Hong Kong art exhibitions to catch this week

The Joyful Miniature Association (JMA) is presenting incredibly detailed dioramas of life in Hong Kong, including seven brand-new miniatures that have never been seen before. Peek into painstaking recreations of Sunday dim sum at Maxim’s Palace in City Hall, chaotic nightlife along Lan Kwai Fong, a moving model of the fifth generation of the Peak Tram funicular railway – and look out for the new dioramas like the legendary old Kowloon Walled City, aquatic animals on sale at one of the many shops along Goldfish Street, the cable car at Ngong Ping 360, and more. These miniature displays will be on show at The Peak Tower from April 25 to June 23 – JMA’s longest exhibition in the city.

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.

Among the three recent Oi! Spotlight exhibitions is renowned Japanese contemporary artist Toyofuku Ryo’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong. His Golden Tearoom is an elegant space filled with over 200 drawings of elements in Hong Kong life. Take your time identifying everything from local dishes to the clown motif for Ocean Park’s Hair Raiser rollercoaster. There is also the Golden Playroom, where visitors are invited to interact and engage with each other through board games and electronic elements. This area is also full to the brim with distinctly local items such as Red A plastic lampshades, golden dragon sculptures often seen in banquet restaurants, metal containers for ‘airplane olive’ snacks, and more.

Local artist Chang (formerly referred to as Ernest Chang) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his gallery, The Stallery, with an exhibition exploring the conflicts between time, technology, and life. Chinese scholar’s rocks are typically prized for their natural resemblance to things – ‘Artifice’ overlays the heresy of modern-day symbols onto the purity of natural rock forms, and asks if this strips away its artistic value. To match these rocks, the gallery has been transformed into a Zen garden with pebbles on the floor, artificial grass, and even a traditional Chinese bridge. This exhibition is running until August 31.

American artist Aryo Toh Djojo, known for fusing the subcultures of California with science fiction and spiritual iconography, is having his first solo exhibition in the China area. In this new body of work, he explores mysticism and the unknown with heat-reactive paintings that transform and reveal themselves when the temperature rises. The visuals are paired with soundscapes inspired by drone music as well as photographic light leaks to create a dynamic, atmospheric experience. ‘Spectra’ is running in Perrotin until July 5.

When is Chinese calligraphy not actually calligraphy? Well, when it comes from Xu Bing’s brush, apparently. This Chinese artist is well known for what he calls ‘square word calligraphy’, which he developed in 1993 – it looks remarkably similar to Chinese characters but a closer look will reveal English words that have been deliberately designed and drawn to confuse the mind. This exhibition includes linguistic features and greetings unique to Hong Kong, as well as the Square Word Calligraphy Classroom, which provides writing tools and copybooks for visitors to attempt Xu’s special writing system.

As the first comprehensive exhibition in Hong Kong to showcase the artistic and cultural exchange between Islamic and Chinese peoples, the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) has chosen to focus the show on the achievements of Safavid Iran, Mughal India, and Ottoman Türkiye. In collaboration with the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, there will be approximately 100 pieces on display, including carpets, ceramics, metalwork, manuscripts, and jades, accompanied by artefacts from the Palace Museum and HKPM. Keep an eye out for the Kevorkian Hyderabad carpet, one of the longest Islamic carpets in a museum collection at almost 16 metres. ‘Wonders of Imperial Carpets’ will run from June 18 to October 6, and tickets cost $150.

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.

M+ is hosting this adaptation of Trevor Yeung’s solo show that represented our city at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Drawing inspiration from his surroundings that include pet shops, seafood restaurants, public fountains, feng shui arrangements, and more, Yeung examines the relationship between humans and aquatic systems. See pet fish shops and filtration systems that are abandoned and devoid of aquatic life, and a defunct fountain in a European courtyard. The exhibition runs from June 14 to October 12, and entry is $120.

One of Hong Kong’s most unforgettable and unique creatives, local first-generation performance artist Frog King has an intriguing exhibition in Mercury Recalls. This Causeway Bay bar is housing a range of two-dimensional ink art as well as some dizzying multi-dimensional new media art, inspired by the Akashic records – believed by the Theosophical religious group to contain all universal events and thoughts that have and will occur. Swirls, lights, and shapes reflect the intangible concept of collective subconsciousness, and since it’s being hosted in a bar, there will also be a special range of cocktails to accompany the art. To gain access, guests at Mercury Recalls must show a token to unlock the speakeasy-style space Corsican Stars hidden inside, where Frog King’s works lie in wait.