Hong Kong galleries are reopening with exhibitions that celebrate both local and international artists this June
Para Site: A Garden of Six Seasons
A precursor to the upcoming Kathmandu Triennale, which is being curated by Para Site’s executive director and curator Cosmin Costinas, A Garden of Six Seasons brings together more than 30 artists from around the world. The exhibition is named after an English-style garden built in Kathmandu by the Nepalese king a century ago, and the six seasons that historically defined the city’s climate.
Borrowing the manmade landscape as a metaphor, the show examines how people map, document and shape the world. Looking beyond dominant media such as Nepalese paubha painting and ink painting in East Asia, the exhibition showcases the range of artistic styles thriving today.
Until August 30. Para Site, 22/F Wing Wah Industrial Building, 677 King’s Road, Quarry Bay. Find out more at para-site.art
Tai Kwun: They Do Not Understand Each Other and My Body Holds Its Shape
The former Central Police Station is hosting two major new exhibitions. They Do Not Understand Each Other features works from the collections of Osaka’s National Museum of Art and the Singapore Art Museum made by 19 artists who explore cultural and language barriers in their work.
Simultaneously, My Body Holds Its Shape shows newly commissioned works by five artists, including Filipino artist, dancer and choreographer Eisa Jocson, who is performing on site.
This month Tai Kwun is also hosting Unscheduled, an art fair featuring 13 local galleries.
Until September. Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central. Find out more at taikwun.hk
See also: Unscheduled: Hong Kong's Newest Art Fair Launches This June
Asia Society: Next Act: Contemporary Art from Hong Kong
This exhibition is part of a series of events marking the 30th anniversary of the Asia Society Hong Kong Center and features ten local artists who are interested in Hong Kong’s collective memory and culture.
The exhibition is accompanied by a series of talks and several screenings of artist Cici Wu’s film Unfinished Return of Yu Man Hon.
Until September 27. Asia Society Hong Kong Center, 9 Justice Drive, Admiralty. Find out more at asiasociety.org
Hauser & Wirth: Lorna Simpson
Race, gender and identity are just a few of the themes that American artist Lorna Simpson explores in her work, in the form of photographs, films, drawings, sculptures and paintings.
It’s the latter—monumental canvases featuring icebergs and arctic landscapes—that take centre stage in Hong Kong this month.
June 16—September. Hauser & Wirth, 15/F and 16/F H Queen's, 80 Queen's Road Central. Find out more at hauserwirth.com
Gagosian: Georg Baselitz
Eighty-two-year-old Georg Baselitz, a giant of Germany's contemporary art scene, is showing a new series of paintings at Gagosian this month.
The works were made using a contact-printing technique, meaning Baselitz painted the background of the works and left the figures in the foreground—who are based on Baselitz and his wife—as negative space.
Until August 8. Gagosian, 7/F, Pedder Building, 12 Pedder St, Central. Find out more at gagosian.com
David Zwirner: Lixia
This group show features works by more than 15 artists, including Yayoi Kusama, Alice Neel, Wolfgang Tillmans, Luc Tuymans and Lisa Yuskavage. It is named after the seventh solar term on traditional East Asian calendars, which historically marks the beginning of summer.
The physical show is accompanied by an online viewing room on David Zwirner's website. To visit the exhibition in person, email hongkong@davidzwirner.com to make an appointment.
From May 5. David Zwirner, 5/F and 6/F H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, 2119 5900. Find out more at davidzwirner.com
Alisan Fine Arts: Uniquely Hong Kong: A Celebration of Hong Kong Arts
Twenty-eight local artists from across several generations explore the city’s past and present in this show. Among those featured are the late New Ink Movement pioneers Lui Shou-Kwan and Irene Chou, multimedia artist Kum Chi-Keung—most famous for making birdcages using bamboo and steel—and Rosanna Li, who sculpts plump ceramic figures.
Many of the artworks have been made this year, and reflect both the city’s rich history and its current contemporary art boom.
Until September 3. 21/F, 1 Lyndhurst Tower, 1 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central. Find out more at alisan.com.hk
Edouard Malingue Gallery: Yuan Yuan
Urban scenes of all kinds inspires Hangzhou-based artist Yuan Yuan, who previously made highly ordered, sometimes geometric of spaces ranging from grand halls with neo-classical arches to more modest rooms, but is debuting a new series of works in this exhibition.
Yuan's new paintings merge fantasy and reality, mixing real-life places with his items and locations from his memory.
Until June 27. Edouard Malingue Gallery, 6/F, 33 Des Voeux Road Central. Find out more at edouardmalingue.com
See also: What To See At Unscheduled, Hong Kong's Newest Art Fair
Sovereign Art Foundation Finalists Exhibition
Works by the thirty-one artists who have been shortlisted for this year's Sovereign Asian Art Prize are on show at K11 Atelier King's Road from June 6.
All the works will be auctioned online from June 3, with the proceeds split between the artists and the Sovereign Art Foundation, which runs arts programmes for disadvantaged children in Hong Kong, Cambodia, Nepal, Mongolia and Vietnam.
June 6—July 19. K11 Atelier King's Road, 728 King's Road, Quarry Bay. Find out more at sovereignartfoundation.com
White Cube: Encounter: Part 2
Fifteen artists from around the world are featured in this group show at White Cube, among them Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Mona Hatoum and Liu Wei.
The show includes paintings, sculptures, installations and works on paper, and explores how contemporary artists are pushing the boundaries of figuration and abstraction.
Until July 4. White Cube, 50 Connaught Road, Central. Find out more at whitecube.com
See also: Artist Mona Hatoum: "The World Feels Increasingly Unstable"