Shows to See in Hong Kong in March 2024: Wan Chai, Eastern, Kowloon
By The Editors
Beyond the art gallery clusters in Hong Kong’s Central and Southside districts, island-side commercial areas and Kowloon-side industrial complexes are hosting numerous show openings ahead of Art Basel Hong Kong (March 28–30) and Art Central (March 28–31). Keep reading to view AAP editors’ picks for the gallery openings in Wan Chai, Eastern districts, and across Victoria Harbour. (We will publish our picks for Southside galleries, nonprofits, and institutions to see later in the week.)
Wan Chai & Eastern
Poster for WONG PING’s "anus whisper." Courtesy the artist and Kiang Malingue.
Mar 25–May 4
Wong Ping: anus whisper
Kiang Malingue, Wan Chai
Comical and erotic, Hong Kong-based multimedia artist Wong Ping’s latest solo exhibition features new and old works inspired by the French philosopher’s Georges Bataille’s surrealist text The Solar Anus (1927). On view are Wong’s three-channel video installation Crumbling Earwax, the large-scale ping-pong ball installation blah-blah-blah (both 2022), and a new work wherein fart-like trumpet sounds will be performed through a sculpture of an anus.
WONG KIT YI, Dial 432 to See the Light, 2022-24, still from single-channel video with color and sound: 30 min 30 sec. Courtesy the artist, The Chinati Foundation, and PHD Group.
Mar 23–May 4
Wong Kit Yi: +852 GHOST-JPG
PHD Group, Wan Chai
Hong Kong- and New York-based artist Wong Kit Yi’s first solo exhibition with PhD Group will forge a unique audio-focused experience, featuring bagpipes, hidden frequencies, and karaoke. Wong’s practice incorporates research, video, performance, and participation, crafting works that merge academic materials with pop culture.
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KEITA SHIRAYAMA, (left) Lily and butterfly, 2023; (right) Self Portrait, 2024, oil on canvas, 117 × 91 cm both. Courtesy the artist and WOAW Gallery.
Mar 27–April 26
Keita Shirayama: Everyday
WOAW Gallery, Wan Chai
The debut exhibition of Osaka-based artist Keita Shirayama takes inspiration from his childhood in Asago, a southern Japanese city known for its sprawling mountain range and rich natural landscapes. In “Everyday,” Shitayama presents a body of oil paintings that probe questions about memory and reality, nature and humanity.
SHUM KWAN-YI, Cave no. 1, 2023, ink, color, and copper leaf on paper, 80 × 108 cm. Courtesy the artist and Grotto Fine Art.
Mar 18–Apr 13
Shum Kwan Yi: Landscape of Haven
Grotto Fine Art, Shau Kei Wan
Hong Kong-based ink artist Shum Kwan Yi’s solo show is inspired by the historical event of a monk (Lezun) carving the first cave in the Mogao Grottoes (also known as the “Caves of the Thousand Buddhas”). “Landscape of Haven” comprises two sections: the first will showcase landscape paintings of views within and outside of the caves, while the second will display deconstructed landscape paintings.
Kowloon
EMILY CHENG, Pursuing Heaven, 2019, flashe on canvas, 183 × 152 cm. Courtesy the artist and Hanart TZ Gallery.
Mar 16–May 4
Emily Cheng: Opening of the Egg
Hanart TZ Gallery, Kwai Chung
Known for her abstract paintings that integrate religious iconography and sacred geometry, American-Chinese artist Emily Cheng’s exhibition centres around Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung’s analysis of “the Egg”—namely, that it symbolizes human souls. Presenting more than 30 artworks, primarily of vinyl-based paint on canvas, Cheng depicts the soul’s multitude manifestations.
IZUMI KATO, Untitled, 2023, oil on canvas, 97 × 184 cm. Courtesy the artist and Perrotin.
Mar 24–May 18
Izumi Kato
Perrotin, Victoria Dockside
The Japanese artist Izumi Kato, who lives and works between Tokyo and Hong Kong, is renowned for his depictions of mythical humanoid figures in paintings and sculptures. Following his solo at Perrotin Paris, Kato presents newer works, including new sculptures and paintings of animal figures and anatomical structures inspired by educational toys.
MARIA TANIGUCHI, Studio Visit, 2012, laser-etched plywood, 24 panels, 22 × 30 cm each. Courtesy the artist and Osage Art Foundation.
Mar 23–Jun 15
Manifest Materiality
Osage, Kwun Tong
Curator Charles Merewether showcases 24 works by 14 artists from Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Turkey that convey materiality as an exploration of playfulness and visual abstraction, alluding to social issues, history, and memory.
