Hong Kong art exhibitions to catch this week

The ‘Van Gogh Alive’ immersive art experience has travelled to over 100 cities around the world, and it’s returning to our shores on March 10. This exhibition stimulates the senses of sight, sound, and smell to fully bring visitors into Post-Impressionist master Vincent van Gogh’s artistic journey.  3,000 paintings and images including famous Van Gogh classics like ‘Sunflowers’, ‘Starry Night’, and ‘Wheatfield with Crows’ are waiting to be experienced in an elevated way, with approximately 30 giant screens working together to project, break down, and enhance the paintings. Projected simultaneously across walls, columns, and floors, visitors can feel like they’re actually wandering through the world created through his bold brush strokes. Apart from a redesigned layout that utilises more of the exhibition space than when the exhibition came to Hong Kong in 2019, this return also presents something new in the debut of ‘AI Van Gogh’; the technology brings the artist back to life and generates paintings in the Impressionist style for visitors to walk into. Classical music from Schubert and Bach will enhance the enjoyment of the artwork, while special scents are also used to heighten the immersive experience, evoking florals when viewing ‘Sunflowers’ or a fresh breeze in ‘Starry Night’. Early-bird tickets are available until February 27 for $160. Thereafter, the standard price will be $190, with concessions available. Note that tickets to ‘Van Gogh Alive’ do not include entry...

The famous Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris have collaborated with the Hong Kong Museum of Art to present this special exhibition on two of the greatest masters of the Impressionist art movement: Paul Cézanne and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  This is the first large-scale exhibition of the two Impressionists in Hong Kong, showcasing 52 masterpieces on loan from France. See how the pair found innovative ways to reinvent the art of their time, how they viewed the world, and how they captured the rapidly changing times around them. Cézanne and Renoir were also longtime friends and likely influenced each other’s works, as well as later becoming beacons of inspiration for later painters such as Spanish surrealist master Pablo Picasso. The Cézanne and Renoir exhibition will run from January 17 to May 7. Tickets are priced at $50, with concessions available. Note that the Hong Kong Museum of Art is closed on Thursdays as well as the first two days of Chinese New Year (January 29-30). View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out Hong Kong (@timeouthk)

Visit this special exhibition at M+ to see more than 60 masterpieces by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso spanning from the late 1890s to the early 1970s. Co-curated with the Musée national Picasso-Paris (MnPP), which holds the largest repository of Picasso’s work in the world, this is the first time that pieces from the MnPP are being shown together with works from an Asian museum collection. By placing Picasso’s work in dialogue with Asian contemporary art – approximately 80 works by more than 20 Asian and Asian-diasporic artists – the master’s enduring influence on art to this day is highlighted. Split into four sections that show how Picasso fits into four artist stereotypes – such as the genius in his self-mythologising works, and the outsider with how he consistently chose to upend artistic styles and traditions – this exhibition explores how Picasso became the quintessential modern 20th-century artist.  Tickets cost $240, with half-price concessions and adult-and-child combo deals available. Visitors with special exhibition tickets can also access the ‘Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination’ exhibition, as well as all M+ general admission exhibitions starting from March 15.

ArtisTree has teamed up with globally celebrated multidisciplinary artist Sara Shakeel for 'ArtisTree Selects: The Jewel System', a stunning showcase of two art installations. Known for her dazzling digital art, Shakeel brings her work into the physical world with embroidered pieces that blend ancient craftsmanship with cosmic themes. At ArtisTree, visitors can explore The Jewel System, a vibrant embroidered map of planets adorned with crystals and metallic threads. Over at Two Taikoo Place, experience Genesis in Jewels, an artistic take on the Big Bang using layered fabrics and suspended crystals. Both pieces explore humanity’s connection to the universe, mixing tradition with modern creativity. Drop by before it ends on April 27 and immerse yourself in Shakeel's celestial world.

Mixed media artist and celebrated designer of the luxury brand Chrome Hearts Joe Foti will be in Hong Kong for his first solo exhibition in town with over 180 of his works. From alien-themed pieces and odd bits and bobs that somehow fit when collaged together, to risqué birdhouses and penis paper weights, there is so much to tickle and amuse in this exhibition. Though described by the gallery as “one part fever dream, two parts nostalgia, and a whole load of ‘what the f*ck is that?’”, there’s no denying that Foti’s work is whimsical, absurd, and all the more appealing because of it.

The Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) is currently holding a joint exhibition with the Palace of Versailles with approximately 150 magnificent pieces to peruse. This is the first time that treasures from the Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles – both World Heritage Sites – will be featured in one exhibition in Hong Kong. With themes spanning culture, arts, science, technology, and beyond in the royal courts of France and China, visitors can expect to admire portraits, porcelain pieces, glassware, enamelware, textiles, books, scientific instruments, and more. Look out for first-grade national treasures from the Palace Museum in Beijing, such as a chrysanthemum teapot gifted to the Qianlong Emperor that was recently discovered to be made in France, and a quiver and bow case with French-made brocade. Highlights flown over from the Palace of Versailles include a perfume fountain – the only Chinese porcelain piece that Louis XV was known to have owned – and a portrait plaque of Qianlong that Louis XVI had displayed in his study. Tickets for this special exhibition are priced at $150, with concessions available. Holders of HKPM’s Full Access Ticket can also access The Origins of Chinese Civilisation exhibition at a combined price of $180.

More than 110 exquisite artefacts from the Hong Kong Palace Museum, The Palace Museum in Beijing, as well as important loans from the British Museum, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and several museums in Hong Kong, will be on display at this special exhibition on Chinese food and drink culture. These pieces delve into the rich culinary traditions and culture of ancient Chinese people, ranging across 5,000 years of history. See how culinary practices and ingredients were exchanged between China and the nomadic peoples of Central and Western Asia; how the Ming and Qing dynasties enjoyed picnics and dining on pleasure boats; and how the importance of food and drink was transferred even from this world to the afterlife through burial rituals and offerings dating back to the Neolithic period. This fascinating culinary exploration is enhanced by multimedia presentations and technology, such as an interactive dining table where visitors can order food in a virtual feast while exploring the evolution of dining utensils and diverse cooking techniques. Out of the displays, eight pieces are grade-one national treasures from the Forbidden City, so keep an eye out. Tickets for this special exhibition are priced at $150, with concessions available. Those who purchase Full Access Tickets for HKPM can access this exhibition, as well as The Forbidden City and The Palace of Versailles and other exhibitions in galleries one to seven on the same day.

This latest exhibition in the M+ Open Gallery examines the process of making things as a creative expression, and how this has a lasting impact on individuals, communities, and our ecosystems. Drawing from the works of the M+ Collections, visitors are invited into the inspirations and techniques behind the processing of conceptualising, research, design, and fabrication that go into the objects and architecture we see around us. Split into four sections, it covers the broad themes of ceramics with its layered history; innovative uses of materials like neon, resin, and bamboo, including a restored Hong Kong neon sign; how computing, machine learning, and AI have impacted the making process; and the effects of consumerism and mass production on contemporary society. Tickets for ‘Making It Matters’ cost $120, and allow same-day entry to the other paid exhibitions in M+.

M+ Museum’s new thematic exhibition aims to explore the connection between landscape and humanity in our post-industrial and increasingly virtual world. Literally translating to ‘mountain and water’, shanshui is a Chinese cultural concept that has inspired Asian ink paintings across millennia. Almost 130 works split into nine thematic sections will reimagine landscape through art, moving images, sound, design, architecture, and other large-scale mediums from a range of international artists, architects, and creators.

This exhibition is interesting in that instead of highlighting art, it is a look at the martial culture of the Qing court through weaponry, military equipment, scientific instruments, and more. Nearly 190 military artefacts are on loan from The Palace Museum in Beijing, including helmets, archery sets, swords and sabres, and equestrian gear, along with paintings, textiles, and books. ‘The Art of Armaments’ highlights the Manchu rulers’ emphasis on martial traditions, continually improving their weapon-making techniques, and their dedication to hunting and drills – these set the foundation for military rituals in China as well as the development of their fleets and coastal defence.  Look out for treasures such as a Qianlong-era replica of a helmet used by Nurhaci, the Jurchen khan emperor of the Later Jin dynasty, or the sabre gifted to Prince Gong by the Daoguang Emperor. Since there are so many artefacts, the exhibition will be presented in four rotations, each lasting about three months. Visitors can access this exhibition with a general admission ticket (priced from $70 to $90), or any special exhibition ticket (ranging from $150 to $180).