5 Galleries To Visit At Art Central 2021

More than 40 galleries are taking part in Art Central this year—here are some of the best

Art Central has found a new home this year. The annual art fair normally takes place in a sprawling tent on the Central harbourfront, but for its latest edition has moved to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, in one of the halls just above Art Basel. Like Art Basel, it is running from May 19 to 23.

Contemporary by Angela Li

Above "Spectator Stand" (2019) by Chan Wai Lap. (Image: Courtesy of the artist and Contemporary by Angela Li)

Hongkonger Chan Wai Lap is the star of Contemporary by Angela Li's booth. The young artist is an avid swimmer and in much of his work reflects on the act of swimming and the architecture of swimming pools. At Art Central, he is unveiling a new installation inspired by swimming pool changing rooms, as well as a series of recent drawings of pools he has visited around the world.

Also on show are pieces by Jacky Tsai and Ng Chung, among others.

Soluna Fine Art

Above "p1929-Electronic Nostalgia_Diamond Mountain" (2019) by Kim Young Hun. (Image: Courtesy of the artist and Soluna Fine Art)

Hong Kong-based Soluna Fine Art, which works with artists from around Asia but specialises in art from South Korea, is showing a variety of works at Art Central.

Highlights include one of Kim Young Hun's signature colourful canvases, which fuse traditional landscape painting with imagery from today's digital, screen-based culture, and moon jars by Lee Kang-hyo. Lee's ceramics are in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among many more.

Whitestone Gallery

Above "Sounds of Festival" (2020) by Miwa Komatsu. (Image: Courtesy of the artist and Whitestone Gallery)

Whitestone Gallery—which was founded in Japan in 1967 and now operates spaces in its home country, Taiwan and Hong Kong—is showing art from both East and West at Art Central 2021.

Among them is a painting by Japanese artist Miwa Komatsu, who has dedicated her career to drawing, painting, engraving and sculpting the many mythical creatures that can often be seen in the art adorning Shinto shrines. Komatsu’s interest in these animals stems from her childhood, when she remembers a wolf materialising out of thin air to lead her home after she lost her way during a walk in a forest.

Over The Influence

Above "Park Ave" (2019) by Cleon Peterson. (Image: Courtesy of the artist and Over The Influence)

Fans of street art should head to Over The Influence, which was founded in Hong Kong in 2015 and expanded to Los Angeles in 2018.

Among the artists featured in Over The Influence's presentation are Cleon Peterson, who uses imagery inspired by Greco-Roman vases to depict disturbing scenes of sex and violence; Andy Dixon, who was a successful musician before he became a painter; and Vhils, a Portuguese street artist who has painted his distinctive murals on buildings around the world.

Gallery HZ

Above "Come Together" (2021) by Lousy. (Image: Courtesy of the artist and Gallery HZ)

It will be hard to miss Gallery HZ's booth, which has two dramatic new murals by local street artist Lousy, whose signature image of a square divided into two kissing figures can be seen on walls around Hong Kong. His two new works are each more than two metres tall and 488 cm long.

Also on show are paintings by Toronto-based artist Peter Chan, whose paintings are inspired by his visits to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.

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art central art month art hong kong hong kong artists hong kong art