Gallery Exit
Tomorrow to Aug 22
High rents, a materialistic culture and parents who want you to be a doctor: Hong Kong doesn't make it easy to be an artist.
Somehow, though, a new wave of young artists have emerged, dedicated to pursuing their creative passions against all the odds. Tomorrow, Gallery Exit explores this devotion to art with a new exhibition, when i draw, i think of ..., which showcases works on paper by six artists born in the 1980s. All but one work as artists full time, something that would have been unheard of just a decade ago.
'It goes back to thinking about what is art and art-making in Hong Kong,' says curator Aenon Loo. 'In the mainland you can make these five-metre-wide paintings in these immense spaces that they have to work in. But in Hong Kong, as they say, a foot of gold can buy you an inch in land. So you have to compact as much energy into a small space. The act of drawing is a lot like that. You're taking the time, slowing down and focusing on doing one thing well.'
The works on show are united by an aesthetic that combines an acute sense of detail with something quite delicate and ethereal.