanatics, I think this should be fun to check out!

11 March – 23 April 2017, Level 10, Gallery, National Library Building, more info here.

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I’ve always loved artworks that are put together with many details, so when you zoom in, you see all the different pieces that make up the artwork. Ng does just that by using his very well-stocked collection of pins, badges, stamps and other collectibles to create large portraits of iconic figures in the 1960s. Quotes by each figure add a nice touch to the artworks.

It had just rained when I arrived and this exhibition was actually held at Comix Home Base’s Outdoor Open Space. All the artworks had a little shelter so they wouldn’t get wet except for the giant Elvis Presley portrait set out on the ground. The descriptions on the ground in front of the works had small puddles on them, and cleaners were walking around mopping the rainwater away. Definitely a new experience of viewing artworks, haha!

The Elvis Presley piece is made up of metal mosaics though, and I wonder if they had to be wiped dry later to prevent rusting or whatever…

Ng Lung Wai, The portrait of Mao Zedong, 2013, vintage European stickpin badges on canvas

We are not only good at destroying the old world, we are also good at building the new!

Ng Lung Wai, The portrait of Audrey Hepburn, 2012, vintage European stickpin badges on canvas

Nothing is impossible, the word says ‘I’m possible’!

I love how the colors of the portraits of Mao Zedong and Audrey Hepburn really pop with Ng’s use of vintage European badges. When seen close up, it’s hard to tell which part of the portrait you’re looking at (the closeups shown are the side of Mao’s face and Audrey’s eye) but I found it fun to see what the words and pictures on the individual badges were. When seen farther away, the colors blend together and you will only see the portrait itself!

Ng Lung Wai, The portrait of John F. Kennedy, 2014, wooden tokens on frame

Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.

The portrait of John F. Kennedy is pretty much entirely brown and is a little dark, but the shift in color tones is done so well.

Ng Lung Wai, The portrait of Che Guevara, 2012, wooden clothespins on frame

Many will call me an adventurer – and that I am, only one of a different sort: one of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes.

I love this! A large part due to the fact that this portrait is made up of clothespins, it’s ingenious.

Ng Lung Wai, The portrait of John Lennon, 2014, Hong Kong generic stamps on frame

As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot.

The portrait of John Lennon has a bit of Hong Kong in it, being made up of old Hong Kong stamps with portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. I didn’t like this much as much as the rest because it felt a little flat and the colors didn’t pop very well, but I liked the meta with portraits within a portrait.

Ng Lung Wai, The portrait of Elvis Presley, 2015, metal mosaics of Marilyn Monroe on wood board

The image is one thing and the human being is another. It’s very hard to live up to an image, put it that way.

Ng continues with the meta but does it to a more effective scale with The portrait of Elvis Presley. I was so surprised when I went up close to this giant portrait and saw the many faces of Marilyn Monroe! It’s even better when seen from three floors above (in the cover picture).

Ng Lung Wai, The portrait of Marilyn Monroe, 2015, oil on canvas

Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.

Speaking of Marilyn Monroe, here she is! I was wondering what this portrait was made of, until I read the description and it wrote oil on canvas! Absolutely stunning.

The portrait of Audrey Hepburn was Ng’s first piece in this 1960s series, so the series is still relatively new. I would love to see more, these pieces are so fun! These days, you can find so much fan art and celebrity portraits online but it’s always hard to get the look perfectly right, and even then, capture the essence of the person in a drawing. Ng manages to do so with his collectibles and with such large-scale portraits, which I find really impressive and refreshing.

Learn more about Ng’s work in his interview with China Daily Asia Pacific:

To find out more about Ng and this exhibition, check out the exhibition’s website here.

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