From gallery openings to the amfAR gala, here's what happened on day one of Hong Kong Art Week

1. The galleries open

From Christie's and Phillips to White Cube, Lévy Gorvy and Massimo de Carlo, it was a day of gallery-hopping for our Art & Culture Editor, Oliver Giles.

Highlights included White Cube’s show of new sculptures by David Altmejd, which explore the human body in grotesque detail and cleverly reference science fiction and magic.

Lehmann Maupin’s exhibition also got everybody talking, as artist Erwin Wurm had visitors physically painting the walls and stacking oranges as part of his One Minute Sculpture series—a fun (albeit messy) way to launch his first exhibition in Hong Kong.

2. Bernar Venet at de Sarthe Gallery

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Above Bernar Venet in action (Photo: Natasha Tang/Hong Kong Tatler)

Ahead of his live performance at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Spring Sales 2019 Cocktail Reception on March 29, leading contemporary artist Bernar Venet showed off his unique style of painting at de Sarthe Gallery in Wong Chuk Hang for his exhibition titled 'In Relation: Performance | Sculpture | Painting'.

Now 77 years old, Venet is known for working with industrial materials such as coal, metal, and layers of tar. For his latest exhibition at de Sarthe, he uses a (very heavy) metal bar covered in paint as his instrument to create his artwork. The end result depends on the angle of the bar and fluidity of the paint.

This is Venet's third exhibition in Hong Kong, following shows in Tsim Sha Tsui in 1995 and at the Hong Kong harbour in 2012.

"In Relation: Performance | Sculpture | Painting" is on display from March 27 to May 18, 2019 at de Sarthe Gallery.

3. Design Trust Futures Studio

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Above Roger Wu and Marisa Yiu

Over in Tai Hang, Design Trust Futures Studio welcomed guests for a VIP preview, with a private guided tour of site-specific design prototypes at the historic Haw Par Mansion.

Those in attendance included leading designers like Marisa Yiu, Roger Wu and Hunter Tura, just to name a few.

See the gallery: Design Trust Futures Studio VIP Preview 2019

4. New Museum dinner

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Above Michael Xufu Huang and Evan Chow (Photo: Christian Barlow/Hong Kong Tatler)

At AMMO in Admiralty, a dinner was held in honour of the New Museum in Hong Kong, co-hosted by New Museum Trustee (and eligible bachelor) Evan Chow and co-Founder of M WOODS Museum, Michael Xufu Huang.

5. amfAR Gala

The first day of Hong Kong Art Week was capped off by the annual amfAR gala, taking place this year at the Rosewood Hong Kong (see the video). 

Held to raise funds for HIV/AIDS research, this year’s event honours the philanthropic work of Adrian Cheng, the founder of the K11 Art Foundation and Culture For Tomorrow, as well as a major supporter of several international charities. The star-studded event included Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Heidi Klum and Pharrell Williams as VIP guests.

See also: 10 Things To Know About The Rosewood Hong Kong

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