David Hockney (born 1937), Bigger Trees near Warter or / ou Peinture sur le Motif pour le Nouvel Age Post-Photographique, 2007 (detail). Oil paint on 50 canvases (914 x 1219 mm each), 4.6 x 12.2 m overall. Tate: Presented by the artist 2008 © David Hockney, Photo Credit: Prudence Cuming Associates; Collection Tate, U.K.

A Sense of Place: from Turner to Hockney

Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Museum of Art and Tate, this is the first time that British landscape masters are brought to the Hong Kong public in an exhibition that also incorporates a uniquely Hong Kong perspective.

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Published: 6:00pm, 28 Feb 2020

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The exhibition features 76 exhibits drawn from Tate’s world famous collection, including renowned works of J.M.W. Turner, John Constable and David Hockney. It is the first major collaboration with an overseas museum after the re-opening of the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA). With its unique location next to the iconic Victoria Harbour and a new outlook, a tribute to the beloved genre of landscape paintings is a fitting celebration of the newly renovated HKMoA.

Apo Wu, Curator (Learning and International Programmes), Hong Kong Museum of Art, explained: “Landscape paintings capture what artists feel about places that have a special place in their hearts or give them a sense of belonging. Our team feels the same about the HKMoA so it gives us a lot of inspiration to work on this exhibition, with the theme ‘A Sense of Place’. Besides, landscape as a genre is one that the general public can readily appreciate and understand so it is a great choice to make it our first major exhibition from overseas.”

John Constable (1776 – 1837), Chain Pier, Brighton, 1826 – 1827. Oil paint on canvas. 1270 x 1829 mm. Tate: Purchased 1950 © Tate

Before Hong Kong, Tate has staged a similar landscape exhibition in Beijing and Shanghai, which was a presentation of 300 years of landscape paintings. However, the Hong Kong stop has been injected with local elements, rearranged into sections and adopting a different way of storytelling that make it feel very different from the exhibitions in the mainland.

“A Sense of Place: from Turner to Hockney” is divided into several thematic sections. Visitors enter from the “Looking and Dreaming” hall, which examines two prominent topics in British landscape art–the depiction of real places, and the creation of idealised scenery. While scientific innovations in the 17th century allowed artists to produce realistic works of nature and animals in great detail, the works also show an on-going desire to ponder a man’s place in nature.

The next hall, “The Classical and the Sublime”, refers to late 18th century artists’ reaction to the classical aesthetic and balance beauty. The works exhibited here have more of an emotional pull, depicting dangerous phenomena such as storms and earthquakes.

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 – 1851), Venice at Sunrise from the Hotel Europa, with the Campanile of San Marco, c.1840. Watercolour on paper. 198 x 280 mm. Tate: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856 © Tate

One of the highlights of the exhibition can be found in “Home and Abroad” which is dedicated to two of Britain’s landscape masters–Tuner and Constable. Their drastically different styles and artistic journeys reflect very different priorities towards life and travel.

Naturalism in the 19th century is the focus of “From Studio to Outdoor”, representing a return to a more exact representation of the natural world than the previous century. It also shows the influence of the French impressionists on British landscape paintings.

Early 20th century innovations are evident in the modernist paintings in “Tradition and Innovation”, which displays works that show a synthesis of the new and the old, as well as the influence of Surrealism and abstract art.

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 – 1851), The Harbour of Brest: The Quayside and Château, c. 1826 – 1828. Oil paint on canvas. 1727 x 2235 mm. Tate: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856 © Tate

The last section “Inheritance and Transformation” displays works from the 1950s and 1960s, with artists embracing photography and text to represent the experience of walking in the landscape, as well as those that continued to paint in the traditional way.

The grand finale to the visit is situated on the 5/F, in The Attic, where David Hockney’s monumental Bigger Trees near Warter is displayed. It is complemented with a video documenting Hockney’s journey creating this breathtaking work that comprises 50 canvases.

One of the major addition to the original Tate exhibits is the works of Hong Kong artists who have been invited to give their response to famous British artworks and the HKMoA’s own collection of landscape paintings. Among these artists, photographer and avid hiker Simon Wan embarked on a quest, with Tate as his starting point, to find the spot depicted in one of the masterpieces. His photographs and video documenting his journey are part of the “In Search of Landscape: Back to Hong Kong” section.

John Constable (1776 – 1837), Hampstead Heath with a Rainbow, 1836. Oil paint on canvas. 508 x 762 mm. Tate: Bequeathed by Miss Isabel Constable as the gift of Maria Louisa, Isabel and Lionel Bicknell Constable 1888 © Tate

Painter Joey Leung has taken on an arduous task of painting a set of six vertical scrolls, which she completed at home by laying these works on the floor, using a mixture of ink, gauache, acrylic, drawing pen and pencil as well as pigment to put a new spin on landscape art.

The HKMoA is currently closed due to the response level for Novel Infectious Disease being raised to Emergency Response Level.

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