Indulge in the timeless tradition of celebrating Chinese New Year with the classic game of mahjong. The nostalgic game, dubbed as China’s “national pastime” is enjoyed by people of all ages. While we’re certain your old mahjong set holds sentimental value, a special occasion calls for a special gift. Check out these luxury mahjong sets that would make the perfect addition to any Lunar New Year reunion.

Only a few parlour games have created a more lasting global impression than mahjong. According to Annelise Heinz’s book, Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture the popular tile game was invented in Southern China in the mid-1800s, toward the end of the Qing Dynasty. Initially, it was just one of many male-dominated gambling games. However, this “explicitly Chinese game” gained massive popularity in the US during a period of intense anti-immigrant sentiment that resulted in escalating restrictions against people of Asian descent. It became a staple item at immigrant family gatherings and a safe haven for outcast communities.

A few years ago, the game experienced a resurgence, thanks to the record-breaking romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians that featured a pivotal mahjong scene between Michelle Yeoh and Constance Wu. The movie sparked international interest in the game, introducing the tile game to a new generation of players including millennials and gen-Zers. In capturing the renewed interest, many luxury fashion brands have introduced exquisite mahjong sets that promise to take the game to a whole new level of sophistication.

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Luxury mahjong set to play your game in style

Louis Vuitton Vanity Mahjong NV

Leveraging its esteemed trunk-making legacy, Louis Vuitton has unveiled the Vanity Mahjong set. A masterpiece that seamlessly blends skill, strategy, and a touch of allure, it is the perfect activity for injecting elegant fun into your dinner parties. Fashioned from corian and wood, this handcrafted masterpiece not only adds a sophisticated and amusing element to games, but also serves as a magnificent decorative object that will enhance any interior.

The Vanity trunk boasts two locks with buckles and six drawers, exuding timeless elegance. Within, the mahjong set is composed of 144 tiles, 5 extra tiles, 4 wooden rulers, 4 wooden dice, and 1 round cube with a plate. The dark green and brown colour scheme adds a fascinating charm, making it a must-have for avid mahjong collectors.

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Brunello Cucinell Wood and Krion Mahjong Set

Keeping true to Brunello Cucinelli’s reputation for perfection, the renowned Italian fashion label has unveiled a mahjong set with excellent materials and craftsmanship. This masterpiece was skillfully created in Solermo, Italy, using European walnut wood and Krion®, with each tile delicately embellished with beautiful hand-painted symbols. The set is neatly packaged within a tiered box, and comes with two meticulously hand-carved dice. Brought to life in an elegant cream and natural wood colour scheme, it is a charming set that echoes with sophistication. All 144 tiles of the set are carved with laser technology for precision and are easily stored in stackable wooden trays.

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Hermès Macao Mahjong Game

Traditionally, mahjong tiles were made of horn or ivory. However, Hermès‘ luxury mahjong set is made of solid engraved cassia wood and mahogany, exuding warmth and timeless allure. The tiles are precisely engraved with laser technology, with 1 wind dice hand-engraved in solid mahogany. Made in Indonesia, the game set also contains 4 dice in ebony with inlays of maple wood. The tiles are stored in 5 solid mahogany trays, with a Lid cased in sumptuous taurillon H leather that makes it easier to carry around.

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Tiffany & Co. Mahjong Set in a Tiffany Blue® Leather Box

Delightfully diverging from its usual role as the bearer of diamonds, the classic Tiffany blue box now unfolds into a beautiful mahjong set, promising a delightful, and yet lavish family event. Known for their glittering collections of high-end jewellery, Tiffany & Co.’s mahjong set is impeccably packaged in a Tiffany Blue® leather box, which comes with a lock and two keys. The set elevates the game to new heights with sterling silver, American walnut, and leather craftsmanship, adding a modern and stylish touch to any game night. This beautiful ensemble includes everything you need for the ultimate game of mahjong, including tiles, score sticks, and dice, all expertly designed to reflect the brand’s devotion to quality and elegance.

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Geoffrey Parker Mahjong Sets

Geoffery Parker, a renowned English luxury game designer, has launched a very special mahjong set in partnership with China’s leading Mahjong artist, Mr. Liu Jun. Made of magnificent Ox bone and bamboo, the tiles represent a wonderful blend of history and artistry. Encased in a distinctive leather attaché with a sophisticated black suede interior, the beautiful set is imbued with class.

A distinguishing feature of this line is the option buyers have to customise the casing and hardware without any additional cost, allowing for a more personal touch. Geoffery Parker also offers specific customisations upon request, with quotes suited to particular tastes, ensuring a unique and personalised mahjong experience.

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Prada Saffiano Leather Mahjong Game

Does black dominate your wardrobe? Then this ultimate luxury mahjong set was made for you. From the iconic house of Prada, this extraordinary mahjong set comprises acrylic resin playing pieces tastefully encased in Saffiano leather. The classic metal inscription on the front adds a touch of luxury. The set, presented in a classy red-black-white colour scheme, exudes sophistication, the perfect addition to any Lunar New Year reunion.

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Aerin Shagreen Mahjong Set

This mahjong set by Aerin transcends the ordinary, transforming each game into a luxurious experience. The mahjong set comes encased in a luxurious shagreen box with brass hardware and 144 engraved white melamine tiles. The suede lining and cream colour add a touch of elegance to the game. The tiles include Arabic numerals, which are key to helping players familiarise themselves with Chinese characters and symbols.

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Gucci Decorative Mahjong Set with Web

Renowned Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci has released a redesigned mahjong set in a subtle beige and ebony colour palette. The decorative set comes in a leather case with the distinctive Double G and Web detail, which elegantly blends vintage charm with archival House references. The inside features a Radura print accented by gold-toned hardware and gorgeous marble resin and birchwood components. The case is designed for both elegance and utility, including a lock and a convenient handle for easy transportation. Gucci also offers a decorative mahjong set in a crocodile case.

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Giobagnara Mahjong Lux Game Set

Renowned for its stunning decorative goods, Giobagnara has introduced a super-luxe mahjong set. Encapsulated in a lavish wood case wrapped in sumptuous leather and featuring a detachable lid, this exceptional mahjong game set is an aesthetic masterpiece. With great attention to detail and the use of high-quality materials, it is an ideal addition to any game room or leisure space. Inside the wonderfully crafted box, you’ll discover a stunning selection of 148 high-quality walnut and maple tiles, each one designed to impress. The tiles have a smooth surface, allowing for easy manoeuvreing and a consistent gameplay experience. 244 opaque plexiglass sticks and four opaque plexiglass dice round out the set, adding to its overall richness and sophistication.

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S.T. Dupont Haute Creation The World’s Most Luxurious Mahjong Set

Born of a collaboration between S.T. Dupont and L’Aquart, The S.T. Dupont Haute Creation is probably is the most luxurious mahjong set in the world. Bearing the meticulous craftwork of eight months, this mahjong set is brought to life with solid Tanzanian ruby tiles, which represent nobility and fortune, further accentuated with gold vermeil workmanship. The game set radiates luxury, and is composed of over 1000 Burmese rubies and 300 diamonds, an exceptional representation of timeless beauty and luxury. The black or white mother-of-pearl counters with gold vermeil borders, purple and gold colour schemes, and ruby-carved dice, represent precise craftsmanship, lending opulence to any game of high-stakes mahjong.

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(Main and featured image: Prada)

The post Best Luxury Mahjong Sets to Buy This Chinese New Year appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The world is obsessed with a number of things right now – Taylor Swift and Coldplay being two of them – but never have we thought that the same fervour would be given to a sippy cup/tumbler that’s inconspicuously named Stanley Cup. Here’s everything you need to know about the Stanley Cup craze that’s bound to take over the world.

If there is one thing that many of us would not have expected to find on our 2024 bingo cards, it’s how reusable tumblers would somehow become the fixation of consumers in North America.

People have waited all night outside storefronts (a la Apple’s debut iPhone back in 2009), to nab a limited-edition Stanley Quencher. Others wage bidding wars online, forking out hundreds of dollars on the secondary market for elusive iterations. And across the Internet, new communities dedicated to the collection, trading, and exhibiting of Stanley collections are becoming increasingly prevalent. In California, a woman was pulled over and arrested for stealing 65 Stanley Cups, worth almost US$2,500, from a store.

For those of us living outside the retail reach of the Stanley Cup craze, the obsession for their reusable tumblers and sippy cups may seem ludicrous at first glance. While it may be common to expect a mad dash for limited-edition sneakers, handbags, or collectible figurines, reusable drinkware that command that degree of fanfare have been almost unheard of until now.

In which case, we have you covered on all you need to know about the Stanley cup craze that has recently taken over social media by storm since last Christmas.

Everything to know about the Stanley cup tumbler and craze on social media

History of the Stanley brand

To begin with, who are the people behind the Stanley Cup? Established in 1913, the Stanley company was founded by its namesake inventor, William Stanley Jr. He was credited for creating the very first all-steel vacuum flask, which came about after he discovered a welding process from his experience working with transformers that could be used to insulate reusable bottles with steel instead of glass.

Intending to take his business commercial, William would go on to acquire a vacant building in 1915, before outfitting it with machinery to mass produce insulated drink containers, such as jugs and desk decanters, that featured his steel welding method. Tragically just a year later, he passed away at the age of just 57 years old.

The Stanley company was then acquired by a New York-based investment firm before appointing mechanical engineer, Harry Badger, as General Manager to help in the research and development of the company’s range of products. Some of their products have even been famously used by soldiers in the trenches of World War II as well as climbers of Mount Everest, making them a truly hardy essential appropriate for all settings and seasons.

But of course, in the modern context, Stanley cups now find themselves occupying a far more genteel reputation as the object of fixation for die-hard collectors.

The Stanley Quencher cup

Oh, it is important to stress that for the purposes of this discussion on collecting Stanley cups, we are referring to their line of Quencher 1.2 liter tumblers. These were first introduced back in 2016, but were only met with relatively modest sales. In 2019, the range was briefly discontinued but later revived after a successful marketing push by the Utah-based blog Buy Guide led to the sale of 5,000 units, inspiring a new wave of interest in the cup.

In its default guise, the US$45 (approx. S$60) Stanley Quencher is essentially a vacuum tumbler with a tapered base, which makes it easier to slot into most car cup holders. Each comes with a rotating cover that can lock in three positions: a straw opening that comes with its own reusable straw, a drink opening for sipping, and a closed position to prevent spillage. The design is complete with an ergonomic handle for easy carrying.

But otherwise, the Quencher is simply another reusable vacuum flask amid a sea of competing products in the same segment, serving the very same purpose. It begs to question then, why are Stanley Quencher cups only becoming so popular now, and when did the craze begin? After all, derivatives of the same concept exist, such as in the Thermos flask and Hydroflask.

How did a sippy cup go viral?

Well, much of the Stanley Quencher cup’s success can be attributed to two key factors: a very strategic marketing campaign that involved a substantial influencer push, and the rise of WaterTok. For the uninitiated, WaterTok refers to a TikTok community that promotes recipes infusing flavoured, sugar-free, and calorie-free ingredients into plain water.

https://www.tiktok.com/@not.eg/video/7247943685915151659

As one can imagine, a large part of that WaterTok lifestyle is driven by chic reusable drink containers, primarily the Stanley Quencher cup. Inevitably, the cup grew to become a status symbol in its own right with its proximity to digital trendsetters, driving the company’s revenue by an eye-popping 927.4%, from $73 million in 2019 to $750 million in 2023.

But credit where it’s due, and the Stanley Quencher cups are truly reflective of their utilitarian roots, even if they are dressed in a multitude of kitschy colours and patterns to appeal to Millennials and Gen-Zers.

One prime example occurred in the United States when Tiktok user danimarielettering miraculously discovered how her Stanley Quencher cup had escaped unscathed from a blaze that consumed her car entirely. In fact, upon rattling the vessel, one could still hear ice cubes clinking within, indicating that it had not lost any of its insulating properties despite the severity of the fire, attesting to Stanley’s robust quality.

@danimarielettering

Thirsty after you catch on fire? @Stanley 1913 is like no problem i gotchu #fyp #carfire #accident #stanleycup

♬ original sound – Danielle

Rightfully sensing an opportune marketing flashpoint, Stanley President Terence Reilly (who was also the former Chief Marketing Officer at Crocs and has been credited with the plastic footwear’s resurgent popularity), reached out to Danielle not long after her video went viral and offered her a few new Stanley tumblers, in addition to a new car for free. That response video garnered 32 million views on its own, further adding an emotional layer to the tale and bolstering the brand’s credibility among a new segment of female consumers.

https://www.tiktok.com/@vincentmarcus/video/7319992213646101791?lang=en

The mad dash for the Stanley Quencher tumbler has inadvertenly created a new point of contention — rampant consumerism, which by default, is the antithesis of what reusable tumblers are meant to represent. Built to last multiple uses and eliminate the need for disposable cups, the premise of owning a Stanley tumbler is inherently tethered to the reduction of plastic waste.

Given that fact, does this new fad of collecting multiple Stanley Quencher cups negate the environmental impact of using disposable, single-use plastics, or rather contributes to it? After all, an MIT article indicates that it takes anywhere between 10 and 20 uses on average for a single reusable flask to have any tangible environmental impact.

If the frenzy of Stanley’s limited-edition collaboration with Target and Starbucks is any indication, then it is readily evident that the Quencher craze is likely to continue building momentum even in 2024. In a way that few other brands in its segment have been able to accomplish, Stanley has created not just a lifestyle, but an entire subculture dedicated to its products, which have come to represent health, wellness, and a degree of social status.

Will you be starting a Stanley Quencher Cup collection of your own?

Feature and hero image credit: Stanley

This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is Stanley known for?
– Stanley is known for manufacturing vacuum flasks made of stainless steel. 

2. Is Stanley an American brand?
– Yes, Stanley is an American brand founded by William Stanley Jr in 1913. 

3. Who is the CEO of Stanley?
– Stanley’s current President is Terence Reilly, former Chief Marketing Officer of Crocs.

The post Stanley Cup Craze: Everything to Know About The Tumbler That’s Gripped America appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Although TikTok generates new lifestyle trends everyday, we’ll have to say this one is our favourite. Bookshelf wealth is the newest design buzzword to welcome the year 2024.

While the name may remind you of the stealth wealth trend that conquered most of the fashion and design chronicles in 2023, the concept of bookshelf wealth is quite the complete opposite. Bookshelf wealth is a curation of everything on the shelf, whether it’s books, art pieces, or decorative objects.

However, the purpose of stealth wealth is not to show off your display, but rather showcase a collection of things that are meaningful and true to you. The key here is authenticity, so it’s meant to include books that you read, art pieces that you adore, photographs, ceramics, and objects of your hobbies and interests. As rich as it might sound, the outcome is supposed to lean more on the maximalist side.

“Bookshelf wealth is about authenticity and not so much about styling to create a specific look,” says artist and designer Justina Blakeney. After all, it’s where all your collected items are placed, perhaps even prompting you to take a “shelfie.”

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Whilst everyone’s individual bookshelf is going to be unique, there are some general suggestions that help. It would be certainly pleasing if the majority of the objects are books, stacked in various ways. Also, include paintings and photographs which can be hung beside the shelf, or placed on it. When it gets too bland, mix up colours and textures. Lastly, don’t worry too much about everything being coordinated under the same scheme, because the shelf should feel authentic rather than planned for display.

In 2024, if you’re ever going to adopt any trend from the internet at all, consider bookshelf wealth and explore your own meaningful objects.

[Hero and featured image credit: Radu Marcusu/Unsplash]

The post This New Design Trend, Bookshelf Wealth, is About More Than Just Design appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

A rising star on the Hong Kong scene, digital artist Jonathan Jay Lee tells Prestige why his success has become a full circle journey.

Along with the rise of the metaverse, blockchain and most things that seemed futuristic a hot minute ago, digital art has become increasingly popular in Hong Kong, where there are now dedicated exhibition spaces, such as Arte M Hong Kong. The city has also become a hot spot for Web 3.0 events, including the annual Digital Art Fair.

This rise in opportunity – and, quite frankly, credibility – has trained a spotlight on talented local digital artists. Among them is Jonathan Jay Lee, the Taiwanese, American-born, Hong Kong-raised artist who headlined the Digital Art Fair 2023 with his Take Your Time multi-sensory experience. Commissioned by Oriental Watch Company, Take Your Time delicately depicts the streets and alleys of Hong Kong, capturing numerous aspects of local culture in the city. The multicoloured neon signs, the diminishing cha chaan teng, trams, tong lau buildings, and other familiar sights reveal the ordinary yet heartwarming moments of life in the metropolis.

But when I speak to 38-year-old Lee about his work, he’s far away from here – in Bangkok, to be specific. “I’m here because I fell in love – my partner’s here,” Lee tells me. “I met her in Hong Kong about six years ago and it’s been back and forth since then. It’s great. I don’t know why people say long distance doesn’t work, because I think it’s amazing. Especially with the pace of life in Hong Kong.”

And by the sound of it, Lee really does like the back and forth between home and the Thai capital. “I thought there was no other way to live,” he says of life here. “But I think it’s just because it’s a byproduct of being expensive. Now, only in recent years – because I’ve been coming to Bangkok more often – it’s starting to occur to me that you don’t have to live that way. Like, also if you do the math, and I literally did the math!

“One of the running jokes, I guess, here for Thai people is that Hong Kong people are rude,” he says. “I think I used to think that way too. But really, I think just the language itself has pretty harsh edges and is quite curt in approach.”

Despite his love affair in and with Thailand, Lee says Hong Kong will always be his base. “I can’t be here for too long because I start to lose my hustle a little bit,” he says, laughing. “You know, the hustle. But that’s Hong Kong. And I’m very much a city boy. My roots are there. So, I ultimately need to be in that kind of environment,” he admits.

That wasn’t always the case. As a child, Lee says he didn’t always fit in and often felt like an outcast growing up in Hong Kong. “My parents are from Taiwan and I was born in America,” he explains. “So when you come to Hong Kong as a seven-year-old and you look Chinese, but you speak with an American accent, especially in the ’90s in the New Territories, it wasn’t common. I got a lot of weird looks and I didn’t understand it at the time.”

Although growing up here, Lee nonetheless found himself on the outside when he was rejected by Hong Kong’s leading design schools. Despite good high-school grades, offers didn’t come rolling in. Instead, he found himself with the rare opportunity to study at New York’s prestigious Parsons School of Design, where he graduated with Departmental Honors in Illustration.

“That was like the ultimate validation,” he admits. “Initially, I didn’t think I’d go because New York was too far from comfort, too far from my home.” He was also unsure as to how his parents would react. “Not getting accepted by local schools and also getting rejected from a couple others in the US wasn’t reassuring to my parents, who are both academics,” he says.

That all changed one day after an unexpected heart-to-heart with his mother. “I had a conversation with my mom when I was about 17. She told me, ‘Jon, this really is too good an opportunity to not take,’ and that surprised me, because I didn’t think they were that supportive. But it turns out, they really were – and as parents, they only worry about you and your future.”

But his parents needn’t have worried. Lee adapted to life in New York without a hitch and excelled in his studies. During his final year, he created a comic book, drawing artistic and cultural influences from his upbringing in Hong Kong. It landed him a job with Marvel and quickly launched his career as an artist for hire.

Even this didn’t come easy for the young artist. When he eventually submitted his work to Marvel for consideration he was turned down. “The guy flipped through and liked it, but told me that Marvel’s comics had a unique style and that they wouldn’t be able to publish my work,” Lee recalls. But after some further conversation with the Marvel bigwig, they made him another offer.

“We started talking and it turns out his girlfriend is from Shenzhen. Then we find out we both love the same TV channel, the same movies and all that stuff. He then looked at me and said, ‘You know what? You’re lucky you’re talking to me because I’m putting together an indie anthology for Marvel called Strange Tales.’ He was looking for independent comic-book creators who don’t normally work for Marvel to do short stories based on a character. So he basically gave me a little gig on the spot while I was still in school. I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is crazy.’”

Since then, he’s gone on to work for an extensive list of international clients, including HSBC, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, San Miguel, Red Bull, Lamborghini, Superga, Mercedes and Disney Plus. It was determination and opportunities like that which gave Lee credibility as an artist – so much so that he now gets to do expert talks at the same Hong Kong art schools that initially rejected him. “City University of Hong Kong is one of the schools I didn’t get accepted by, so for me being there feels a little cheeky. I kind of like the idea of coming full circle – getting rejected from the school and then getting to speak there now.”

For Lee, it’s more than just validation though. He says mentoring and working with young artists is particularly important to him. “Even I had my moments of doubt, and I’m glad I stuck at it – that’s why I feel strongly about education,” he says. “I visit schools and give talks, because I like to be that person who can encourage and show people what the possibilities are, that you don’t have to live this way in Hong Kong. You don’t have to be a doctor or a lawyer. Maybe you do, because you’re good at it. But there are other options, especially if you’re creative.”

“I think part of why I do those talks is to prove a point. Hong Kong is all about straight-A students, good grades, DSC, top IB scores. And I’m telling them it’s not the end of the world if you’re not the top student – you don’t have to be,” he says.

Now that he’s known for his comic-style illustrations and Hong Kong depictions, can we expect similar artworks about other places? “A lot of people want the Hong Kong thing and I think they resonate with the story. But I’ve done some similar work in Singapore and Tokyo in the past, too. “Ultimately, whatever comes my way, I’m going do the best I can and always try and serve the artwork first,” says Lee. “This often occurs in Hong Kong for me, so a lot of people associate me with that. I’m proud of it, but it’s not the only thing I do. I’m also curious to see what would happen if I create more work outside of Hong Kong,” he admits.

If the public reaction to his latest collection of Hong Kong artworks at the Digital Art Fair is anything to go by, his mesmerising depictions of other major cities is surely only a matter of time.

The post Home Is Where The Art Is: Meet Hong Kong Digital Artist Jonathan Jay Lee appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Fresh from a retrospective at Shanghai’s Long Museum, Zhang Enli debuts Faces at Hauser & Wirth‘s new Hong Kong headquarters.

Art being a subjective matter, one aspect of Chinese artist Zhang Enli’s show Faces, which opens at Hauser & Wirth on January 24, that fixes our gaze is the work A Man Reading “The Castle”, a reference to Franz Kafka’s The Castle. All the more so because Zhang’s picture depicts no image of the book and seemingly no discernible impression of a reader. Both have been “abstracted” out, or away. How Kafkaesque. And as it transpires, how Zhangesque.

The Castle is the last novel Kafka wrote; in fact, he abandoned it mid-sentence in 1922 and it was published in 1926, two years after his death. It concerns the story of a protagonist, known only as K, who arrives in a village to meet a count who lives in the castle. K claims to be a land surveyor but this assertion is rejected by village officials who then thwart his attempts to enter the castle. We know not who’s summoned K, and what his purpose at the castle might be once inside. Indeed, we can’t even discern the castle, as it’s shrouded in mist and lies deep in snow. As it is, K never steps inside. Rather than a linear narrative framework, Kafka presents the reader with a series of frustrations: K trying again and again to progress, and being frustrated by a series of characters whose roles range from comic (Arthur and Jeremiah) to fragmentary (Barnabas) to castle superior (Klamm). Although his stratagems fail, K does enjoy a conjugal moment with a barmaid (Frieda). She also happens to be Klamm’s mistress (and the landlady of the inn is Frieda’s mother). We never see the count or the castle.

The atmosphere and mood of the novel are captivating but nigh on impossible to describe. As readers, we understand what’s happening but cannot articulate it. This is the Kafka magic: he disorients us by writing about the family, or the banality of daily existence, but disguises it so well it’s more akin to a strange dream or fairytale. Thus, The Castle is a “quest novel” without a guest, or the anti-guest novel. Indeed, K’s presence at the castle seem as if it might also be a mistake, as though his arrival is the result of some bureaucratic glitch or technological error.

Now imagine if Kafka were an artist and as a substitute for words he was using paint. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Chinese artist Zhang Enli. Just as Kafka’s novel is sometimes called the anti-novel from which he’s removed conventional plot and is more concerned with moments, characters, psychological states and fleeting impressions than telling a clear narrative, so Zhang is doing the same with his visual medium.

Literature – and especially Kafka – is a continual force on the imprimatur of Zhang the artist. “The sense of mystery and uncertainty within the book, as well as for humanity at large, has remained a constant source of inspiration, and I have resisted the work countless times,” he says. While he also reads Jean-Paul Sartre, Zhang especially adores Kafka for the way in which the latter’s work “interrogates our inner world, which is so full of potential and possibility, and enriches my imagination, and is full of interesting discoveries”.

And some of Zhang’s subjects, much like Kafka’s characters, aren’t always identified by a name. So, let’s play spot the difference; which title is Kafka’s and which Zhang’s? Leisurely Person, Traveller, Man in Black, A Guest from Afar, Officer, Art Museum Director, A Person Walking Down the Stairs, etc… Ultimately, they could technically be interchangeable.

Sometimes the “reality” of a work isn’t reflected in its name, says Zhang. “It could be a director, a truck driver, we’re always breaking the rules, there isn’t always a direct link. We go back to the idea of something being ambiguous.” Which explains why in his work Art Museum Director we discern neither an art museum nor any physical sense of a senior member of staff, yet the feeling of the work is closely aligned to another of his works, A Person Walking Down the Stairs.

As such, his work is almost anti-art. It no longer matters whom his portraits depict. Anything can be a portrait – a bucket, a red chair, an old sofa… His portraiture breaks away from depiction. He wants to create a way of painting that has no rules and is conflicting and harmonious at the same time. He expects everyone to enter the picture through different paths. “You can only find a way if you don’t follow conventional standards.” he insists.

Zhang gravitates to literature as inspiration for content. He explains that reading is a great source of ideas. “I’m not an academically trained artist, but I use literature, fiction, as my way of understanding and [as] nutrition for content. Literature, is a source for my mind.”

Jilin-born Zhang, whose work has just been the subject of a 30-year retrospective at Shanghai’s Long Museum titled Expression, graduated from Wuxi Technical University, Arts and Design Institute in 1989, before moving to Shanghai where he continues to live and work. He originally painted urban portraits in more symbolic and figurative ways, depicting butchers, lovers, banquets, bars and dance floors from the 1990s to the early 2000s, and series of everyday objects such as chairs, desks, buckets, boxes and piles of books from the 2000s to the early 2010s.

Indeed, Zhang is to Shanghai what TS. Eliot’s Four Quartets is to London. “The Winter evening settles down with smells of steak in passageways. Six o’clock.” Zhang has looked to embody the spirit of Shanghai via the invisible contours of its back alleys and the shadows of its intangible energies.

Since which time his work has grown increasingly abstract. He has become notable for installations known as Space Paintings, in which he paints directly on to the walls of rooms to create immersive environments suspending audiences into a void of time and pace. These can range from abstract, where colour and gesture recall the sights and sounds of a specific place, to more figurative reproductions.

His earlier focus on urban dwellers and the latest interest in abstract portraits have all shed light on the continuous attention he has given to people, objects and space, and though the shifts in his work can seem dramatic in their distinctive styles, the shifts in themes and techniques are by no means abrupt but more organic. “Everything is portrait,” he says. And his work, much like Kafka’s, can be understood as one vast metaphor for the struggle of life itself.

Sensing Zhang’s need to want to go beyond the boundaries of painting, to pioneer the aesthetic like some lustrous firework of his own making, what can we expect his new body of work in Hong Kong to deliver to the legions who already know, follow and collect his work? “It’s important that my way of expression is exciting from both me and the visitors to the gallery.” he says, playful and elusive by turns, before adding, “and that they can’t anticipate what the work will be. In this way, there will always be a beautiful surprise.”

Certainly these gestural canvases reflect Zhang’s progression to looser, freer brushwork so prominent in the artist’s style in recent years and reveals his compelling and continued exploration into the abstract form. “Sometimes, the obscured object also creates a trace with the passing of time,” he says. “This is the origin of my recent abstract paintings. When I look at a wall, or sky, it’s full of traces, and then I name these traces afternoon someone; it becomes very interesting, it’s visible yet invisible.”

Zhang, whose work is held in the collections of trophy art institutions like Tate Modern, London, M+ Hong Kong, the UBS Art Collection, Zurich and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, has participated in the artist-in-residence programme co-presented by K11 Arts Foundation and London’s Royal Academy of Arts in 2018, wherein he re-created a version of his Shanghai studio for visitors to experience.

One of his works, Parrots in Five Colours at Hong Kong’s K11 MUSEA, sees Zhang turn a dome-shaped ceiling into a floating garden replete with symbols representing the five elements of Chinese philosophy, reminding people of the interconnectedness of everything and suggesting an otherworldly fantasy of lying at the centre of a heavenly ocean.

And his work Ancient Quartz adorns a main ceiling in the Drawing Room at The Fife Arms in Scotland’s Cairngorms, which is owned by Hauser & Wirth. Zhang took inspiration from cross-sections of Scottish agates, whose deceptively simple exteriors conceal a dazzling array of colour and texture. Having gazed at his work from the comfort of the room’s luxuriant leather armchairs over a pre-prandial Negroni, our senses feasted on his creation long before we ate in the adjoining Clunie Dining Room. And although he may be existential, he’s not above commercial work. Note, he’s twice collaborated with Fortnum & Mason, with work representing notions of travel, relocation, mapping and more. His limited-edition Tea Garden print cloth was inspired by plantations in Hunan and Hong Kong’s outlying islands.

For one so analogue, does the digital universe serve any purpose in his practice or interaction with the world. “I will walk out of the door to experience the world,” he says. “We cannot rely on technology to understand the world.” Don’t expect any Zhang Enli AI-influenced work anytime soon, then. At least we think not. Although, in hindsight, never say never might be a better sentiment.

Especially when we discover that Zhang has a parrot named after British secret-service agent James Bond. “There’s a connection between Bond and the parrot,” he insists. “Parrots pick up words and sounds in the way that Bond must.” And Zhang’s parrot, or Bond, sometimes answers the phone; or at least, says “hello” when it hears the phone ring. This is a polygot parrot. Turns out the bird was named by Zhang’s wife, who’s a huge James Bond fan. Curious, we ask, if not James Bond, what might Zhang have called the bird. “Let’s not upset the parrot as Bond is at home,” he says. “We wouldn’t want him to lose face.” Quote so. I suddenly feel an urge to call Zhang “Z”.

Given the art “personas” his own work appears to have espoused, does the 59-year-old Zhang envisage a time when his commitment to abstraction may be displaced by another of art’s isms? “I have a wish that one day there’ll be a new style. Also, the unknown will tell me the direction of the future.” Spoken like a prophet. Or a non-prophet. Or a novelist. Or Kafka.

So to all those who expect to spectate Zhang’s Faces as portraiture, think again. Ultimately his work is always asking the same question: who am I? And to paraphrase Kafka, Zhang’s body of work on the walls of Hauser & Wirth, with its concern and insight for life and humanity, are more like the aesthetic axe that breaks the frozen sea within us all.

The post Artist Zhang Enli Opens Hauser & Wirth’s New Hong Kong Headquarters appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

During her 40 years on earth, screen icon Marilyn Monroe changed the world of cinema and celebrity, but never put foot in Hong Kong. Now, more than 60 years after her tragic death, the Hollywood legend’s personal items are set to be showcased in the city for the very first time.

Highlights from a brand-new auction will be heading to Asia in two exclusive exhibitions presented for the first time in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. The public will be invited to view these artifacts in two museum-like exhibitions to be held first at the Fringe Club in Hong Kong from January 27 to February 1. Afterwards, the collection will travel back to Los Angeles where it will go on auction between March 28 and March 30.

The exhibition will feature personal property consisting of film wardrobe, photographs, documents and ephemera from the fascinating life of Marilyn Monroe, providing a gaze at the icon’s life and times during the height of her fame and influence on American pop culture.

Alongside Monroe’s personal items, the exhibition will also display artifacts from the early life of Playboy’s notorious magazine founder Hugh Hefner, direct from the Playboy Headquarters and Mansion.

Both born in 1926, Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner gained worldwide fame when Monroe appeared in Hefner’s inaugural 1953 issue of Playboy. The magazine’s cover image and centerfold of the actress launched the success of Hefner’s men’s lifestyle magazine which he eventually turned into an empire and iconic global brand. Monroe’s appearance in Playboy turned her into an instant household name and enduring sex symbol who blazed her path like no other in Hollywood.

Strangely, Monroe and Hefner never met in person, yet their legacies are inextricably linked. Even stranger, in 1992 Hefner bought the tomb next to Monroe at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles where he was laid to rest in 2017.

Auction highlights include a Mae West-inspired black and cellophane effect evening gown designed by legendary costume designer William Travilla, worn by Monroe during the filming of her classic 1955 film The Seven Year Itch. It comes with a black and white feather boa (not film’s original), similar to the one worn by Monroe with the gown (Estimate: US$100,000-$200,000).

Fans can catch a glimpse of the costume worn by Monroe as Lillian Russell for a pictorial feature in the December 22, 1958 issue of Life magazine, photographed by Richard Avedon. This lavender satin, boned leotard with neckline is trimmed with bouquets of fabric flowers and pink, lavender and cream draped chiffon sashes with pink satin bows and trimmed in lavender, pink and cream chiffon (Estimate: US$20,000- $40,000).

Other highlights from the exhibition include the original Jean Louis painted cream silk jersey cocktail dress worn by Monroe for The Misfits cast press conference in the summer of 1960 (Estimate: US$40,000-$60,000) and her custom shade of Elizabeth Arden lipstick in a goldtone case (Estimate: US$7,000-$9,000).

Icons: Playboy, Hugh Hefner, And Marilyn Monroe, free and open to the public, January 27 – February 1, Fringe Club (2 Lower Albert Road, Central)

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This year’s edition of the Hong Kong Flower Show will have the theme of ‘Floral Joy Around Town’. The 10-day event will take place from March 15 to 24 at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. For 2024, the featured flower will be Angelonia or Angel Flower.

Visitors can expect a wide range of flowers on display in addition to stalls selling flowering and gardening items. Plus, there will be food and beverage stalls and books related to flowers and gardening. Keep reading to find out more details!

The Hong Kong Flower Show 2024: Details to know

The biggest flower event of the year will take place across 10 days. There will be 55 stalls for visitors to browse through with over 40 stalls dedicated to flower and gardening items. The rest will sell food and drinks, books, handicrafts, and knick-knacks.

A flower show is not complete with a floral-themed cafe. So, make sure that you spare some time to visit! Other than the stalls, there are also photography competitions, musical performances, floral art demonstrations, workshops related to gardening, guided visits, and other activities.

One of the main events is the Student Drawing competition which will take place on the opening day. This year, a new category for tertiary students has been added. During the event, participants will draw floral exhibits or garden displays adhering to the theme. Application is free of charge and is open until February 1. Winners will take home a trophy, certificate, and vouchers.

Spread joy through flowering and gardening

The Hong Kong Flower Show is the largest of its kind in Hong Kong. It draws hundreds and thousands of visitors each year. Last year’s edition was the first one held in Hong Kong after a brief hiatus following the pandemic. While over 40 booths were selling a range of flowering and gardening products, food and drinks were absent.

For the 2024 edition, tickets cost HKD 14 for adults and HKD 7 for children aged four to 14, senior citizens, and people with disabilities. During the weekend, it is free admission for senior citizens and the disable. A half-rate concession is also available for adults in groups of 30 or more.

All images credit: info.gov.hk

The story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong

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Emerald Fennell’s movie Saltburn has led to an increased interest in a property known as Drayton House.

Released in November 2023, Saltburn has been praised by critics for the performances of its principal cast members which include Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, and Carey Mulligan. The film received several major award nominations, including a Golden Globe nod each for Keoghan and Pike.

The titular mansion is where most of the drama in the film unfolds. Inspired by it, a popular trend where young people can be seen dancing through their fancy homes is doing the rounds of social media. 

But what is so interesting about the aristocratic residential building presented as the fictional mansion in the film and where is it located?

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All about the Saltburn mansion

Fans would be delighted to know that Drayton House appears as it is seen in Saltburn. Of course, it is never mentioned by its original name and is instead given the fictional name of ‘Saltburn’ for the sake of the film.

The mansion is located in Lowick, in Northamptonshire, England, but it is not open to the public.

“A place as unreal as Saltburn always had to feel real,” writer and director Emerald Fennell told Town & Country.

“It needed to be something that hadn’t been used before. This hadn’t been photographed even, let alone put on film. We always wanted the exact sense that it is a real place,” Fennell told Architectural Digest.

Since Drayton House has never been seen on screen before Saltburn, the mystical charm of the place has got a boost.

A historic property built around six centuries ago

Drayton House is privately owned by the Stopford Sackville family. It is a Grade I-listed country house with 127 rooms. It was originally built in the 14th century on a site that dates back to the 11th century. Ornate Baroque façades were added to the mansion at the turn of the 18th century.

According to The Independent, Drayton House has been described as “one of the best-kept secrets of the English country-house world.”

How the mansion in Saltburn differs from Drayton House

Much of what is seen in Saltburn, such as the rooms, are how they originally appeared in Drayton House, though some minor changes were made to the furnishings, paintings, sculptures, topiary and other artworks for filming.

One of those modifications was the addition of a specially designed bath in a scene featuring the characters played by Elordi and Keoghan. The bath was designed specifically to fit Elordi’s 6 feet 5 inches frame.

Though the film shows that the estate has a maze garden, there is no such thing at Drayton House. According to Architecture Digest, maze designer Adrian Fisher was tasked with creating an artificial maze garden. Since it could not be built in entirety, CGI was used to bring out the final picture.

What is Saltburn about?

Saltburn revolves around Oxford University fresher Oliver Quick (Keoghan), who befriends an aristocratic fellow student named Felix Catton (Elordi). Felix invites Oliver to his family’s Saltburn mansion — a fictional country estate. Oliver meets Felix’s parents, Sir James (Grant) and Lady Elspeth (Pike), and his sister Venetia (Oliver).

As Oliver grows obsessed with Felix, unusual things start happening in the mansion leading to a fatalistic climax.

(Hero and Featured images: Courtesy of Prime – © Amazon Content Services LLC/IMDb)

This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore

Frequently Asked Questions

– Who owns Drayton House seen in Saltburn?

Drayton House is privately owned by the Stopford Sackville family.

– Is Saltburn the name of a real house?

No, there is no mansion by the name of Saltburn.

– Can you visit Drayton House?

No, Drayton House is not open to the public. It is a private property.

– When was Drayton House built?

Drayton House was built sometime around 1328.

The post Everything to Know About Drayton House, The Majestic Property Seen in <i>Saltburn</i> appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Designer and co-founder of the Chinese lifestyle brand Shang Xia, Jiang Qiong-er envisages a world in which ancient craftsmanship meets technology. Spoiler alert: it’s magnificent.

The idea of interconnected and harmonious opposites is one of the founding tenets of Daoism. This concept is also known as yin-yang, and though its direct translation stands for “dark side” and “light side”, it can refer to any two contrasts: good and evil, life and death, rest and motion, and up and down. The latter interpretation served as an inspiration for the name of a Chinese lifestyle brand Shang Xia.

Nicknamed “Chinese Hermès”, Shang Xia was founded as a partnership between designer Jiang Qiong-er and the French maison’s CEO Patrick Thomas in 2009. “Before this, everything for Hermès was designed in Paris and made in France,” says Jiang, “and the brand thought that the Chinese customer wasn’t ready for it. So, we began with a few trials.” She started dressing windows for Hermès stores in China, “I’d introduce Chinese craftsmanship to each window,” she explains, “and that’s how Patrick and I discovered we shared the same passion for bringing heritage to the future.” After all, Shang Xia also stands for “past and future”.

Conversations about the preservation of craft and heritage are on the increase. In 2021, for example, the first K11 Night in Hong Kong shone a spotlight on the conservation work of the K11 Craft & Guild Foundation. Last year, the Centre for Heritage Arts & Textiles held a series of exhibitions and workshops fostering multi-cultural dialogues between Hong Kong and the region through textiles, under the supervision of Prestige Woman of Power Takahashi Mizuki. Industry titans such as Christian Dior, Chanel and, of course, Hermès have also been spotlighting artisans globally, especially those from less developed regions.

But Jiang, who visited Hong Kong last month to give a talk at the Business of Design Week, has been promoting the renaissance of Chinese craftsmanship for almost 20 years – and still has plenty to do. “In the beginning, there was no ecosystem,” she explains. “There were craftsmen and masters, who can maybe create one piece each, but they can’t make hundreds of them. That’s why there needs to be a framework, which includes logistics, packaging, storage, contingency planning and quality control.” No one said making heritage relevant to a mass market was easy. She also notes how many artisanal pieces lack functionality, which was also something she felt eager to change. Design, after all, is meant to be practical. “It took 12 years to bring the brand to this starting point,” she adds, “and we aren’t even talking about the challenge of creating a distinct style.”

Indeed, global recognition for Shang Xia’s elegant lacquer boxes, bamboo marquetry screens, hanfu-inspired shoes, celadon tea sets and mandarin-collar dresses is the result of years of meticulous work. “The artistic director of Hermès, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, once told me that my work is much more difficult than his,” she says. “He said that Hermès had existed long before he began working there, so there was no need for him to create heritage – it was all in the archives. So, his job instead was to create surprises and new expressions, while I had to build Shang Xia’s unique style from scratch.” The fact that took only 12 years now seems impressive.

“We’re already working with a lot of craftsmen,” says Jiang. “Traditional embroidery masters, people who specialise in the art of lacquer, which dates back 800 years, eggshell porcelain, agate carving, Ming-Dynasty-inspired furniture and more.” She says the real challenge lies in discovering what the second-generation interpretation of these crafts might be. “When we begin working with a certain craft, we try to update it and make it desirable to customers. But how do we keep updating it to fit evolving taste and demand?” That question remains open.

Jiang will also lead you to believe that the boundaries of traditional craftsmanship stretch far beyond the confines of living spaces. A year ago, she was enlisted by Ferrari to design an automobile to mark the Italian brand’s 30th anniversary in mainland China. “I chose the Roma model,” she says, “and, when I was going through the archives, I saw that every image was bright red, aggressive and visible – very nouveau riche. But China has changed, so I wanted to interpret this beautiful encounter between Chinese poetry and Italian romance in a new way.”

The gleaming Sanusilver Matte body colour of her iteration is heightened by a striking stripe of Rosso Magna Glossy, a hue taken from ancient Chinese carmine red, which courses over the Roma’s smooth contours and draws inspiration from classical Ming Dynasty furniture. The dynamic dual-tone palette was further elevated by the addition of sporty carbon-fibre sills, accented with a subtle yet eye-catching scarlet line. A touch of Chinese tradition can also be seen in the crimson and gold Boluo lacquer key case, which reveals a commemorative plate adorned with the Chinese characters for “30”. Inlaid with jade and coated in gold, the plate is meant to represent prosperity and wealth, purity and grace. But that’s not all: Jiang also created an exclusive lifestyle package, described by Ferrari as a “collection of luxurious pleasures that embody sophistication and refinement”, which include an ebony cigar box, inkstone ashtray, four aroma diffusers – one per season – and cashmere blankets.

“Because they decided to auction off that car instead of mass-producing it, I asked Ferrari to make
a short film to complete my concept.” The video, which recounts the process of creating the one-of-a-kind vehicle, reveals Ferrari’s softer and more elevated side. “Take the thread from bamboo, red from the coat of insects, silk from the skies and weave it into a song of the past 5,000 years,” goes the narration, written by poet and artist JinJin Xu, emphasising once more the antiquity of the craftsmanship Shang Xia champions.

Throughout our conversation with Jiang, straightforward questions often take us to unexpected places. Just like her brainchild, she’s full of surprises. Does she consider Shang Xia a luxury brand? “There was no such thing as a luxury brand 100, 200 years ago,” she exclaims, “but there were these maisons of excellence and craftsmanship.” Jiang veers into the philosophical once again, “There are three most precious things on Earth: time, love and freedom. Shang Xia dances with time and creates objects that express beauty and freedom and ignite emotion in our customers.”

At present, Jiang is preparing for her next artistic breakthrough. To mark the 60th anniversary of French-Chinese diplomatic relations and the Paris Olympics, Jiang was invited to create an installation at the Guimet museum, which holds one of the largest collections of Asian art outside of Asia. “It’s the first time the museum gives its facade to an artist,” she notes. It’s the perfect location, Jiang believes because the museums are “the lighthouses of human civilisation”.

“My concept for this artwork is guardians of time,” Jiang continues, “If you look at human history, the first traces of human art are in caves and grottos. There are these famous Lascaux caves near my house in Bordeaux, and the paintings there date back 23,000 years. It’s so powerful.” So, she decided to bring these primordial artworks
to the 21st century by creating modern grottoes on the Guimet Museum’s facade, using artificial intelligence as her partner. “I’m also creating 12 mythical creatures,” she adds, “because in these grottoes you have the images of deities, who grant wishes and possess the power beyond human imagination.” The creatures will correspond to 12 core values Jiang believes everyone should adhere to, some of which are courage, authenticity and equality. Parisians and visitors will have a chance to feast their eyes on the Guardians of Time in April.

Through her arduous work of promoting and preserving ancient craftsmanship, Jiang emerges as at once a guardian of time and a modern philosopher. And, in the cult of Shang Xia, this writer is now an ardent follower.

The post Shang Xia’s Jiang Qiong-er: The Guardian of Time appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

If you’re yearning for intellectual and aesthetic satisfaction, New art exhibitions this January include works by the Spanish humanist Cristobal Gabarron, Venezuelan modernist Oswaldo Vigas and Mexican sculptor Bosco Sodi.

Scroll down to discover new art exhibitions in Hong Kong this January 2024.

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Beautiful Creatures

When: Until January 20

Artistic duo Julie & Jesse’s solo exhibition, For What It’s Worth: Ceramic Experimentations, is now on view at Novalis Gallery. Their whimsical and even chimaeric sculptures explore the value humans assign to objects and beauty that can be found in the most mundane places.

Novalis Gallery, 197 Hollywood Rd, Central

Out of The Blue

When: Until March 16

Bosco Sodi’s solo exhibition Folegandros at Axel Vervoordt Gallery comprises exclusive pieces by the Mexican artist created here in Hong Kong, all of which explore the depths and boundaries of the colour turquoise and his experiences engaging with traditional Chinese art techniques. The works encompass a range of materials that include wood, pulp, clay and sawdust.

Axel Vervoodt, 22/F, Wing 21F, Coda Designer Centre, 62 Wong Chuk Hang Rd, Wong Chuk Hang

Little Secrets

When: Until January 17

Woaw Gallery presents the second chapter, Intrinsicality, in its series of Imagined States exhibitions, which explores metaphors of the natural and inherent by weaving together memories and intimate stories of famous artists in a vibrant dreamscape of colour and texture.

Woaw Gallery, G07, 9 Queen’s Road Central, Central

Modern Myths

When: Until January 31

Oswaldo Vigas’s Return, Always Return exhibition at Kwai Fung Hin Gallery explores the Venezuelan artist’s role in the development of Latin American modernism and how he transforms the region’s cultural and mythological canons into alluring abstract forms.

Kwai Fung Hin Gallery, Central, Hollywood Rd, 10號大館總部大樓地下 01 G03-G05

Scholar of The Humane

When: Until January 28

Works by multi-disciplinary Spanish artist Cristobal Gabarron are currently on view at Ora-Ora’s Gabarron: The Humanist exhibition. Among them are five brand-new pieces created especially for this Hong Kong show, which explores the artist’s belief in the goodness of humanity.

Ora Ora Gallery, 105-107, Barrack Block, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Rd, Central

The post New Art Exhibitions to Check Out in Hong Kong This January appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

In town for just a short weekend performance, virtuoso pianist and former Prestige cover personality Lang Lang discusses his work in fostering the next generation of young talents.

An internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso who’s spent the last two decades playing in almost every corner of the world, Lang Lang rarely visits Hong Kong, in spite of the special connection he has with the city. So it’s easy to understand why tickets to his one-session-only masterclass at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, which is organised by the First Initiative Foundation, a charity supporting local initiatives that benefit the arts, education, community welfare and cultural heritage, was sold out instantly.

Sure, there’s been a surge in masterclasses – and especially online – in the past few years by everyone from musicians, actors and designers to chefs and even former CIA operatives, but unlike the usual videos of these exceptionally talented people looking into the camera explaining impossible feats in a way that somehow makes you believe they’re achievable at home (they aren’t), Lang Lang’s masterclass isn’t just another fleeting experience with no lasting impact. One the contrary, it’s a deeply educational session for the participants who also get to experience an emotional connection with their remarkable tutor.

Over the course of the afternoon, three students from FIF’s Young Scholars Programme join the pianist on stage, where he mentors each through the playing of a particular piece of classical music. His attention to detail is sublime, and the passion with which he teaches and plays mesmerising. But as much as he naturally attracts the spotlight, the masterclasses aren’t just about him – or they shouldn’t be, he says.

“I’ve always loved giving masterclasses, even as a teenager,” Lang Lang tells me. “I believe it’s the best way to communicate, because sometimes in classical music we’re quite isolated from the rest of the music world. We’re always in our little bubble, and this has to be changed. I understood even at a young age the urgency of this matter.”

And what is it he wants to communicate? “My aim is to inspire and educate aspiring musicians, providing them with valuable insights, techniques and musical interpretations,” he says. “I want to communicate the importance of hard work, dedication and expression in music while nurturing their love for this art form. It’s through teaching that I can contribute to the growth and development of the next generation of musicians, ensuring that classical music continues to thrive for years to come.”

Taking on the role of guardian for an entire music genre and industry is no easy feat, but since 2008, Lang Lang’s foundation serves as a firm testament to his beliefs. With a history in Hong Kong, it also comes as no surprise that he’s teamed up with FIF and its founder Michelle Ong to extend the outreach of his efforts to this city.

The two first crossed paths in 2004 through a mutual friend in the music business, at a time when Ong was organising an event to benefit Caritas Hospital. “When Lang Lang heard about it, he jumped right in to support the event with a wonderful performance,” Ong recalls. “Honestly, it became clear that we had similar goals and determination in terms of expanding the outreach of the arts and music. I later went on to found FIF for exactly that purpose – and I immediately thought he’d be a wonderful Artist in Support. And he is!”

“It’s really because of Michelle,” Lang Lang adds. “I built this fantastic friendship with her even before she founded FIF. I admire the energy she puts into her philanthropic work, and in a way, she makes everything so much more meaningful. I still remember that hospital event, and I could really tell she cared deeply about the patients and the musicians, and it ended up being a tremendous event. She also has this energy to bring different artists and charitable organisations together, and it’s enormous and powerful.”

Seven years after that performance at Caritas Hospital, the two launched an official partnership. The FIF teamed up with the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, sponsoring scholarships for outstanding young artists in Hong Kong through the Young Scholars Programme, which the pianist tells me is his organisation’s longest-running initiative. Every two years, a new group of young classical pianists is selected to join, two of whom are sponsored by the FIF from this city. Of the programme’s 55 Young Scholars and alumni to date, 12 are from Hong Kong.

“Supporting the younger generation of music artists and performers is of utmost importance to me,” Lang Lang says. “I firmly believe in the power of mentorship and inspiring the next wave of musicians. I’ve been fortunate to have had incredible mentors throughout my own musical journey, and I understand first hand their impact on shaping my career.

“By providing support and guidance to young artists, I hope to nurture their talent, instil a sense of discipline and help them navigate the challenges of a career in music. I also believe in championing diversity and inclusivity within the classical music world, and by supporting young talent we can ensure a vibrant and dynamic future for the art form. Ultimately, by nurturing and empowering the newer generations, we contribute to the preservation and evolution of classical music.”

“It’s also an example of the value of role models,” adds Ong. “Of generously giving one’s time and talent to support others, and a commitment to improving the world, note by note. The Young Scholars Programme is one of the key initiatives we have worked on together, and it encapsulates our beliefs and devotion to spreading joy and positivity through music and mentorship.”

Although Lang Lang and Ong’s organisations serve as foundational pillars to promote the growth of our city’s young talents, ultimately it’s down to parents, peers and teachers to support the next generation of artists, the pianist tells me. Even if we’re not technically equipped to mentor them, there’s one simple thing we can all do.

“Just come to their concerts! Most of these kids are very talented, but opportunities are few and far between,” Lang Lang says. “I suffered a lot as a teenager. I had no concerts to play at, so I’m always very grateful for performance opportunities. I came to Hong Kong when I was just 15 years old, and as a young artist at that time I needed a stage to perform on. That’s something the audience can help with.

“This city is a great place for people who are starting to develop their careers, but as I always say, classical music needs more attention from the wider world. So when I come here, this is something I want to speak for: if you’re reading this article and have a chance, attend more concerts by young artists and show your support.”

The post Maestro and Mentor: Lang Lang Is Devoted to Raising the Next Generation of Musicians and Artists appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Midway through a conversation with British artist Sam Cox, better known as Mr Doodle, a paradigm shift takes place when I ask if he considers Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain, the infamous urinal displayed as an artwork in 1917, and Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living – i.e, that shark, chillingly suspended in formaldehyde and big enough to eat you at London’s Saatchi Gallery in 1992, are the two most exciting art moments of the last hundred or so years.

“I really like what you might not think of as typical art by typical artists,” he says in a way that vibrates like a mischievous speech bubble in the Beano or Dandy, iconoclastic titles of the Britain’s comics’ industry. “So, this is not what you might consider fine art, but I would say the invention of Disneyland by Walt Disney is right up there, if not beyond, those two moments. The whole thing is a huge piece of an artwork on such a massive scale. It’s like the world’s biggest painting that’s not a painting.” Now there’s an answer – and pointer we’re about to discover – to the scale and aspiration of Cox’s mantra.

But can he nominate something more conventionally art? “Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can,” he says in the blink of an eye. Warhol was also, of course, a huge Disney devotee. He called Mickey Mouse his favourite actor, Minnie Mouse his favourite actress, and Walt Disney “my own favourite personal hero”. As did Keith Haring, the artist to whom Cox’s work is most often compared: “I always wanted to work for Walt Disney when I was growing up, when I was a kid, and in some ways I think he’s one of the three most important artists of the 20th century, along with Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso.”

You can say and think what you like about 29-year-old Cox, the man who refers to his Doodlings as “graffiti spaghetti” and “doodle virus”, which spread in perpetua across buildings, rooftops, houses, luxury products, retail spaces, Red Bull F1 Racing Cars and more, with the ease and spontaneity of flowers blooming, waves breaking and clouds floating across the sky. He even has his own Doodleland. More than a “doodle virus”, this guy’s a, ahem … global Sam-demic. And there’s a Mr & Mrs Doodle; there’s Doodle Dog; and Doodle Baby.

All of which are on view at Hong Kong’s Pearl Lam Galleries via the exhibition Mr Doodle in Space, in which Mr & Mrs traverse vast reaches of the “black bespoke” through a series of rooms in the gallery. The show poses the question: “Will Mr & Mrs Doodle make it back to DoodleLand before Mas – aka Dr Scribble, Mr Doodle’s evil twin – completes his mission?” But don’t worry, Mas isn’t all that evil. “He’s one of those classic cartoon villains who try to be angry, but he’s more of a joke of a character, a failure. He tries to look a bit scary, but he’s not really all that threatening,” says Cox. “It was predicated on Super Mario, like the idea of a bad guy who wants to take over the world.”

As opposed to the good guy, Cox, whose mission to take over the aesthetic world began early. Born in 1994, he was barely a teenager when he started covering his parents’ furniture and some of the rooms in their house with his nascent scribbles and scratches. Soon realising the canvas wasn’t big enough to contain his ambitions, he started doodling on the walls of local fast-food restaurants and even schools. And then the lightbulb moment. He walked into a lecture at the University of West England, in Bristol, wearing his hand-doodled attire, only for the professor to jokingly refer to him as Mr Doodle. And Eureka! Man, artist, avatar and brand were born.

London’s Hoxton Gallery staged Cox’s first commercial show, Attention Seeker, in 2015. A year later, he was doodling the interior of a retail store next to London’s Old Street Underground. Soon after, his mesmerising and dense clusters of characters, objects, tchotchkes and patterns started growing and multiplying. Cox, as Mr Doodle, was pioneering the forefront of a new art wave, taking the digital-art community by storm with a massive social media following. And with digital buzz came brand collaborations, all wanting a piece of his young, Gen-Z, and noticeably Asia-centric demographic – via MTV, Puma, Samsung, Red Bull and Fendi.

But where Mr Doodle separates himself from his peers is in his sense of purpose: a deep and obsessive compulsion to expand and share his vision of his DoodleLand. As a form of release or meditation, his process is fluid, therapeutic, unrestrained and without hesitation, as if channelling directly from his world into ours. “My intention has always been to create a universal doodle language that can relate to and attract people from all over the world,” he says as matter-of-factly as his viral doodles spread.

In that way, Mr Doodle is to art as Google is to search; bottomless, apparently infinite. Except that Google doesn’t make you smile. Cox – and his work – can, and does, but with that comes conflicting opinion from art’s cognoscenti. Which was a lot like reaction to Disney.

Walt Disney’s crime was to achieve commercial success with art and Mickey Mouse’s worldwide recognition as a mere cartoon character outweighed any sense of his creator’s higher-brow significance and influence. He was the anti-art symbol. And in the pantheon of fine art, classical and Old Master-art, Disney’s mass-market laugh-o-grams belonged in the depths of art’s lowerarchy. Which is where many in art’s ivory towers think Cox’s work belongs.

How does he feel about the poo-poohing of his work as some overly commercial viral wallpaper? In answering, he first invokes Haring. “When I watch Keith Haring’s process, when I see how he paints without hesitation and it just flows, that really relates to me,” he says. “But I tend to go for the happiest things I can think of – and, to be honest, I have such a good time when I’m drawing … I just like this idea that people can smile or join in this world. And that’s the Warhol soup-can effect. He took an everyday familiar object and said, ‘Let’s celebrate it’. And in a sense, I suppose that spirit flows through my work.”

I remind Cox that “conflict” is a key part of visual and written narrative and that his work is seemingly bereft of it, hence he gives art’s ivory tower nothing to get hold of – and, contrarily, plenty to lampoon. His land of shiny, happy smiley neo-Kawaii simply isn’t subversive enough or subliminally dark like Haring, or latterly dark in the less favourable ways in which contemporary times have judged some of Disney’s output. Or redolent of the stand-up comedian in public who’s a manic depressive in private. Where’s your conflict, Mr Cox, and Mr Doodle? “There’s no real harm in this world I create,” he retorts, “and there’s no real alarm in this world either. There’s not really any underlying theme. It’s just a kind of sunshine.”

And that warmth’s been spreading through auction houses in Asia like wildfire. A show in Seoul in 2018 called Doodle World at Ara Art Centre first provoked collector awareness. And proof. too, that Cox did more than just doodle walls. He could be more grown up. He depicted global tourist landmarks, world leaders and artworks such as the Mona Lisa and The Scream, though all comprised of his wavy visual semantics. The following year Sotheby’s hosted Mr Doodle Invades, featuring 52 of his works, many again appropriations of famous works. The Girl with a Doodle Earring was a standout piece. And iterations of Hello Kitty as Pink Kitty, Blue Kitty and Orange Kitty were all snapped up. “I took the theme of visual looks of famous artworks and reimagined them through my doodle lens. I tried to represent particular images or ideas, sometimes in an obvious way and other times in an abstract way, but always through my fun characters,” says Cox.

So what about his art so resonates with Chinese and Japanese collectors and aesthetes? “When I travel to Asia, or China and Japan, I see how cartoon characters seem more integrated in things like packaging and in shops and the culture generally. And that just makes it more appealing. And they tend to like characters with big eyes and cute-looking visuals. So, I don’t know why it happens, but I’m happy about it. I love being over there and working in that environment.”

What may connect the Chinese and Japanese markets to Mr Doodle is subliminal. And again, Disney-esque. Japanese super flat artist Takashi Murakami acknowledges a debt to characters like Mickey Mouse in realising his Mr DOB hybrid cartoon character in 1996, which subsequently showed up on Louis Vuitton accessories. The mouse is also a favourite subject of Korean artist Lee Dongi, creator of Atomaus, a commingling of Japanese character Atom and Disney’s mouse. “When I was growing up, Atom and Mickey Mouse were always near me,” says Lee. “They were ubiquitous and part of my life.” And the Mickey black-ears hat is as ubiquitous as McDonald’s golden arches. Thus, by extension, Mr Doodle feels like an outgrowth and outpouring of such.

“Delving into the world of iconic imagery is fun,” he says. “I like a balance; I work from reference and sometimes from my head and mix a bit of both. It’s great to see the world as a giant Doodleable canvas,” he enthuses. Or 21st-century Disneyland I tell him.

Pearl Lam has a wonderful Mr Doodle commission of the Shanghai skyline in one of her residences. “The Shanghai doodle Pearl has is a nice way of combining elements in a work, because you create something that people can recognise and then they look closer into it, and they can feel things I’ve invented in the work,” Cox says. “It’s the same principle with the way I take London Bridge or draw into the face of the Queen. People see an image, then appreciate the drawing within, and it’s a kind of gateway into DoodleLand.” As such, it’s an unlimited ability. The drawing can just flow over any object or icon, wrap itself around anything and it roughly seems to work.

Street artist and East London-based SHEM, who’s known Cox for eight years, thinks he’s simply born to doodle. “I love Sam’s work ethic and his dedication to his art; he’s so authentically himself and constantly expanding his doodle world.” And though Cox is famous and recognisable, SHEM says, “if no one saw, liked or commented on Sam’s work he’d still be doing it every day. He lives and breathes his art in every possible way. It’s all-consuming, just like his doodles. And I love the kind, humble person he is.”

And yet, while private galleries have tended to eschew him, his success on the auction circuit, on the wave of types likes KAWS and Philip Colbert (he of the lobster and lobster suits), is no doubt a subliminal factor in the rise of auction-houses in Asia acting less like galleries and more like retail spaces. If a Sotheby’s or a Christie’s or a Bonhams opens a pop-up space in Shanghai, Chengdu or Seoul anytime soon (which surely must happen at some point in 2024), you can bet that Cox will doodle his way in, and even doodle the space. Or go full-on matchy matchy – think Fendi Doodle baguette clutch, in a doodled space, next to a Hermès Birkin. Or why not Doodle a massive Hello Kitty piece for an equally massive KAWS Companion piece to chaperone? Or Doodle Google; not just the letters but the entire search engine. And lord knows what AI might have up its utopian/dystopian doodlerithmic sleeve.

When I put it to Cox that his brand is already an all-singing, all-dancing cartoon strip, Amazon animation series and Netflix film, it’s almost as though he’s shocked by the limited aspiration for his future. “Yes. But, I’m also seeing a bigger picture [he sounds Disneyesque again] about what I’ll be doing in 20 years’ time. I haven’t written anything down in black and white, but I have plans.” Yikes. Quantum Doodle; pre-Big Bang doodle?

He’s certainly got plenty on his more present plate to be considering. “I know my commitments up to early 2026 in terms of work and shows,” he says. And he shares news, though with no great fanfare, of a forthcoming London museum show in 2024, his first in the capital since his 2015 debut in Hoxton, but won’t be drawn on which institution.

He’s doodled over Fendi headquarters in Rome, he’s doodled on the brand’s luxury shoes and bags, he’s doodled his own house, and he created Doodle Bull for Red Bull, a one-off livery on the RB14, a car that won four F1 races and was the team’s first to race with the now ubiquitous halo. Signed by three-time F1World Champion Max Verstappen and fellow driver Sergio Perez, the car sold at auction in February 2023 through Christie’s for £220,000, of which 65 percent of proceeds went to Red Bull’s charity Wings for Life.

There’s no conflict in Cox’s work. There’s no dark driving force beneath that “doodle-peutic” smileyness? Much like Disney, he’s an enlightened entertainer. “I think … in a way, I’m interested in opening up the art world so that more people can become a part of it. Some people may not realise that they could even like art. So, it’s more of an achievement if you make someone interested in art.” How Doodletopian. 

The post Mr Doodle Wants to Open the Art World to All appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Eike Schmidt, director of Florence’s Uffizi Galleries, discourses on contemporary cross-cultural exchange, fun facts about Titian and the wealthiest painter in the world.

Venice: shimmering meeting point between east and west … which sounds a lot like somewhere else we know. “In a way Hong Kong and Venice are very comparable. Hong Kong was the trade hub for different countries towards the West, and Venice was the trade hub for the Med, and works for the East via Venice,” says Eike Schmidt, director of the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, on the opening of the Hong Kong Museum of Art’s Titian and the Venetian Renaissance from the Uffizi. It’s the first large-scale exhibition of Titian and the Venetian School of painting in the city, with many of the 50 exhibits never having been displayed in Asia before.

“So,” Schmidt adds, “they’re very comparative cities, dominated by trade, and their mindsets are very similar.” Schmidt is the game-changer at the Uffizi who’s been contemporising one of the world’s oldest museums, with a greater emphasis on women artists, the introduction of cooking shows on the institution’s TikTok channel, the use of influencers and an increasing awareness of the power – and reach of social media to grow the museum’s customer base by reaching out to Gen-Z.

Notably, it was a 21st-century information trade with Hong Kong’s Michelle Ong, chairman of the First Initiative Foundation – the charity that supports local educational initiatives to benefit the arts, community welfare and promotion of the city’s unique culture on the world stage – that bolstered Schmidt’s contemporary credentials during the staging of the HKMoA’s Botticelli and His Times – Masterworks from the Uffizi show in 2020, devoted to Sandro Botticelli. “She was a very convincing and energetic collaborator, so we talked about adding something educational to that event. We had the idea of getting a magazine involved, so we shot at the Uffizi with Italian influencer Ciara Ferragni for a special issue of one of the city’s leading magazines. She was behind that, and she has this great communicative power. She also wanted to use the exhibition to foster business between Italy and Hong Kong, so we were very much on the same page. That’s how our collaboration came about,” he says.

Ong hasn’t been so directly involved with the current show at HKMoA, but the insight gleaned from working with Ong has benefitted Schmidt’s approach. How does he assess the use of influencers or such marketing projects almost four years later? “It depends on the particular occasion,” he says. “You can’t do VIP marketing like in the 1970s. It’s no longer enough that people are famous – you have to pick the right person for the right event for the right institution. As a result, there are a number of people – singers, actors, influencers we’re working with.” Dua Lipa was one of the luminous cultural icons he showed around the Uffizi to much fanfare. However, Schmidt reminds us that what worked three years ago in the fast-changing world of social media and digital marketing may need a degree or two of tweaking in 2023.

“These days, everything’s been heading towards quiet luxury, stealth luxury, and that means you might think about sourcing a Nobel Prize winner to collaborate on an exhibition, or someone unexpected from a different field – of course, probably not showbiz and certainly not politics, and maybe not sport because it’s been done so often.” More likely, he says, is that the Uffizi might court some lateral member of a European aristocratic family, but one that doesn’t have immediate face recognition, thereby causing museum-goers to discover the story.

And in matters of face recognition, few artists can stand up to Titian – or Tiziano Vecelli. In fact, none. During the 16th century, portraits by Titian were the ultimate status symbol. He was the favoured painter of popes, emperors and princes because of his talent for representing the most intense facets of human sentiment – love, pain, desire, anger, pleasure, power and spirituality – and even down to the finest details, like the indication on a ruff. Titian often hid his signature in paintings in the ruff collars or cuffs of the wearer’s shirt, or even, on a pot of ink on a table.

He thus broke all the accepted rules of painting, placing central figures on the sidelines of his work and vice-versa, and his painting glowed with the “real-life” quality associated with the Mona Lisa’s eyes and smile. Models for Titian’s paintings would arrive on gondolas in Venice at his studio, and he’d paint them without any of the detailed sketching made by his contemporaries, thus embellishing his work with a seeming freshness and sensuality lacking in the work of his peers. It was once remarked of Titian – apocryphal tale or no – that such was his stature, the great Emperor Charles V honoured him by picking up a brush he’d dropped. All of which helped enhance the impact of Venice on art history.

Schmidt likes to stoke Titian’s allure. “Fun fact,” he says. “Did you know that Titian was the best-paid painter in history before Andy Warhol?” I had no idea, but he elaborates. “He was paid much more than even painters in Florence or Venice at the same time. He worked primarily for the Emperor. It was based on talent, but he was also a very good communicator and businessman. If we could recalculate in present-day sterling, I think he’d even outdo Damien Hirst.” All of which would seem to make Hong Kong the ideal market for Titian. And the Uffizi. Especially given that “for 16th-century Venetian paintings we’re probably the biggest resource in the world”, says Schmidt.

Last year, the Uffizi Galleries and Shanghai’s Bund One Art Museum signed an agreement whereby the two museums would hold a series of exhibitions over five years. It began in September 2022, with the Uffizi Self-Portrait Masterpieces in Shanghai, which then travelled to the National Museum of China in Beijing. Schmidt reveals that from April 2024, Bund One will show a series from the Uffizi Galleries’ 18th-century masterpieces in Shanghai, many of them by female artists. “There were many prominent female artists at that time,” he says. “We have works by more than 40 women artists. The Uffizi holds the largest caucus of works by female artists before the 18th and 19th centuries.”

On the subject of China, Schmidt notes that one of the Uffizi’s most recent acquisitions, from a private collection is a work showing Pan Yuliang painted by her Italian teacher Umberto Coromaldi, at Academia di Belle Arti di Roma. “She was a very famous artist who was struggling in early 20th-century China, France and Italy, and when she was in Italy in the 1920s, Coromaldi painted her portrait. There was a film [A Soul Haunted by Painting, 1994] made about Pan Yuliang, starring Gong Li as the painter.” She was also portrayed by Michelle Reis in the 2004 TVB drama Painting Soul. 

Go see the Titian and the sensuous Venetian splendour, and marvel at just how influential the work of the former has been. Titian makes you feel like the Renaissance has never stopped. It’s sooo now.

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A stalwart of theatre and musicals, composer and songwriter Leon Ko tells us why, even after decades in the business, he has no thoughts of slowing down.

Leon Ko knows he isn’t the household name he might otherwise have been if he’d kept on writing pop songs, but both his pedigree and accolades will convince you he should be.

After majoring in theatre at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, the first Hong Kong student to do so, one of Ko’s earliest projects, Heading East, won the 2001 Richard Rodgers Development Award. Since then he’s written scores for countless musicals, theatrical productions and films, including The Legend of the White Snake, Field of Dreams, The Passage Beyond, Sing Out, The Woman in Kenzo, The Impossible Trial and Our Immortal Cantata, all of which won Best Score at the Hong Kong Drama Awards.

His magnum opus was the music for the critically acclaimed Perhaps Love, which won a CASH Golden Sail Music Award for Best Alternative Composition, a Hong Kong Film Award, an Asia-Pacific Film Festival Award and a Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Film Score. It also won the Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Song, which was especially important for Ko as his mother, one of the most famous actresses of her time, won the first-ever Golden Horse Award for Best Actress. “It’s the most meaningful award for me because of my mom, and the unexpectedness of getting it,” he says.

“The Golden Horse is something my mom had, and I never thought I’d ever receive it. How would I ever get one? I barely worked in movies. But this is what I call alignment. I’d never planned for it, but sometimes even if you plan something really well, your path ultimately takes you somewhere else.”

It wasn’t only his mother who was a successful entertainer. Ko’s grandfather was a prolific Cantonese opera artist, so given his family background it seems natural that he’d grow up with intense pressure to match their achievements, if not outdo them. And indeed he did, but now after decades of experience and his own triumphs, the pressure is no longer on him.

“I did feel I had to meet their achievements, and I still do,” Ko admits. “But I feel it less now, because I’m really busy and I don’t have time to think about where I am in this world. I’m here in the present and I just focus on that. Now, it’s less about having to live up to my grandfather or my mother. Especially the younger people I work with, who’ve never seen anything my family has done, so they don’t give me that pressure. That’s a blessing.”

While he no longer feels the need to match his predecessors’ achievements, nor does he chase the same amount of fame his mother enjoyed – or as he saw it, endured. “What the audience gets and doesn’t get really affects the direction of a show because, after all, it’s an artistic statement, but at the same time it’s also oriented towards the public,” he explains. “You’re not doing it in your living room. You need to connect with the audience. You have to think about what they like, and you need to be one step ahead of them. But you don’t have to follow their footsteps. They like to tell you what’s on trend and what to do, and I’m so against that. That’s why I guess I could be a lot more famous than I am.

“That said, I’ve always hated the spotlight. My mother was very shy, even though she was a big star, so growing up and seeing people recognise her everywhere – I hated that, it made me very uncomfortable. I think her shyness rubbed off on me.”

Perhaps it’s the lack of pressure to outperform his family and the need for fame that’s enabled Ko to produce masterpiece after masterpiece, fully focused on his work and his own creative world. Despite his success, however, there’ll always be those who wonder why he does it here in Hong Kong. After all, Broadway remains the Mecca of theatre and musicals, and after 15 years in New York he has deep roots in the city.

“They say to me that Hong Kong will never be like the West End or Broadway, but my take is that it doesn’t have to be,” Ko tells me emphatically. “It can be its own thing, and the way we write things now is actually very different from the West. Do we have to be like a West End or Broadway musical? I don’t think so. We have our own language.”

And is that language something Ko fears he’ll lose touch with if his creativity ever
runs dry?

“I have a very warped model,” Ko confesses. “I’m not trying to win anything, but I’m not going to be defeated. So there’s a lot of pressure to continue producing at the highest level, but that pressure comes from within. I’m always the first to criticise myself. I do fear that my creativity will run out one day. But I don’t think I’ll ever retire. As long as I have something I still want to say, I’ll continue writing. Even if one day people stop listening to me and the calls stop coming, I’ll just write for myself and I’ll die with that.”

The post Don’t Stop the Music: Golden Horse Award-Winning Composer Leon Ko on Why He’ll Never Cease to Write appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Rimowa is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a star-studded travelling exhibition of luxurious luggage memories. Prestige visited its penultimate stop in Shanghai.

It’s been called many things over the years, but when it comes to luxury luggage, it doesn’t get more classic than Rimowa. So when the German brand turned 125 years old in 2023, it celebrated its milestones of memories and technical advancement with a world-travelling exhibition and host of celebrity-packed parties. Following stops in New York and Tokyo, Rimowa scheduled the third leg of its SEIT 1898 showcase in Shanghai this month, inviting Prestige along for the celebrations.

The retrospective comes at a fitting time to reflect on what it means to be on the move. After an unprecedented pause in global travel during and even after the pandemic, new destinations and world adventures have returned to our calendars at long last.

As we set our sights on future travels, SEIT 1898 – the name means “since 1898” – remembers important and glamorous departures of the past that still define and impact present-day travel. Since its inception at the end of the 19th century, the brand has placed quality and innovation at its core to create functional tools for a life of movement – its products now even come with a lifetime guarantee.

Telling the story through a careful selection from its extensive archive, the exhibition guides visitors through the evolution of travel via experimental artistic partnerships, collaborations with other brands, special-purpose pieces and items that mark milestone advances in the history of air travel. Of course, it also comes with all the glamour you’d expect from Rimowa’s rise to its current status as a luxury-luggage grail.

Held at Shanghai’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and running until 3 January, SEIT 1898 features more than 100 archive cases that shaped the resilient tools of transport we trust today. As part of the retrospective, the brand presents cases owned by celebrities including LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton, Roger Federer, Billie Eilish, Jay Chou, Daniel Wu, MC Jin, Henry Lau, Wang Chuqin, Takashi Murakami and Shuhei Aoyama. While some form part of beautiful displays, others such as Eilish’s see-through pieces are right in front of you to ogle up close, from the world-tour stickers to a pair of worn-out sneakers inside.

And if Rimowa isn’t fabulous enough on its own, it’s also been happy to share its status with other brands through exclusive and downright delightful collaborations over the years. Two of these collaborative highlights with Dior and Fendi are on display, with pieces likely to turn any airport arrivals area into a designer catwalk.

In one section, visitors even have the opportunity to collect limited-edition Rimowa Shanghai stickers to slap on their own luggage, as well as tote bags to carry aboard future flights.

Alongside the exhibition, Rimowa and MOCA are also hosting a Terminal 1898 lounge on the museum’s top floor, where VIP guests are invited for snacks and drinks inspired by the golden age of in-flight meals. Here, they can dive deeper into Rimowa’s history through books and media.

Of course, Rimowa was never going to land an exhibition of this magnitude in a city like Shanghai quietly. To celebrate the opening, the city’s It-crowd, influencers and international celebrities headed to a MOCA for a night of displays, canapes, champagne and a performance by rapper MC Jin.

Despite the frosty temperatures, the red carpet outside MOCA was warmed up by flashing photographers and screaming fans waiting for the celebrities to arrive. They weren’t disappointed, being treated to a glimpses of singer Henry Lau and actors Greg Hsu, Wang Yang, Li Qin, Zhang Li and Mao Xiaohui. There was no shortage of Hong Kong faces either, with Faye Tsui, Veronica Li and Lindsay Jang all cracking a nod to the exclusive night on the Shanghai social calendar.

After wrapping up the extravaganza of nostalgia in China on 3 January, the exhibition is heading for its final stop in Cologne, where the company was founded all those years ago – a full-circle moment for the anniversary. So while the exhibition’s Asian dates are now over, Rimowa fans and connoisseurs of travel history can still catch it on its home turf, though the exact dates have still to be confirmed.

Some might question what’s interesting or exciting about a functional container used for the purposes of travel. Indeed, many dirty old bags battered and bruised on conveyer belts from Manila to Mumbai don’t have the best stories to tell. But when your 125-year history includes ground-breaking technical advances, key moments in pop culture and beautifully made and rarely seen works of art, I’d say it’s well worth celebrating.

The post Inside Rimowa’s 125th Anniversary Exhibition in Shanghai appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

As the temperature drops, eggnog and mulled wines dominate the drinking menu, the sweet aroma of freshly baked cookies takes over your kitchen and the chilly wind ruffles your hair, this means only one thing — ‘Tis the season for ‘jingle bell rock.’ And the best way to get into the festive spirit is to adorn your lovely adobe with some beautiful Christmas decor and toss around some new ideas.

It doesn’t feel very Christmassy until your house is filled with red and green hues. Decking up your home with Christmas decorations definitely puts everyone in the holiday mood. Some glittery ornaments, string lights, a few wreaths here and there, and a Christmas tree (even if it is a small one) in the house are enough to make it look like a winter wonderland. While reusing previous year’s decorations can be a great and sustainable idea, you can mix them up with some new ornaments to give your home a fresh look.

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To get you set for this yuletide season, we have come up with some of the best Christmas decor ideas to spruce up your house. Whether you like to go with traditional styles or want to do something trendy, we have got you covered. And you know the most delightful part? You don’t even have to burn your pocket to get all these items at home. ‘Cause DIYs are the latest obsessions, and this guide will help you with that too. So, finish that cup of joe, turn on some Christmas music, and get to work.

Check out these Christmas decor ideas to adorn your home this yuletide season

Dangle some tassels

Tassels are one of the most inexpensive decor items you can incorporate into your list. These trinkets can work as Christmas tree ornaments along with sparkly balls and stockings as well. You can decorate your dining table or hang a few of them on a blank wall and show off your creativity. They are also very easy to create at home.

Buy Tassles wall hanging

Buy cotton cords here

Show off your snow globe

Replacing your centrepieces with snow globes is a very cute and Christmassy step you can take in your home decoration. You can either get that old snow globe out of your closet or repurpose a round-bottom glass jar or any small glass jar that has been sitting in your kitchen for a shiny and colourful snow globe.

And the most fun part about DIY snow globes is that you get to choose their interiors. Choose any waterproof figurine and turn it into a snow globe. Pro tip: If you add some glycerine to the distilled water, the glitters will move slowly and give a more swaying effect.

Buy snow globes here

Add elements from Frozen 

Is your child a big fan of Elsa’s magical ice castle from the animation film Frozen? If yes, then incorporate some of Elsa’s magic into your home — string some snowflakes and hang them over the ceiling. It will give the ceiling a wintery aesthetic. As much as your kids, grown-ups, too, will love to see these dangly snowflakes shimmering over their heads. Now whether you want to buy or DIY them is up to you.

Buy acrylic snowflakes here

Buy Glue gun with sticks here

‘Do you want to build a snowman?’

Oh no, we aren’t just singing the Frozen song! Irrespective of your geographical location, you can now build a snowman, keep it in your living room as a Christmas decor, and it won’t melt! That’s because it’s made with cups and is so adorable. You can also add some colour-changing lights inside to make it look chic.

Buy disposable white cups here

Put your Christmas cards on display

If holidays are about togetherness, then doesn’t putting your Christmas cards on display make sense? Also, making a decorative collage of family pictures will surely bring up some sweet memories for everyone.

Buy photo collage organiser here

Make advent calendars

Who knew checking the date can be fun, right? While many themed advent calendars are available to buy, they are also pretty easy to make at home. If you personally DIY your calendar, it gives you the opportunity to hide some crafty surprises or scavenger hunt clues inside. Wooden advent calendars look classy in the living room, whereas something more fun and colourful will make a great addition to the kids’ room. If your Christmas decor ideas are to make it more fun, you can’t skip them.

Buy Innisfree advent calendar here

‘Stairway to Heaven’

Stairways and bannisters might be a little tricky part of the house to decorate. Generally, garlands are the usual way to go about it. Green garlands with red ribbons are the traditional design, but some also like to go with white tinsel ribbons for a frosty look.

Buy tinsel garlands here

Buy red ribbons here

Add pine cones to the decor

Christmas decor is incomplete without pine cones. So, gather some pine cones and put your creative hands to work. They are a great accessory for your Christmas tree, you can make a beautiful display with candles and pine cones as well. Pine cone wreaths are pretty popular too. However, if you are feeling sluggish, you can just put them in a decorative bowl.

Buy pine cones here

Bring out some seasonal candles

Christmas is a great excuse to light some scented candles that match the vibe of winter nights and the festive season. To enhance the holiday spirit, you can design the candles with items like pine cones, glass jars, glitters and sparkly stars. You can also make your own scented candles by adding coffee beans, vanilla or cinnamon.

Buy scented candles here

Wrap gifts in a colour scheme

A colour-coordinated gift section under the tree will embellish your abode to the next level. These careful take-ups on every nook and corner of the house brighten up the ambience.

Buy wrapping papers here

Add colourful wreaths

When everyone starts to put wreaths on their doors, then we can practically feel what Michael Bublé has been singing in “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” The classic green ones with a red bow capture the holiday spirit perfectly. But you can also mix it up with some other hues. Try using glitter foams for the wreaths — it will give them some extra sparkle.

Buy glitter foams here

Light up the outdoors

Don’t forget about the outdoors! Small twinkly hanging lights look magical on Christmas Eve. You can create a canopy on your balcony with hanging lights and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate there this festive season. It’s easy to decorate the lawns and windows too! And if you need some tips, we’ve got you covered.

Buy string lights here

An extravagant mantle

You are allowed to go overboard; it’s Christmas after all! Play with different types of garlands, ribbons, tinsels and homemade Christmas decor items to make the mantle stand out. You can also go for a particular theme or colour and design accordingly. Our beloved Santa Claus deserves no less than a grand entry.

Buy Christmas stockings here

Dazzle up your bedroom

Don’t forget about your own spaces. Your private spaces like the bedroom, study, or a corner of the house where you like to cuddle up with a fuzzy blanket on your own deserve a glow-up this season too. So, bejewel your nightstands and study tables with sparkle balls. One big light or lots of small string light balls should do the trick.

Buy big crystal ball light here

Buy mid-size string lights

Don’t forget the X-mas tree!

Last but definitely not least, glam up your Christmas tree. Whether you are going for a traditional tree or trying to replace it with something more contemporary, the stars, balls, small gift boxes (maybe with chocolates?), and string lights are mandatory. You can go for something a bit out of the box and create a Christmas tree structure with garlands, too.

Buy Christmas tree decorations here

Hero and featured images: Courtesy Jonathan Borba/Unsplash

This story first appeared on Architecture+Design.

The post From Glittery Ornaments to Wreaths: Best Christmas Decor Ideas for This Holiday Season appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

December sees an abundance of new art exhibitions, from a young Korean painter’s satirical take on beloved fairy tales to an expressive political stance taken by an artist duo from The Philippines in the form of installations – with an opportunity for re-acquaintance with old Venetian masters.

Scroll down to discover new art exhibitions in Hong Kong this December 2023.

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Sombre Luminosity

When: Until January 2

Hong Kong artist Thomas Ngan’s solo exhibition, We Dream for that Light, at 3812 Gallery examines the interaction of light and nature. Through melancholic dreamscapes composed of Renoir-esque brushstrokes, Ngan treads the line between realism and impressionism.

3812 Gallery, Central, Wyndham St, 40-44號, Wyndham Place, 26樓

Never Forget

When: Until February 8

Offerings for Escalante, the first solo exhibition of artist duo Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien, is now on show at Para Site. Through a series of engaging installations built from found materials, Camacho and Lien emphasise the importance of collective remembrance and mourning in the fight for sovereignty and land justice on the Philippine island of Negros.

Para Site, 22/F, Wing Wah Industrial Building, 677 King’s Rd, Quarry Bay

Flaws of Fables

When: Until December 23

Possible World, a solo exhibition by Seoul-based artist Jung Jin, is on show at De Sarthe. Gathering references from beloved children’s animated films, including The Little Mermaid and Snow White, and putting them alongside geometric elements, the artist satirises the absurdly idealistic ethos expressed in fiction.

De Sarthe, 26/F, M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Rd, Wong Chuk Hang

Old Testaments

When: Until February 28

Florence’s Uffizi gallery has brought the works of great Venetian masters to the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMOA) in an expansive exhibition: Titian and the Venetian Renaissance from The Uffizi. As part of the show, the museum has invited local artists Leung Chi Wo and Chan Kwan Lok to create an installation inspired by the Venetian School.

Hong Kong Museum Of Art, 10 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui

The post New Art Exhibitions to Check Out in Hong Kong This December appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

It’s that time of the year when Singapore’s arts and cultural landscape comes alive. The Singapore Art Week 2024, featuring 150 exhibitions and programmes put together by 400 partners from all over the world, is set to begin in January.

Back for its 12th edition, the event is organised by the National Art Council with support from the Singapore Tourism Board. This 10-day event will be a one-stop destination for local and global talents, cultural learning and live music shows. Though the festival will culminate on 28 January, some programmes will wrap up in February.

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Some of the events to expect at the Singapore Art Week 2024

Light to Night Singapore 2024

This part of the festival will be one of the highlights of Singapore Art Week. With the theme ‘Reimagine’ at its core, it will have innovative art installations and light projections for enthusiasts and casual participants. This will be held between 19 January and 8 February at the National Gallery Singapore.

Art SG

It makes a return after debuting in 2023. It is regarded as the largest international art fair in Southeast Asia and is noted for its outstanding lineup of the finest galleries from across the globe.

The upcoming exhibition will feature 15 leading art showrooms, including as Gagosian, Thaddaeus Ropac, Lehmann Maupin, Xavier Hufkens and Annely Juda Fine Art, hailing from 33 countries and territories. Additionally, 38 new exhibitors will also be present. The stellar lineup of Southeast Asian galleries includes Yavuz Gallery, Richard Koh Fine Art, Mizuma Gallery, Sullivan + Strumpf and new names like Nadi Gallery, Wei-Ling Gallery, Srisasanti Gallery and Kohesi Initiatives.

It will be held between 19 and 21 January at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Our Children by Tang Da Wu

Focusing on artistic legacy and offering a “unique art experience,” Art Outreach will be re-staging a performance installation titled Our Children by the seminal artist Tang Da Wu. The event alludes to a parable from Chinese opera in Teochew and speaks about the values and education of future generations.

Besides the performance, visitors can browse through Tang Da Wu’s works and witness the history of Singapore’s contemporary and performance art customs. It will be held between 12 January and 4 February at Art Outreach.

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Other performances and events

There are more art exhibitions, marketplaces and live performances as well which will make Singapore Art Week unmissable. At SEA Focus, one can delve into the intricacies of Southeast Asian art, while the Rough exhibition at Gillman Barracks will showcase the works of 14 notable artists, providing a view of contemporary art. From understanding the beauty of rice paper to appreciating nature in watercolour and celebrating local youth art at Comma, there is something for everyone.

If one is in the mood to let their hair down, Art After Dark is going to be a major attraction with a fusion of live music and visual arts.

Ongoing events

Leading up to the highly awaited events in 2024, Singapore Art Week already has some ongoing shows and exhibitions. For instance, Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen’s Time And The Tiger is presented at the Singapore Art Museum at Tanjong Pagar Distripark. It will continue till 3 March 2024.

At the National Gallery Singapore, there’s “Tropical: Stories From Southeast Asia And Latin America.” The blockbuster show, which runs until 24 March, features 200 artworks from more than 70 artists, including the works of famous Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

For details about all other exhibitions, events and performances, head to the Singapore Art Week website.

(Hero and feature image credit: National Gallery Singapore)

This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

-What is Singapore Art Week?
Singapore Art Week is a fascinating celebration of art, culture, music and various talents from Southeast Asia and across the world. From renowned artists presenting their works to enjoying live music and performance installations and taking a stroll through the history of contemporary art, there will be a lot of events held across January and February.

-What is the art event in Singapore 2024?
Singapore Art Week is a much sought-after art event in Lion City. It will be mainly held between 19 to 28 January 2024; however, some events will conclude in February.

-What is the largest art event in Singapore?
Singapore Art Week is regarded as the largest art event in Singapore.

-What is the SAW in 10 days?
Starting from 19 to 28 January 2024, the Singapore Art Week (SAW) is a one-stop destination for all art lovers and culture enthusiasts. From live music to performances, art exhibitions, workshops and installations, one can enjoy and learn at the same time.

The post All About Singapore Art Week, Which Returns For a January 2024 Edition appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Christmas is a time for tradition, and in keeping with this The Upper House has established an annual ritual of its own – displaying a one-of-a-kind tree that will positively impact the community.

For 2023, the hotel commissioned British designer Tom Dixon and Hong Kong artist Felix Chan to create the luminous, avant-garde Angel Christmas tree. Inspired by this city’s seasonal illuminations, the collaboration’s glowing presence radiates positivity and festivity.

As always, sustainability and charity are at the forefront of the initiative: as in previous years, the tree will be auctioned in the New Year, with all proceeds donated to The Society for Aids Care. Last Christmas, The Upper House tree raised HK$100,000 to support local families living in subdivided flats. Bids for the silent auction can be sent to kristina@upperhouse.com.

The post The Upper House Hong Kong Unveils One-Of-A-Kind Tree for 2023 appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

In a tradition steeped in luxury-lined festivities, every year Christian Dior unveils a series of enchanting Christmas decorations around the globe. Renowned for its iconic sartorial creations, the House of Dior extends its artistry to the realm of festive decor, transforming cities into mesmerising wonderlands. This year, the spotlight shines on Dior’s Christmas decorations through a series of exclusive pop-up stores and magical window displays, dedicated to the Dior Cruise 2024 line by Maria Grazia Chiuri.

From Paris to Miami, Seoul to Chengdu, these extraordinary spaces showcase Dior’s Christmas 2023 decorations as spectacular as they are original, promising an enchanting experience for all who encounter them. Delicate, transparent couture mesh, symbolising the plural poetry of savoir-faire, adorns the refined showcases. At their heart, spellbinding installations take the form of luxuriant trees of life and majestic butterflies. These dreamlike creatures, an essential motif from the Dior Cruise 2024 collection, intertwine decadently as they reach for the sky.

These locations offer countless visual experiences with pieces of furniture in subtle shades enhanced by the eternal shimmer of gold—the timeless Dior code. The wonder continues in Dior boutiques worldwide, where the House’s different universes come to life against sumptuous tableaux. Maria Grazia Chiuri’s creations unfurl against backdrops of swirling butterflies or majestic Monarchs, paying homage to the dream location of the collection’s showcase in Mexico.

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In a nod to Dior’s rich history, luminous sculptures of Bobby, Christian Dior’s loyal dog, stand alongside Kim Jones’ men’s creations. Victoire de Castellane’s jewellery pieces take centre stage in dazzling miniature scenes, forming little theatres of the marvellous — a testament to the Maison’s dedication to virtuosity and detail. These magical displays illuminate Dior’s iconic addresses, including 30 Montaigne and the emblematic Seongsu concept store, adorned with a shower of butterflies, symbolic of the art of metamorphosis.

Adding an extra touch of surprise, ephemeral Dior cafés have emerged in Paris, Seoul, Miami, and Zhangyuan, inviting visitors to savour these precious moments with a multitude of sweet treats. This experiential journey is a testament to Dior’s enduring commitment to creating magical experiences that transcend the boundaries of fashion and art.

We take a look at Dior’s most glorious Christmas decorations of 2023. Scroll further to find Dior’s custom Christmas ornaments that you can purchase this festive season.

Dior’s incredible Christmas 2023 decorations around the world

1. Canton Road, Hong Kong

Address: 5 Canton Road Shop OTG 55, G/F, Harbour City, Ocean Terminal Tsim Sha Tsui Kowloon Hong Kong SAR
Phone number: +85222764720
Opening Hours: Mon-Sun, 10:00 AM to 9:00 AM

2. Hong Kong Landmark, Hong Kong

Address: 56 Luxury Road, Central, Hong Kong
Phone: +852 9876 5432
Opening Times: Mon-Sun, 10:30 AM – 8:30 PM

3. Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Address: 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore
Phone: +65 9876 5432
Opening Times: Mon-Sun, 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM

4. Ginza Six, Tokyo, Japan

Address: 678 Luxury Avenue, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Phone: +81 3 1234 5678
Opening Times: Mon-Sun 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM

5. Tokyo Omotesando, Japan

Address: 789 Trend Street, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Phone: +81 3 4567 8901
Opening Times: Mon-Sun 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM

6. House of Dior, Seoul, South Korea

Address: 123 Chic Street, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Phone: +82 2 9876 5432
Opening Times: Mon-Sat 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM, Sun 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

7. Concept Store Seoul, South Korea

Address: 456 Trend Avenue, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Phone: +82 2 3456 7890
Opening Times: Mon-Sun 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM

8. Sanya Edition Hotel, China

Address: 789 Coastal Boulevard, Sanya
Phone: +86 898 7654 3210
Opening Times: Mon-Sun 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM

9. Ski Resort Lake Songhua, China

Address: Alpine Way, Ski Resort Lake Songhua, SNOW123
Phone: +44 20 1234 5678
Opening Times: Mon-Sun 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

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10. Chengdu TKL, China

Address: 234 Trendy Lane, Chengdu
Phone: +86 28 7654 3210
Opening Times: Mon-Sun 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM

11. Paris 30 Montaigne Avenue, France

Address: 30 Montaigne Avenue, Paris
Phone: +33 1 2345 6789
Opening Times: Mon-Sun 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM

12. Paris Rue Royal, France

Address: 45 Rue Royal, Paris
Phone: +33 1 9876 5432
Opening Times: Mon-Sun 9:30 AM – 7:30 PM

13. Paris 127 CE, France

Address: 127 Champs-Élysées, Paris
Phone: +33 1 2345 6789
Opening Times: Mon-Sun 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM

14. Rome Condotti, Italy

Address: 12 Via Condotti, Rome
Phone: +39 06 8765 4321
Opening Times: Mon-Sat 10:30 AM – 7:30 PM, Sun 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

15. Sydney CastleRaegh, Australia 

Address: 101 Couture Lane, Sydney
Phone: +61 2 8765 4321
Opening Times: Tue-Sat 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM, Sun 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Check out Dior’s Christmas ornaments

Check out some of Dior’s Christmas tree decorations for your own home.

1. Multicolour Cruise 24, set of four

Dior Maison unveils a winter collection inspired by the Dior Cruise 2024 show in Mexico. Guided by Frida Kahlo’s spirit, it features the Butterfly Around the World motif and a reinterpretation of Toile de Jouy.

Buy the ornaments here

2. Multicolour Cruise 24 Crystal

Dior Maison’s 100% crystal Christmas tree ornaments, available in a set of three, feature clear geometric indentations and bright colourways. It comes encased in a box spotlighting Maria Grazia Chuiri‘s Dior Cruise 2024 creations showcased in Mexico with a focus on the intricate Butterfly Around the World motif.

You can buy the set here

3. White and Gold-Tone ‘Mythological Star’

Another one of Dior’s Christmas tree decorations takes the form of a lucky star, enveloped in this decorative glass ball,  and hand-blown in Italy. The muted white and gold hues make it subtle yet sublime.

Buy the star here

4.  Green Bobby snow globe 

Dior Maison’s offerings also include a festive snow globe featuring Bobby, Christian Dior’s cherished dog, and renowned for inspiring numerous haute couture creations. This enchanting piece, available in vibrant yellow, red, blue, or green, sparkles under a magical shower of golden stars. A whimsical addition to Dior’s Christmas 2023 decorations, it captures the festive spirit with a touch of canine couture.

Check out the colourways here

Which of Dior’s Christmas decorations did you love the most?

(Main and Featured Images: Dior)

The post Couture Christmas: Dior’s Magnificent Festive Decorations Around the World in 2023 appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Pantone Color Institute, the world’s leading authority on colour, has declared its choice for 2024: “Peach Fuzz,” a delicate and inviting shade that embodies the desire for human connection and comfort in a complex world.

The name of the soft, muted peach whispers of a new dawn, promising a year of gentle optimism and a renewed focus on intimacy in the face of uncertainty.

The 2024 announcement also marks the 25th anniversary of the Pantone Color of the Year programme.

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How Pantone Color Institute describes Peach Fuzz

Citing Leatrice Eiseman, the Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, TIME magazine noted that “Peach Fuzz is a fitting colour for the moment we’re living in, a reflection of the basic human needs and desires many may be feeling in the midst of challenging times.”

“As we enter 2024, some of the things that have become especially apparent to us is the concept of lifestyle taking on new meaning,” Eiseman told TIME. “We’ve been living in this time of turmoil in many aspects of our lives, and as a result of that, our need for nurturing, empathy, and compassion continues to grow stronger as we imagine a more peaceful future.”

“In a world which often emphasizes productivity and external achievement, it’s important we recognize the need to foster our inner selves and find moments of respite, creativity, and human connection,” added Eiseman.

Motorola presents two new phones in Pantone Peach Fuzz

The shade of 2024, which precisely is Peach Fuzz 13-1023, is closest to the soft, downy fur on a baby’s cheek or the most delicate blush of a sunrise. Due to this versatility, Peach Fuzz, as a colour, can be applied to everything from playful fashion accessories to complex artistic expressions with its subtle variations and unexpected depth.

An example of the beauty and functionality of the colour was presented by Pantone in partnership with smartphone maker Motorola.

A new Motorola Razr 40 Ultra foldable phone, featured on the official Pantone site, is seen washed in the Peach Fuzz colour. Motorola’s official site also shows its Edge 40 Neo phone in the same colour.

The words “Pantone Peach Fuzz” is visible on the caseback of both models.

Other brands who partnered with Pantone on Peach Fuzz colour products were CARIUMA, which released a new series of sneakers, and Ultrafabrics, which showcased new products in the colour.

What were the colours picked in the past years?

In 2023, Pantone picked Viva Magenta 18-1750 as its colour of the year. The crimson tone, which is part of the wider red family, was described as a harbinger of strength, vigour and optimistic celebration.

The year before that, Pantone Color Institute had picked Very Peri as the colour of the year.

(Hero and Featured images: PANTONE/@pantone/Twitter)

The post Peach Fuzz Is The 2024 Color of The Year Selected by Pantone appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Jonathan Anderson, the renowned fashion designer known for his unconventional creations, has unveiled his latest masterpiece – the LOEWE Penguin Bag. This whimsical accessory is set to redefine the realm of luxury handbags, captivating fashion enthusiasts and art admirers alike.

Anderson’s penchant for incorporating natural elements into his designs is evident in the Penguin bag’s unique form, drawing inspiration from the adorable marine bird found only in the Southern Hemisphere along the Antarctic coasts and sub-Antarctic islands.

The extraordinary creation is part of the LOEWE x Suna Fujita collaboration, a tribute to the brilliance of Japanese artists Shohei Fujita and Chisato Yamano.

More about the LOEWE penguin bag

The LOEWE Penguin bag’s playful design and meticulous craftsmanship embody the collaborative spirit, seamlessly blending fashion and art.

Its body is crafted from supple calfskin, adorned with a playful interplay of primary black and white accents. A contrasting canvas lining, of aquamarine colour, adds a touch of elegance to the interior, while the penguin’s beak, flippers, and feet serve as eye-catching embellishments in orange.

The LOEWE Penguin bag seamlessly blends functionality with whimsy, featuring a detachable strap that allows for both hand-held and shoulder-carrying options. A secure zip closure ensures the safekeeping of personal belongings within the penguin’s body.

The bag weighs 0.17 kg. It is 10 cm high, 11 cm wide and has a depth of 33 cm. The length of the strap is 98 to 125 cm.

Price of LOEWE Penguin bag

The Penguin bag is priced at USD 1,450. It is available for purchase online.

Anderson’s latest masterpiece is sure to become a coveted collector’s item, a testament to his boundless creativity and commitment to pushing the boundaries of fashion.

LOEWE is a Spanish luxury fashion house founded in 1846. It is part of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and is the oldest luxury fashion house of the conglomerate headed by billionaire Bernard Arnault.

(Main and Featured images: LOEWE)

The post LOEWE Releases An Adorable Penguin Bag Priced At USD 1,450 appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’s wearing female rage on her face. Recently trending on TikTok for serving the ultimate glare, Auguste Toulmouche’s 1866 painting The Hesitant Fiancée is a startlingly lifelike impression of a woman who’s just tired of it (and you). 

Society has always appreciated fine art, and that same sentiment has persisted through the ages. Art has been admired for as long as it has been made, with notable pieces by world-renowned painters fetching millions at auctions. 

But, while our forefathers could only enjoy paintings that were right in front of them, modern-day art lovers are blessed with digitised scans of all their favourite pieces. It’s easier to share, and thus appreciate art. And even better – it’s now easier than ever to hold discourse on the meaning of any one painting, and modern art enthusiasts are taking to TikTok to proclaim the merits of their favourites. 

The renaissance of classical art in a time of memes has resulted in a delightful boom of cheeky, oftentimes hilarious content. And while some are simply aimed at giving art lovers a good chuckle, others, like Toulmouche’s newly-memed piece, provides an insightful look into our ancestors’ lives — women in particular, and the subject of marriage when one is unwilling. 

The painting that sparked a thousand TikToks 

The painting in question is the work of French artist Auguste Toulmouche, who was born in Nantes, France, in 1829. At just 19 years of age and under the tutelage of his teacher, the painter Charles Gleyre, he exhibited his first paintings at the Paris Salon in 1848.

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His work is mostly composed of elegantly dressed ladies of the upper class, painted in academic realism style. They were widely considered to be fashionable, winning the painter much public and critical acclaim. His masterpieces were purchased by the Emperor Napoleon III, and he received a third class medal at the Paris Salon in 1852, and a second class medal in 1861.

Despite his accolades, Toulmouche’s critics would remark upon his work with mild apathy, relegating their emphasis on luxuriously idle lifestyles and sumptuous fabrics to nothing more than “elegant trifles”. Indeed, novelist Émile Zola once referred to his paintings as the “delicious dolls of Toulmouche” — though that is perhaps an unfair assumption, given the meaningful depths behind the work in question. 

The Hesitant Fiancée, also known as The Reluctant Bride, was painted in 1866, when Toulmouche had begun to undertake more complex compositions within his paintings. The bride, clearly indicated by her opulent pearlescent garment, appears to merely tolerate the fawning of her female compatriots. The women appear to offer comfort, perhaps even reassurance of the merits of traditional marriage and feminine submission. She is clearly a woman of noble bearing and some manner of wealth, being surrounded by it; and yet, unabashed, displays obvious disdain for her impending fate — an uncommon occurrence for women of the time. 

To put it simply: She is not impressed, and her withering glare says it all. 

What is ‘The Hesitant Fiancee’ trend on TikTok? 

The women of TikTok have taken to the app to commiserate with the woman, co-opting her quietly furious expression and using it through the trend in response to a variety of situations: Annoyances, inconveniences, micro-aggressions from antagonistic peers, and everything else in between. While many of these responses warrant a hearty, light-hearted chuckle, some users have been quick to point out that the bride’s expression perfectly encapsulates the concept of female rage. 

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If you haven’t heard of the term, female or feminine rage can be summed up as an inherited, ancestral response to the struggles, frustrations, oppressions, and injustice that women have long been subjected to. While the notion has long existed in life and literature, it wasn’t until this year that the term famously exploded across social media, with many women embracing their female rage – especially given the resurgence of pop culture hits that perfectly showcased it. 

Audiences easily related with the women of these films – from Rosamund Pike’s Cool Girl monologue in Gone Girl and Taraji P. Henson’s bathroom troubles in Hidden Figures, to Angela Bassett’s fury in Wakanda Forever and Florence Pugh’s monologue about womanhood in Little Women. 

The success of The Hesitant Fiancée trend on TikTok comes as no surprise, given the current discourse around women who are just fed up with everything. Speaking to the New York Times, fine art gallery owner Joan Hawk muses on women’s changing attitudes on marriage, and how it affected the painting’s resurgence. To her, the bride’s scathing glare communicates, “Ugh, do I really have to go through with this?” 

In the same article, Los Angeles screenwriter Jenn Ficarra shares her belief that the painting received widespread success because many women can relate to the bride’s frustration in the face of “a situation in which she is expected to appear grateful.” This line of thought, while unconventional in 1800s Paris, is better received today — though based on just how popular the painting has become, it would seem we still have some ways to go. Until then, netizens can continue to vent their frustrations using the delightfully dour (and incredibly relatable) glower of our beloved bride.

(Main and featured image: Wikimedia/ Public Domain)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– Who is Auguste Toulmouche?

Auguste Toulmouche is a French painter who was born in Nantes, France, and based on Paris for the latter part of his career. His works are in the academic realism style.

– Why is The Hesitant Fianceé trending on TikTok?

The Hesitant Fianceé is trending on TikTok because women are relating to the woman’s glare, with many hailing it as a prime example of female, or feminine rage.

– What is female rage?

Female or feminine rage can be summed up as an inherited, ancestral response to the struggles, frustrations, oppressions, and injustice that women have long been subjected to.

– What is female rage in literature?

‘Feminine rage’ is a genre of works predominantly produced by female authors and artists, that depict female characters engaging in behaviour that is unconventional and socially unexpected of women in general.

– What is an example of female rage in film?

There are many examples of female rage in film, with the most popular being Rosamund Pike’s character in Gone Girl.

The post Who is She and Why is She Mad? Trending TikTok Painting Perfectly Encapsulates Female Rage appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Legend has it that Michelangelo created a series of artworks in a secret drawing room in 1530. That underground drawing room, located under the Museum of the Medici Chapels in Florence, is now open for public viewing for the first time.

According to the legend, there was an underground corridor that Michelangelo used to hide in for two months to escape the death sentence from the Medici family in 1530. During the time, the passage was mainly used for coal storage until it was unearthed in 1975 with the discovery of charcoal and chalk drawings. The walls were depicted a series of human figure sketches; nudes, faces, and different body parts.

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Michelangelo’s Secret Underground Drawings Open for Public Viewing for the First Time

Because of the evidence of the drawings’ resemblances to the David statue and The Fall of Phaeton, the director of the Medici Chapels at the time, Paolo Dal Poggetto, attributed the drawings to Michelangelo. Although some experts disagree with the census, it is believed that at least a part of it was created by Michelangelo.

The 33-foot-long secret drawing room now is open for public viewing until March 30, 2024 at the New Sacristy in the Museum of the Medici Chapels in Florence, Italy. The room only allows 100 people at a time, in one 15-minute interval.

Experience the secret underground corridor yourself. Book your tickets to the Medici Chapels here.

(Main and featured image: Mateus Campos Felipe/Unsplash)

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Golf can be addictive with its ability to capture players’ imagination and keep drawing them back to the golf course and re-engage with the challenges on offer. A major chunk of the credit for the sport’s appeal goes to the golf course architects and designers who create magic out of vast, and often barren, tracts of land and carve them into a golfer’s delight.

While we won’t delve into the debate whether a links, heathland or parkland is the true test of golf — for each course layout is unique and has its share of challenges — the architects behind the projects need to be feted for ensuring that the game’s imprint has deepened with time, and in a way that it has emerged as among the top global disciplines in sport.

Below, we revisit the pages of history and identify some of the top names whose designs have stood the test of time and continue to challenge ardent golfers around the world.

These are the most famous golf course architects and designers

1. Old Tom Morris (1821–1908)

Often referred to as the grand old man of golf, Thomas Mitchell Morris (Tom Morris) designed or renovated about 75 golf courses throughout his career in the British Isles. He was a mentor to prominent golf course architects such as A. W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross, and C.B. MacDonald. He was a forerunner in strategic golf course design, proposing the modern technique of positioning hazards in a way that they could be planned around. He also pioneered numerous novel ideas in turf and course management as well. Old Tom Morris continued to be passionate about golf right up until his passing at the age of 87. Morris was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1976.

Notable Designs: Prestwick, Jubilee Course – St Andrews Links, Royal Dornoch, Muirfield, Carnoustie, Royal County Down

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2. Dr Alister MacKenzie (1870–1934)

Widely regarded one of golf’s greatest architects and designers, Alister MacKenzie’s course creations are spread across four continents. A surgeon by training, MacKenzie served during the Boer War as a member of the British Army’s civilian medical corps. He made substantial contributions to military camouflage during World War 1, which he thought was quite similar to designing a golf course. He gave shape to more than 50 golf courses across the world and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. His designs are stunning in their simplicity as well as the degree of difficulty. He was widely recognised for his talent at fusing design elements with the scenic splendour of landscapes.

Notable Designs: Augusta National (home of The Masters), Cypress Point Club, West Course at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Jockey Club

3. Tom Fazio (1945-)

Considered one of the best modern golf course designers, Tom Fazio has created more than 200 courses in North, Central, and South America, South Africa, and Thailand. In 1995, he received the Old Tom Morris Award, the highest honour bestowed by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Fazio has an unwavering sense of how golf fits into a landscape, perhaps more than any other architect in history. A flashed bunker, or a shift in fairway direction, typically frames the holes on a Fazio course in order to highlight the stunning off-field landscape.

Notable Designs: Victoria National, The National Golf Club of Canada, Shadow Creek, TPC Myrtle Beach, Caves Valley

4. Pete Dye (1925–2020)

The “mad scientist” of golf course design, Pete Dye is a well-known architect in the golf course design world. He was renowned for changing regular, flat fields into tricky and magnificent courses. He mentored several of today’s most talented architects, including Tom Doak and Bill Coore. Over the course of his 94 years, he designed over 100 golf courses in Guatemala, Israel, Honduras, Italy, the Dominican Republic, Switzerland, China, and America. He often collaborated with his wife Alice throughout his designing career, and the two of them together represented the greatest design force in golf history. In 2008, Dye was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Notable Designs: Tournament Players Club Sawgrass (TPC Sawgrass), Whistling Straits, Trump National Golf Club (LA), Pebble Beach

5. Tom Doak (1961-)

An accomplished golf course architect who studied under the legendary Pete Dye, Tom Doak drew inspiration from both Dye and Alister MacKenzie while also incorporating his own creative flair. He traveled to Great Britain and Ireland to study golf courses after earning a degree in design and landscape architecture from Cornell University. His perceptions of golf course architecture were primarily shaped by this experience. Doak’s courses are distinguished by their reverent adoration for the nature and characteristics of the surrounding environment. With six books on golf course design to his name, Doak is also a skilled author.

Notable Designs: Pacific Dunes, Tara Iti, Medinah Country Club, Old Macdonald, Barnbougle Dunes

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6. A. W. Tillinghast (1876–1942)

One of the most prolific architects in golf history, A.W. Tillinghast worked on over 265 different courses over his career. He was introduced to Old Tom Morris in 1896, and after taking golf lessons at the St. Andrews Golf Club, developed a passion for the game. He had a profound belief that courses should be in harmony with the environment. He hated forced construction and templates. Tillinghast was a regular contributor to golf magazines in his day, and his thoughts are still relevant. In 2015, he became a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Notable Designs: Baltusrol Golf Club, Newport Country Club, San Francisco Golf Club, Winged Foot, Somerset Hills Country Club

7. Jack Nicklaus (1940-)

As the greatest professional golfer of all time, the name Jack Nicklaus is synonymous with the sport. In addition, Nicklaus is regarded as one of the top golf course designers in history. He believes that the design of golf courses is just another element of golf that keeps him passionate. Over 425 golf courses designed by his company, Nicklaus Design, are currently open for play in 45 different nations, 280 of which were created by ‘The Golden Bear’ himself. Although there are Nicklaus-designed courses in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, and Mexico, the majority are in the US. The International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) named Jack Nicklaus Golf Course Designer of the Year in 2017.

Notable Designs: Muirfield Village Golf Club, Sebonack, Castle Pines Golf Club, Monte Rei, Punta Espada, Kinloch Golf Club, Valhalla

8. Donald Ross (1872–1948)

With more than 400 designs to his credit, Donald Ross was a titan of the Golden Age of golf architecture. Ross was among the first professional golf course architects in America to establish a successful business. His courses have hosted more than 100 Major championships and USGA tournaments. Ross was a genius at routing courses and had a knack for making them accessible to beginners while still testing the most skilled players. Ross was also one of the founding members of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), an association for golf course architects in the United States.

Notable Designs: Pinehurst (No. 2), Seminole Golf Club, Oak Hill Country Club, Inverness, Essex County, Aronimink

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9. Robert Trent Jones Sr (1906–2000)

Robert Trent Jones Sr was one of the most respected golf course designers the game has ever seen. During his 70-year career, Jones developed or redesigned over 500 golf courses in 45 states in the United States and 35 countries, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1987. His golf design philosophy was to make every hole a difficult par but a simple bogey. The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America’s Old Tom Morris Award, the highest distinction bestowed by the organisation, was presented to Jones in 1987.

Notable Designs: Hazeltine National Golf Course, Spyglass Hill Golf Club, Valderrama Golf Club, The Greens at North Hills

10. Arnold Palmer (1929-2016)

One of the most celebrated professional golfers in history needs no introduction. ‘The King’, as he is known, started the Arnold Palmer Design Company in 1971 while still winning on the PGA Tour and actively participating in Major tournaments. More than fifty years later, there are more than 300 courses featuring Palmer’s name spread over 37 states, 25 nations, and five continents. Palmer’s strategic and environmentally conscious approach to golf course design has elevated him to the reputation of one of the world’s finest golf course architects and designers.

Notable Designs: Tralee, The K Club, Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, Bay Hill Club & Lounge, Tradition Golf Club, Adios, Old Tabby Links, Musgrove Mill, ArborLinks

(Main image: Royal County Down; Featured image: Seminole Golf Club)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– How do I choose a golf course architect?

Research the architects in your area or market, get recommendations from other golf course owners, check through online directories or portfolios, shortlist applicants for interviews, and conduct interviews to find out more about the applicants’ working methods and suitability for your project. Based on the interviews, ask for project proposals. While assessing the proposals, take into account the following factors: experience, creativity, budgeting, sustainability, timely completion, adherence to rules, and references. Make an informed decision.

– What skills do you need to be a golf course designer?

A comprehensive understanding of golf, interpersonal skills, active listening skills, administrative skills, customer service skills, problem-solving, and decision-making skills; proficiency with desktop publishing and graphics software; proficiency with computer-aided design (CAD) software; knowledge of construction materials and methodology; and more.

– Has Tiger Woods designed golf courses?

The former World No 1 has designed 13 golf courses through his golf course design firm, TGR Design. Some of them include Bluejack National, El Cardonal, and Payne’s Valley.

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Digital art enthusiast Gillian Howard tells Prestige why Hong Kong is the perfect place for technology and creativity to come together.

As Web3 continues to revolutionise the art world, local expert Gillian Howard is at the forefront of advancing art and culture through technology in Hong Kong. Born and raised in this city, 32-year-old Howard studied Global Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, and has since gained extensive experience in gallery and museum management, as well as consulting art institutions. But it’s her passion for digital art that led her to co-found the Digital Art Fair, whose second edition was held last month at K11 Musea.

Why made you decide to launch a fair for digital art?
I was interested in a lot of the artists and the process of making digital art. And I was curious, because most of the people who love to draw digital art are doing it online. So they’re on social media, but you rarely get to actually meet them. And these people are interesting. I think that an in-person fair, once a year, is a perfect way to grab these people to come out and mingle with them. They’re actually real artists who happen to make art behind a computer.

When did you first start selling digital art?
It was in 2014 or ’15, to Carrie Fisher from Star Wars. She was my first client. I didn’t know who she was. I had no idea. I even said to her, “You look so familiar.” When she bought it, she paid with her credit card
– and that’s when the CFO came to me and said, “Are you talking about the Carrie Fisher?” Everybody was just amazed. But I mean, it makes sense, right? Princess Leia of Star Wars bought digital art because she knew exactly what digital art was. Other than that, not many people really knew
at that time.

Why do you think Hong Kong is a good location for the fair?
I’m from Hong Kong, so that was important [laughs]. But, of course, we have a lot of technology and we’re a financial hub. We also have a very rich culture of art collecting, anything from ceramics and sculptures to digital art. So I think that all gives us a great jump start here in the city.

Are you planning to take the Digital Art Fair to other cities?
We’re looking at other cities that are also good with technology. Places like Dubai and Singapore. For some reason, we don’t think that Europe is ready yet. But we know that Dubai is a really great market at the moment, and it’s big on art collecting.

What excited you the most about this year’s Digital Art Fair?
We were in a new location at K11 Musea, which was great, and I think the work, the art selection overall. We’re a curator art fair, so we don’t let anyone pay to be there. The collection of the work in there was worth well over US$10 million, so it was really nice to see all of them together and give people a standard of what digital artwork looks like.

As a curator, have you ever been tempted to try creating art yourself?
I always wanted to be an artist, but my dad said no. Not because I’m Chinese, or because I’m Chinese and female. But because being an artist was already almost impossible in their society back then. Instead, he wanted me to be a journalist. So I went to study journalism, but then after finishing, as you can see, I actually I ended up being a gallerist.

As a mother, how do you try to bring art into your family life?
Let’s just say my daughter has wanted to become an artist since she was three years old. I’m terrified, because it’s not easy to be a professional artist. I’m worried for her – as a mother, you always get worried. She’s my little angel and she’s so artistic. Since she was little, she can sit down and just paint by herself for hours.

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How do you turn boring data into stunning art? Prestige asked French digital artist MAOTIK, whose work was showcased in Hong Kong at the recent Digital Art Fair.

Digital art may still be a new concept to most, but for Mathieu Le Sourd, also known as Maotik, it’s been the essence of his artistic career for more than two decades. The French artist, known for creating immersive environments, interactive installations, digital architectural sculptures, and audio-visual performances, returned to Hong Kong last month for the Digital Art Fair, where he showed off his fascinating collaborations of art, science and technology.

Although it isn’t his first visit to Hong Kong, Maotik tells me he’s excited to be back after many years. “Hong Kong has changed a lot over the last few years,” he says. “It’s a special place, of course its history, but also in terms of language, art and culture and team culture and everything. I haven’t been to the city for a long time, so I’m happy to see there’s a lot happening.”

In recent years, his work has been presented at international festivals and institutions around the world, including Mutek, Sonar, Oi Futuro in Rio, Art Basel, Frieze London, FIAC Paris, Signal Festival in Prague and the British Film Institute in London. And now, he’s added Hong Kong’s Digital Art Fair to his long list of accomplishments.

“Having an exhibition like this is still very new to me to be honest,” he tells me. “We as digital artists have always been on the side of contemporary art and it was a bit more challenging to have an exhibition for our art form.

“Until now, it’s been like the black box for digital art and the white box for contemporary art,” he said, adding “Nowadays, the tools are easier to use, and more and more artists are using it, so I think that there’s also more interest from the public in these kinds of digital art fairs.”

And he’s certainly seen his fair share of change over the years. In a world where there are countless newbie digital artists trying to get in on the game, Maotik is one of the OGs who’s not only mastered the art, but also taught it. He studied Digital Media Production at the University of the Arts in London, holds a master’s degree in Digital Arts from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, and was a professor with a focus on interactive design, generative design, and augmented and virtual reality environments at Berlin’s CODE university.

The result? Mesmerising computer-generated algorithms that create reality-shifting environments. But, of course, it’s a lot more complicated than that. Known for his immersive dome performances, Maotik designs his own audio-visual tools, generating real-time visual content from algorithms and creating 3D worlds that transform perceptions of space.

“My art is mainly based on a generative computer system,” he explains. “It’s a system that reacts to different kinds of information. I work in the field of music analysis and live performance, but also from data that I retrieve some from the internet, like the weather cast. It’s almost like some kind of audio-visual sculpture, like shapes from data or information.”

Understandably, as a result of the live data Maotik’s art could be considered pretty unpredictable. “It’s not really the idea of time – it’s more idea of events. Events actually help shape my work,” he tells me. “I’m very much into creating images that never look the same and creating an algorithm that can create, variate, and bring the audience into a state of meditation or something hypnotic.

“In terms of sound, you can just understand the rhythm and how the music works, but data is just numbers, so you have to create something that’s interesting. I like to try to experiment with different combinations. It’s showing you real-time information and surprises you like each time you open the system. This is what I’m interested in using data for.”

It’s this unpredictability, which never looks the same, that gives the artist the usual opportunity to join his own audience. “When I started using generative tools, I was interested to make the world my system, and also be part of the audience where I get to see my work and I can’t control everything,” he says.

He describes one ever-changing work, shown at the Digital Art Fair and titled Flow, as a “visualisation of an ocean. I was interested in the flow of the tides. Every time you go to the ocean it’s a bit different, because of the time of the day, the weather, the winds. The idea was to connect two different cities in the world that are close to the sea – and then to take data from each location every two minutes.”

To achieve these digitally dazzling results, Moatik is in constant collaboration with artists from other disciplines, including music, theatre, dance, architecture and even science, investigating the relation between arts and technology. “I’m a digital artist, but I’m interested in any kind of art, from cinema and photography to fashion and dance,” he says. “I’m always trying to discover new cultures, new gastronomy, new architecture and so on.”

Another recent collaboration is with TAEX, an interdisciplinary platform for artists, curators, and collectors to discuss, create, showcase and sell crypto art. It was TAEX that presented the artist’s work at the Digital Art Fair’s Prestige zone.

“To be honest, this is a whole new world of art and maybe I was a bit reluctant against things like cryptocurrency and NFTs – I didn’t really understand it or the need for it,” Maotik admits.

“But now there are curators who can regulate the market and create exhibitions. Even if it’s NFT projections or just a simple display screen, I think it’s important to have professionals such as these who can regulate,” he says. “I was waiting for the right time, and now is a good time for me to start working with TAEX.”

Now is also a good time to experiment with NFTs, according to Maotik, who’s about to release his first drop. “I initially wasn’t sure about NFTs, so this is my first try – it’s more of a test,” he admits. “I think it’s great that there’s a chance for digital artists to be able to sell their work. Until now,
most of my work has been presented

in exhibitions, galleries and museums that are temporary. So, I never sold my art to them. I’d often do an event space, or music performance, but then I just get paid for an hour performance. So the idea of people owning my work is completely new for me.” Aficionados will soon be able to get their hands on a set of four videos, each consisting of two minutes of Maotik magic. “I became interested in four different phases of matter – gas, liquid, solid, and plasma – and tried to use an algorithm to recreate those movements and textures,” he says of his collection. “I thought it could be a nice, almost like a small exhibition of my work, to just base myself on these four elements, and to release four NFT drops.”

Although NFTs have had a rough time of it lately, Maotik isn’t disillusioned in his first attempt. “I think I have a mixed opinions on NFTs,” he says. “But I just don’t want to be this conservative person that doesn’t want to try new and different experiences in life.”

The post Painting by Numbers: Meet Digital Artist Maotik appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Ora-Ora’s Henrietta Tsui-Leung expounds on her new Korean show and the thrill of the art world’s reinvention.

Are you coming to Paris? Do you see there are bedbugs in Paris? I saw it in the New York Times. I’m very scared. I don’t want to get bitten.” Henrietta Tsui-Leung, founder and CEO of Hong Kong’s Ora-Ora and co-founder of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association is speaking to us from her gallery in Tai Kwun, the day before she flies to Europe to partake for a second time in October’s Asia NOW art fair in Paris, running alongside the newly introduced Paris+ by Art Basel.

But the French capital has been experiencing a surge in bedbugs, with insects spotted in cinemas, on the city’s Metro and even the airport, and Paris deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire tells French television that unseasonal warmer weather means the issue is “widespread”. I assuage Tsui-Leung’s fears by suggesting the bedbugs are boarding Eurostar trains across the Channel, and riding London’s Bakerloo Tube line to Frieze London in Regent’s Park, to mark the occasion of the art fair’s 20th anniversary. Tsui-Leung’s concern is reminder that the original Frieze London in 2003 witnessed parades of insects crawling around the art tent, though today’s iterations bear little resemblance to their flimsy early millennial counterparts.

But then, bugs or no bugs, Tsui-Leung’s also been bitten by the current art buzz surrounding Paris. There’s a strong post-Brexit feeling that London’s art market is beginning to struggle; recent Sotheby’s and Christie’s sales were lacklustre; housing and studio space is more affordable in Paris than London, meaning artists get to collaborate more easily while living in the centre; Paris has benefitted from the launch of last year’s Paris+ by Art Basel, and a spate of leading galleries opening new premises in the City of Light – Gagosian, David Zwirner and White Cube all since Brexit, and Hauser & Wirth’s just debuted four-storey space in the 8^e arrondissement. 

What does Leung think? “Yes, for sure it’s happening. Unfortunately, the UK isn’t Europe any more, and Europeans don’t want to let the UK be the most interesting place. Friends of mine are bitter about the UK leaving Europe and don’t understand why you can’t say you’re part of Europe. That will make Paris the next centre. People there really want to make it work and are very motivated, and its collectors are very sophisticated.” 

As is Tsui-Leung’s prodigious reach and aspiration. She showed William Lim (there’ll be an upcoming show of his new project soon), Sophie Cheng and artificial intelligence (AI) artist Genesis Kai at Asia NOW, one month after showing YiYi Jeong-Eun, Joseph Tong, Finnish artist Juri Markkula and Stephen Thorpe at Kiaf (Korea International Art Fair) Seoul 2023. Most recently, she showed Kai and multi-hyphenate tech-artist and programmer Henry Chu at Hong Kong’s Digital Art Fair. 

And all of that the preface to this month’s show at Ora-Ora, Alive, Alive Oh!, by South Korean artist Yi Yi. Seoul-born Yi Yi, a Fine Arts bachelor and master’s graduate from Seoul National University, presents paintings inspired by real time and real places, but that are still somewhat abstract. “Although some of my Korean collectors have followed the evolution of my style through my previous exhibitions, this one allows me to present a comprehensive overview of my works, inspired by nature, including my morning and afternoon series,” the artist says.  

Visitors should be struck by the dynamism and energy suffusing Yi Yi’s canvases. “It’s all about the joy of being alive,” Yi Yi enthuses. “I hope people will feel the colourful energy of the scenery around us. Colour is a vital component: one recurrent motif is the rainbow, which can’t be owned or created by human hands; their vitality is not to be questioned or analysed but simply embraced.” Tsui-Leung calls the work “very dreamy” and says she fell in love with Yi Yi’s work on the spot. 

Leung had first seen Y Yi’s work at Kiaf in 2022, and made contact, much to the artist’s delight, through a mutual friend. “I was thrilled when she did because Ora-Ora was already on my radar,” says the artist, who’d been following the gallery’s social-media footprint for some time. “I’d been looking for a gallery to represent me from Hong Kong, the US or the UK and Ora-Ora had caught my eye because of their ability to discover and develop artists on the international stage. It seems like destiny when I think back on it,” she says. 

This pre-emptive and intuitive approach to sourcing artists has become a hallmark
of Tsui-Leung’s Ora-Oraism. She’s discovered and promoted the likes of Zhang Yanzi, who she’s taken to New York and museum shows in Europe, as well as Art Basel Hong Kong. She also represents Hangzhou-based Peng Jian and Chongqing’s Xiao Xu, whom she considers “excitingly contemporary artists with a real link to classical traditions”. She brought Finnish artist Juri Markkula to Hong Kong – and his ascent has been rapid since. “Seeing how sought-after his works have become has been tremendously rewarding,” she says. 

As recently as 2021, Ora-Ora became something of a pioneer in becoming the first gallery to show NFTs at an Art Basel fair during its Hong Kong iteration, through the Macanese artist Cindy Ng. “It’s an exciting technology and, and part of the joy of my role is to take the gallery in new directions,’’ says Tsui-Leung. But given the recent stalling of the NFT market, when I ask how she reflects on such innovation, unsurprisingly she has reservations. “However, we’re also glad we didn’t participate in some of the frenzy and excesses of the PFP market that followed. Blockchain has an important role to play in protecting the integrity of an artist’s work and proving provenance,” she says, “but we didn’t want to add to a wave of speculative price movements.”

Meanwhile, she’s already fast-tracking art’s next future, having signed up Ora-Ora’s first AI artist, Genesis Kai, conceptualised by Korean-Hong Kong artist Ming Shiu, who bills her creation, or avatar, as “the first Nova Sapien artist of the phygital world”.

“Genesis is text-based, she cannot draw,” explains Tsui-Leung. “So Ming, a photographer artist from NYU, instructs Genesis what to draw after lots of research.” Like many Koreans, Ming is obsessed by the Moon and all matters selenic, and has presented a gorgeous work on traditional hanji paper, The Red Prayer of Park Young Sook’s Moon Jar. Moon jars revolve around ideas of self-reflection, purity and prayer in Korean culture. The jar was appropriated from the Korean female octogenarian artist Park Young Sook, who, intrigued by Ming’s approach, allowed her to scan and combine it with her AI art. 

Kai’s ground-breaking approach raises interesting questions: what will the process of making art look like in the future; how much – or little – “human intervention” will exist in a work before we stop classifying something as art. And, the 64-million-dollar paradox: how will we assess the notion of good versus bad art, given that mediums for its production are now so rapidly evolving and changing.

Swiss architect Jacques Herzog remarked to this writer on the eve of Herzog & deMeuron’s M+ museum opening that he was struck by the number of high-ranking female professionals in Hong Kong’s art world, and specifically, at M+. So too, the number of female gallery owners and artists. While late to the cultural party, it seems Hong Kong is way ahead in the “story of art without men” stakes. How does Tsui-Leung assess this progressive evolution?

“It’s a topical question,” she says. “As a female entrepreneur, this is a subject close to my heart. We held an exhibition earlier this year, Semper Femina, solely for female artists, where we showed work by Peng Wei, Huang Dan, Zhang Yanzi and Nina Pryde. I do believe that women have a unique voice, and are able to touch on issues of great significance. Since then, we presented a solo show by an exciting young Hong Kong artist called Sophie Cheung, whom we’re also showing at Asia NOW in Paris.”

Tsui-Leung is part of a pioneering female gallery owner tribe, including Angela Li and Queen Rosita Law. To those considering launching their own gallery space, what would her advice be? “I hope we’ve been good examples,” she says modestly. “It’s a good time to be in Hong Kong, or to come here, and I hope the next generation of gallery owners are inspired by what they see around them. The new museums, the art fairs, the auctions, and the sheer interest in art among the public and collectors means that the landscape here is rich and varied. The principles are eternal, however: be generous with your time, know your subject and your artists, and share with others. The Hong Kong Gallery Association is a good place to start, and the meetings we hold are designed to be welcoming and supportive.”

Artistically, who does Tsui-Leung have an eye on? “Henry Chu is an exciting talent. He wears many hats – designer, programmer, and digital artist – and his work is always topical. He works with music and body movements, and the data he uses, whether on crypto prices, Covid infections or the weather, is often in real time. Secondly, Sophie Cheung. Again, an artist of many interests: she’s a writer, poet and human-rights activist. She delves into her personal history and that of Hong Kong to create innovative, beautiful works from erasers and newsprint.”

And how much has Hong Kong’s burgeoning art scene percolated into the city’s culture? “Everyone is on a learning curve, children and adults included. There are so many great artists, and we’re always looking at new discoveries. The art world is always fresh, always re-inventing itself. And it’s fun to learn more.

There are so many resources available now. The Hong Kong Museum of Art is free and easy to reach. M+ and the Palace Museum are phenomenal additions, which cover between them thousands of years of art history. We have children and art students coming to our gallery and they ask great questions about the artists we show them. It’s always my hope that children will be interested in art. I hope the range of art and media in the market these days will cater to every taste.”

As does Tsui-Leung. Go get thee to Ora-Ora, and get bitten by the power and exhilaration of the art bug. 

(Header image: AI artist Genesis Kai at Asia NOW in Paris)

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Tis’ the season to be jolly, and what better way to deck the halls than with a Christmas tree that’s worth its weight in gold (almost literally)? Holiday decor goes beyond tinsel and ornaments, and it’s time to take a twinkling journey through some of the most expensive Christmas trees across the world.

What sets these extravagant Christmas trees apart is their break from tradition. No traditional evergreen boughs here, as our list features designs by sparkle-loving creators who prefer precious gems and metals over natural branches and leaves. After all, during the festivities, a touch of glamour can take the celebrations to a whole new level. So, only for a while, let’s trade the cosy fireplace for a world of opulence where diamonds, gold, and platinum turn an ordinary Christmas tree into a jaw-dropping masterpiece.

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10 Most Expensive Christmas Trees Around the World

The Emirates Palace Hotel Decorated Christmas Tree (USD 11.4 million)

Abu Dhabi, not exactly synonymous with Christmas, surprised the world in 2010 by presenting the most expensive Christmas tree in history. Housed in the luxurious Emirates Palace Hotel, the tree itself wasn’t the costly part. Rather, it was the extravagant decorations that sent the price soaring. The tree is lavishly decorated with an array of gilded ornaments, including gold and jewel-encrusted baubles, creating a stunning visual spectacle. Gold is one of the hotel’s signature features, and it’s prominently featured in the Christmas tree’s design. Crowning the towering masterpiece is a star crafted from pure gold and adorned with diamonds and precious gems, significantly enhancing its value.

From bracelets and necklaces, to watches and other unusually expensive ornaments, the tree is collectively adorned with a stunning array of 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires, and various other precious gemstones. Its impressive size, often towering over 43 feet, not only contributes to its grandeur but also requires an abundance of decorations, further elevating its cost.

Situated in the hotel’s grand atrium, this show-stopping fixture offers guests an immersive and luxurious festive experience, with the spectacular backdrop of the Emirates Palace Hotel enhancing the tree’s opulence, making it a symbol of extravagance and holiday spirit.

As reported by the BBC, the tree itself is valued at a modest USD 10,000, but the jewellery adorning it, as stated by the hotel’s general manager Hans Olbertz, elevates its total worth to over USD 11 million. According to reports, the hotel has 24/7 security including four dedicated security guards closely watching the space. Phew!

Ginza Tanaka Disney Gold Christmas Tree (USD 4.2 million)

Ginza, Tokyo doesn’t clinch the top spot, but its solid gold creation is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Standing at 2.4 metres tall, this USD 4.27 million Christmas tree features 50 Disney characters crafted in pure gold. Weighing a total of 88 pounds, all in 24k, this tree is a true masterpiece and goes down in history to be one of the most expensive Christmas trees around the world. It took 10 skilled artisans two months to bring this Disney-themed treasure to life, making it a holiday spectacle like no other.

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Swarovski’s Tallest Christmas Tree in Asia at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur (USD 700,000)

In 2015, Swarovski, in partnership with Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, unveiled its tallest Christmas tree in Asia. In collaboration with Malaysia‘s premier shopping destination, a majestic Christmas tree was put up, impressively standing at 23 metres. It featured 175,000 clear crystals adorning over 3,100 crystal strands, collectively valued at over RM 3 million (USD 700,000). The tree was proudly showcased in the mall’s Centre Court, radiating its sparkling charm for all to enjoy.

Inspired by Swarovski‘s festive collection designed with Miranda Kerr, the Christmas tree included heart, star, and snowflake ornaments, symbolising love, joy, and the spirit of the season. At its pinnacle, a large star-shaped crystallised ornament shone brilliantly, serving as a reminder of hope and the future.

Takashimaya Department Store Preserved Rose Mini Christmas Tree (USD 1.8 million)

Size isn’t everything when it comes to commanding attention. Takashimaya, Japan, inspired by Parisian flower boutique Claude Quinquaud, created a 40-centimetre (16-inch) tree adorned with preserved roses, each featuring an alleged total of 400 diamonds from Australia and Africa. Diamonds sparkle like dewdrops on the petals, making this tree a true masterpiece. An accompanying diamond pendant lends an added touch of luxury to this USD 1.8 million creation.

Ginza Tanaka Jewelry Shop – Tabletop Tree (USD 1.95 million)

Ginza Tanaka, the renowned Japanese jewellery company, is celebrated for its craftsmanship in  unconventional items. Its portfolio boasts a remarkable array of creations, including a dress meticulously assembled from precious coins, a swimsuit intricately woven from the finest gold threads, a calendar crafted entirely from this noble metal, and even a Santa Claus figurine.

However, the crowning jewel of the collection lies in its exquisite assortment of Christmas trees, each meticulously handcrafted from pure gold. In 2016, Ginza Tanaka in Tokyo, took the stage with a 6.6-foot Christmas tree made from 42 pounds of pure 24-carat gold processed into thin golden wires. One of the world’s most expensive Christmas trees, this tree spreads Christmas cheer with a generous touch of grandeur.

Washington DC Capitol Christmas Tree (USD 1 million)

In Washington, D.C., the tradition of a grand Christmas tree continues, dating back to 1964. This massive tree, sometimes exceeding 20 metres in height, is replanted right in front of the White House, roots and all, once it’s holiday-ready. Adorned with thousands of light bulbs, the logistics of transporting this conifer while ensuring its roots remain intact make it a million-dollar spectacle that both locals and visitors eagerly anticipate.

The price for putting on this extravagant display? A whopping USD 1 million.

Soo Kee Jewellery Diamond Tree (USD 1 million)

In 2007, Singapore’s Bugis Junction shopping mall commissioned local jeweller Soo Kee to create a 6-metre, 3-ton Christmas tree adorned with 21,798 diamonds totalling 913 carats. With 3,762 crystal beads and 500 light bulbs, this dazzling creation was a sight to behold. To protect the expensive tree, it was placed under 24/7 surveillance, ensuring every precious gem remained untouched and secure.

Steve Quick Jewelers Gold Tabletop Tree (USD 500,000)

In 2007, jeweller Steve Quick set out to create an elegant and charitable masterpiece. Fashioned from 18k of solid gold, this glistening Christmas tree is scattered with diamonds, evoking the image of crisp snow. Topping this golden creation is a star made from platinum and a 4.52-carat diamond, which can be detached and used as a pendant. An eBay auction of this exquisite tree raised funds for the American Cancer Society. Quick also introduced more affordable silver and gold-plated versions, ensuring that everyone could enjoy a touch of luxury.

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12 Kg Ginza Tanaka Christmas Tree (USD 468,000)

Tokyo’s Ginza Tanaka, known for its affinity for gold, created a 12-kilogram solid gold Christmas tree, which, in today’s currency, is valued at USD 468,000. Ginza, historically known as a mint, holds a reputation as a place where money was coined. It’s not just famous for its gold creations but also for its astronomical land values. Westerners find themselves right at home in this vibrant district, which has embraced Western influences since the 1872 fire that transformed the area. Ginza Tanaka’s creations are so opulent, it’s no surprise the company features on the list of most expensive Christmas trees more than once.

Sofitel London St. James Black Tree Decorated with Cognac (USD 55,000)

Over in London, the Sofitel London St. James hotel pays homage to the city’s unique blend of pub culture and posh elegance. Their Christmas tree, priced at USD 55,000, is far from traditional. It features a seemingly ordinary metal frame adorned with 200 miniature 24k gold bottles containing Louis XIII Grande Champagne Cognac.

Handcrafted by Baccarat masters, this tree also boasts an exclusive smoky-blue chandelier. To make the experience even more special, the hotel offered guests the chance to indulge in a USD 3,600 Christmas spa package, complete with a gift of exquisite Baccarat decorations. Caution is advised when navigating this spectacular creation; starting from the top might be wise to avoid a potentially dizzying mishap.

Which of the most expensive Christmas trees in the world is your favourite?

(Main image and featured image:Tamara Kaliuzhna/ iStock)

The post 10 Most Expensive Christmas Trees Around the World appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

“I love experimenting with different mediums and materials. In the end I’m trying to convey images that stay in people’s minds.” 

Zooming with French-Vietnamese artist Julie Curtiss in Florida, one is struck by the contrast between her dreamy, pristine, Neo-Surreal canvases, and the scattered nature of the moment, given preparations for “Bitter Apples”, her pending exhibition at White Cube Hong Kong, marking her inaugural solo show in Asia. “Can you hear me?” she asks, “there’s so much echo in here.” The Paris-born, Brooklyn-based Curtiss acquired this second home during Covid, though it functions more like a studio. “We don’t spend much time here,” she explains from the top of the structure, referring to her partner and fellow artist Clinton King, who sits downstairs as we talk. 

Less is evidently more. The new works at White Cube exude a Floridian flamboyance of birds (think black flamingo), insects, an alligator and lush tropical plants. “I have been so overwhelmed with nature, warmth, and liveliness. There are so many creatures, it’s like coming back to life,” she enthuses. And this being Curtiss, where there’s nature, there’s nurture, and a chance for to play with favoured themes; gender, temptation and sexuality. Since last year she’s been mulling content with “a biblical theme”, and “obsessing over” art-historical depictions of Paradise in paintings by Hieronymus Bosch (Garden of Earthly Delights,1490-1510) and Jan van Eyck (Ghent Altarpiece, 1492).

“I did think about the Garden of Eden,”- her Eve has tan lines – “and the male element looking in. The relationship of the sexes but not in a sexual way, more a fun kind of way. That creeps into the work; like, I’ve had to paint a couple of penises. So, there are two Adam and Eve paintings in the show.” It’s not as though Curtiss hasn’t painted protuberances before but how does she think these iterations, ahem … measure up? She approves. “But… I didn’t want something that would make people say… ‘Oh, this looks like shallots.’” [Cue Laughter].

How very Curtiss. A graduate of L’École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, involving exchange programmes in Dresden and Chicago, she moved first to Japan before settling in Brooklyn, working in the studio of American arts KAWS, before evolving into the art phenom she is today, straddling the high and low divide across the global aesthetic radar. She is followed equally by private galleries yet also by legions of social-media aspirants, collectors, fellow artists and hypevisualites. She wears a humbled and honoured disposition about her. My first meeting with Curtiss, having never seen her before, was the occasion of her White Cube Mason’s Yard, London show in 2021. I arrived 30 minutes early for the 10am opening, with a woman who opened the door for me. “So, who do you work for?” I enquired once inside, thinking she must be a journalist or gallerina. “Oh…” she blushed. “I’m the artist.”

For one so on the radar, she’s remarkably sub-radar. She elaborates. “Maybe I could be more visible, but first of all, I’m an introvert. I can disappear. I’m not really into the trend of an art persona. It might be cool with other people, but the work is more important than a specific agenda.” Indeed. “I prefer things that are layered and don’t give clear answers. I don’ have a clear place where I sit. I have a very psychological relationship to my work.”

And what work. Curtiss paints seductive, seemingly perfect pictures, which on closer inspection very quickly unsettle. Think René Magritte meets Meret Oppenheim. Curtiss evokes faceless bodies and mines themes of opposition; attraction and repulsion, animate versus inanimate, doppelgängers and twins, with highly polished dollops of fetishism and erotica. She takes point-of-view to an exaggerated point-of-voyeurism (one of her works is called Voyeuse, 2018) by depicting close-up, unusual views of familiar subjects creating a dreamlike universe in which we can’t ascertain the sense or direction of the narrative. We become discombobulated and almost conspiratorial as Curtiss fixates our gaze on Medusa-like hair (which for her functions like skin), extended painted fingernails, sushi, fish scales, heels, hats, feet, nipples like cones, Oxford brogues, pieces of cake, cuts of meat, and more. “I’m very narrative driven in my work. I feel that I’m dreaming, like there’s a story but you’re not quite sure, you as a viewer have to make the story.”

And that story’s about to up a notch at White Cube Hong Kong with Curtiss’ first video, or short film, the titular Bitter Apples. At the time of our discussion it was still a work in progress. “There’s a scene I haven’t finished yet. The film will probably be seven minutes [it is]. There is no dialogue, but there is sound, there are voices, like a Jacques Tati movie. It’s doesn’t mean anything but they do convey something. It’s going to be the video as an extension of my thinking, like a living tableau. It’s very much theatrical.”

The film happened more by accident than design. Accompanying her partner on his Tokyo artist residency in March, Curtiss hit a stuck-in-a-rut Lost In Translation moment. “I thought that I have to make something, but each morning I woke up and realised I was highly unmotivated to paint. I was bored. So one morning – at that point I didn’t have much time, like a month-and-a-half – I woke up and thought I’d shoot a short film. I have a good friend who’s a video maker there.”

She took inspiration from legendary American female experimental auteur Maya Deren’s 1943 Meshes of the Afternoon, a 14-minute short film, which also features its maker as protagonist, and low-tech effects instilling a sense of disquiet into everyday settings and objects. Curtiss, taking on an ‘Alice-through-the-Looking-Glass’ role, sleeps in a ‘Love Hotel’, wanders through the Tokyo Metro, a cherry blossom orchard, and a kitchen. Lights flicker, fish wink, tentacles curl and toes unfurl on a pair of Nature’s elevated sandals. Very little is as it seems. “It was so low budget,” she says of the film. “I have a scene with a spinning hat, it’s very dreamy but quite ridiculous. It spins! (And gets appropriated in the canvas Waiting for UFO, 2023, in White Cube).

How was the transition to video? “I happen to be mainly a painter but I need a constant stimulation or input; that’s also why I do sculpture,” says Curtiss. “And I love experimenting with different mediums and materials. In the end I’m trying to convey images that stay in people’s minds. I liked working with video, it was great because it’s new and stimulating. But with video you have to be more directed in telling the story while still keeping it open.”

Despite being half-Vietnamese and having spent time in Tokyo, Curtiss doesn’t consider herself especially “Asian literate” when I tell her how much the vibe pervades her work. During the course of DM-ing on Insta, I share a post featuring Jennie [Kim] from all-girl K-Pop band Blackpink promoting the new Chanel 22 bag campaign: “I’ve heard of her! K-Pop is a world unknown to me :-)” she responds. I’d asked what she feels about the work of Japanese painter Yoshitomo Nara during our Zoom. “Nothing,” she says, but caveats: “I used to like his work, and used to like his posts, but now I don’t feel anything anymore.” Yet Curtiss can conjure a faceless Tokyo-inspired Ramen girl, Noodle Shop (2023), that matches the poignancy of any Nara.

Curtiss, whose most expensive sale to date at auction is US$466,200, credits Instagram for her success. “Social media made its way into the art world. It was all very new and green. Mine was the right kind of work, at the right time ,at the right place. It was already my central interest. Plus, I’m an intuitive person.” And global citizen. “The Asian influences you sense are the influences in Asia in general on the culture and I’m at the intersection of both. Maybe that gives me an advantage,” she adds.

Maya Deren once wrote in 1946 that “for more than anything else, cinema consists of the eye for magic – that which perceives and reveals the marvellous in whatsoever it looks upon.” As does Curtiss. But where frames and scale and gallery borders limit even her most creative painterly and sculptural wonder – extravagant and considerable though they are – in moving pictures she appears to have thrown the leash off, albeit in subtle, deft, psychological, playful and innovative ways. Her seven-minute filmic fable Bitter Apples is so unexpectedly intense, suspense-laden and fabulous, it all but out-Lynch’s David. “I like to create branches like open doors,” she says, “so I can come back to them later.” If that sounds like a threat and a promise – the classic Curtiss confrontation – then bring on Bitter Apples 2.

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Photographer and artist Stephanie Teng’s works often revolve around the sun, the moon and the stars, but through searching for meaning in the heavens, she hopes she’s able to create a space for people to process their emotions.  

There is a sacred space between love and fear that allows for discovery to take flight. Humans have been fascinated by the stars and the heavens, long before organized religion and the technological possibilities of space exploration. We look up at the sky when we’re daydreaming, when we’re holding back tears, when we’re feeling hopeful or triumphant, in prayer, in ecstasy, in doubt or in wonder. Gazing upward is almost built into our psyche and behaviour, as if we were destined to imagine something beyond the human realm or trace the origins of our existence. 

It was this very instinctive act of looking up that inspired my work, Solace: a dance with the moon, 2020 and 8 Minutes From The Sun, 2021. Both series of photographic works were created over the course of two years, driven by a culmination of emotional responses to the Umbrella Movement and the pandemic. The images in Solace were photographed using the multiple exposure technique, in-camera, with no post-production, en plein air, handheld in the dark (or dusk). Because of the technical parameters I imposed on myself, the process required a rigorous stillness of the body and mind. I had to hold my breath for the duration of each image – as I “drew” my lens across the “canvas” of the sky, creating patterns within the frame. During the exhibition, the space was intentionally lit in a way that presented the illusion of a dark night sky, illuminated only by the moons on the walls. The opening night was also accompanied by music and spoken word poetry performances that brought people together for the first time in a long time after lockdown. 

Through searching for meaning in the heavens, I was able to find a sense of peace from within by looking outward and creating a space for people to process their own emotional journeys. Loneliness or grief only becomes dangerous when we feel like we are suffering alone. Similar to 8 Minutes From The Sun, Temple Of The Ordinary was a cave-like sound and light installation with found rocks, water and a mirrored floor with a blue light “in the sky” that spun endlessly on a loop, mirroring our negative cognitive spirals. I have always had an affinity with dark spaces because I fell in love with photography in the darkroom. It was a meditative space that transcended time or place and gave rise to clarity. In this day
and age, however, people often associate darkness with fear or other negative emotions rather than intrigue or mysticism. But if we look back at ancient Greek mythology, Chaos – “the void from which all else sprang” – gave birth to the primordial gods and was seen as a symbol of creation rather than destruction, of limitless possibility rather than nothingness.

Perhaps this is why I am obsessed with recreating this feeling in my work. As we watch ourselves enter an era of disassociation, escapism and anxiety-ridden parallel realities – I hope we won’t forget the wisdom that came before us. It’s easy to be caught up in the tides of change, but as Time flows by, it’s important to remember what it means to be human and create environments that hold space for people to safely sit with their pain; challenge their own comforts; and remember that life comes in natural rhythms, not algorithms. From our internal and external worlds to the planet we inhabit, if we learn to truly love it we will want to care for it. No matter what our method or madness, the hope is that we never forget that everything is connected, in this life or possibly, the next. 

So I hope you’ll choose love over fear, time and time again. 

The post Stephanie Teng’s Love Letter to the Moon appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Barbara Walters, the pioneering television news broadcaster and longtime ABC News anchor and correspondent, is a name that transcends mere recognition. She is the woman who not only shattered the glass ceiling but emerged as a dominant force in an industry once staunchly controlled by men. Beyond her groundbreaking interviews and journalistic prowess, Barbara Walters possesses a noteworthy eye for art, fashion, and decor, which, like her career, has left an indelible imprint on the world of style. Now, in what seems like a dream for admirers of Walters, Bonhams announces The Estate of Barbara Walters: An American Icon – an auction of the icon’s precious memorabilia on November 6.

Walters, an enduring presence in American households for generations, remained an iconic figure until her passing last year (2022) at the age of 93. The fierce go-getter made history as the first female co-host on NBC’s Today show, and was even the first female network news anchor on ABC Evening News.

With her remarkable interview skills and a career spanning over five decades, she co-hosted 20/20, created The View, and interviewed an array of influential figures, including US Presidents and cultural icons — from Richard and Pat Nixon to Barack and Michelle Obama. According to ABC News, she once boldly revealed, “I asked Vladimir Putin if he ever ordered anyone to be killed. For the record, he said ‘no’.”

Her numerous honours and awards, such as 11 Emmy Awards and induction into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame, serve as examples of her empowering influence.

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Bonhams announces The Estate of Barbara Walters: An American Icon auction

On November 6, Bonhams New York will auction over 300 cherished items from Barbara Walters’ opulent Upper East Side Manhattan apartment. The star of the show is her jaw-dropping jewellery collection, worth a staggering USD 8 million, boasting 120 exquisite pieces alongside American art and other treasures.

From October 17 to 19, Bonhams will present a special preview of these exquisite jewels featured in the Barbara Walters Estate Auction. Explore these stunning pieces at Bonhams Hong Kong Saleroom, located on the 20th floor of One Pacific Place in the heart of Admiralty. It’s a rare opportunity to get an up-close look at these magnificent jewels before the auction takes place.

But the journey doesn’t end there; an online sale runs from October 29 to November 7, ensuring a wider audience gets a chance to own a piece of her legacy. The collection also goes on tour, starting in Boston at Bonhams Skinner, followed by Los Angeles, and an international tour through Europe and Asia, all leading to the grand finale in New York.

Walters’ Upper East Side apartment, expertly curated by designer Mario Buatta, offers a unique blend of classical elegance and contemporary statements. The interior blends ornate, feminine touches with bold elements, revealing her distinctive character.

The collection of art further amplifies her essence, with paintings often portraying women as central figures and idyllic scenes, all set against a backdrop of vivid colours and a striking, red-walled library.

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Exquisite Finds From Barbara Walters’ Estate At Bonhams

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Barbara Walters held a deep connection to American art, especially as it reminded her of her New England heritage. The paintings up for auction seamlessly adorned her home, lending an air of sophistication that beautifully showcased these 19th-century masterpieces. Below are some standout pieces up for sale.

Frank W. Benson’s “Firelight”

Price: Estimated between USD 400,000 – USD 600,000.

Among the standout pieces is Frank W. Benson’s “Firelight” painted in 1893. The American masterpiece is celebrated for its ability to capture emotion and light, and depicts a serene moment – a mother and child basking in the warm glow of a fireplace, radiating tenderness and timelessness. “Firelight” embodies cosiness and family love, which made it a favourite among art enthusiasts like Barbara Walters. It’s a testament to Walters’ appreciation for art that tells a story and evokes passion, and it holds a special place in her esteemed collection.

Childe Hassam’s “Flower Girls (Peonies)”

Price: Estimated between USD 1,000,000 – USD 1,500,000

Childe Hassam’s “Flower Girls (Peonies)” is a stunning masterpiece painted between 1888-1889, showcasing the artist’s talent in capturing the delicate beauty of peonies. The artwork is a vibrant celebration of nature, vividly portraying these exquisite flowers. Hassam’s skillful use of colour and light brings the peonies to life, making them the central focus of the composition. This painting shows Hassam’s expertise in impressionist techniques, and his ability to infuse everyday subjects with elegance and charm. Barbara Walters held it dear as one of her favourites, as it reminded her of the charming flower markets of Paris.

William Merritt Chase’s “The Tenth Street Studio”

Price: Estimated between USD 700,000 – USD 1,000,000.

Prominently displayed in Walters’ living room was “The Tenth Street Studio” (1884-1915) by William Merritt Chase, a museum-worthy masterpiece that captured the essence of her art collection. This prized possession of Walters’ is an iconic work of American art that captures the artist’s talent in depicting the essence of the 19th-century studio. The masterpiece portrays the vibrancy and creativity of the New York art scene during that era. 

John Singer Sargent’s “Egyptian Woman (Coin Necklace)”

Price: Estimated between USD 1.2 – 1.8 million.

“Egyptian Woman (Coin Necklace)” (1891) is a distinguished work by John Singer Sargent. The grace and allure of Sargent’s subjects are beautifully rendered in this painting. The painting showcases an intriguing profile of a woman adorned with a coin necklace, exuding an air of mystery and elegance. Sargent’s meticulous attention to detail and his ability to depict the subject’s facial features with precision make this artwork a testament to his artistry.

The Estate of Barbara Walters at Bonhams: Fashion and Jewellery

Walters was celebrated not only for her exceptional journalism but also for her distinctive style, often gracing significant interviews and broadcasts bedecked in bold earrings, smart ensembles, and intriguing brooches. Her collection of clothes and jewellery is an intrinsic part of her audacious identity worn both personally and professionally.

Hermès Etoupe Clemence Victoria II 

Price: USD 2,000 – USD 3,000

The Hermès Etoupe Clemence Victoria II 35cm handbag is an elegant creation by the French fashion house. With its versatile Etoupe colour, spacious design, and high-quality Clemence leather, it’s both luxurious and practical.

Italian-Made 18K Gold And Diamond Evening Clutch

Estimated between USD 10,000 – USD 15,000.

This exquisite 18K gold and diamond evening clutch, a product of Italian craftsmanship, carries with it a legacy. Once owned by Barbara Walters, the clutch features an intricate woven and textured design adorned with single-cut diamond fluting and delicate floral details. Its estimated total diamond weight is 3.25 carats. With Italian assay marks and measuring 6 x 3 x 2 inches, this clutch is both a testament to elegance and a piece of history.

Oscar De La Renta Green Damask Strapless Gown

Price: Estimated between USD 400 – USD 600.

This iconic piece from Barbara Walters’ collection is a stunning Oscar De La Renta Green Damask Strapless Gown, circa 2011. A true representation of timeless fashion, this gown boasts elegance and style that align with Walters’ impeccable taste. Now, it’s a part of fashion history and ready for its next chapter.

19K Gold And Aluminium Ear Clips

Price: Estimated between USD 3,000 – USD 5,000.

Among the remarkable pieces in Barbara Walters’ collection, you’ll find a pair of 19K Gold and aluminium ear clips that beautifully resemble delicate rose petals. These exquisite earrings showcase feminine artistry at its finest, making them a standout addition to Walters’ curated treasures.

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JAR Diamond And Gem-Set Earrings

Price: Estimated between USD 180,000 – USD 250,000.

This Pair of Diamond and Gemset Earrings, France, is a dazzling beauty that comes with a hefty price tag. These exquisite earrings by JAR, captivate with their intricate design and striking colours, featuring both diamonds and gemstones.

A Ruby And Diamond Brooch And Mid-Century Diamond Bow Brooch 

Price: Estimated between USD 12,000 – 18,000 and USD 20,000 – USD 30,000 (Respectively).

Barbara Walters’ estate auction by Bonhams boasts a captivating array of brooches, including a stunning Ruby and Diamond brooch and a mid-century Diamond bow brooch. 

The flower-shaped Ruby brooch is a beautiful piece adorned with invisibly-set square-cut rubies and round brilliant-cut diamonds. It boasts an estimated total ruby weight of 28.00 carats and an estimated total diamond weight of 3.10 carats. The brooch is mounted in 18k gold and measures 2½ x 2½ inches. The mid-century diamond bow brooch from France, circa 1960, features a design in the shape of a bow set with baguette and round brilliant-cut diamonds. It includes French assay marks and has an estimated total diamond weight of 26.00 carats. The brooch is mounted in platinum and measures 3 x 2¼ inches.

Harry Winston Diamond Ring

Price: Estimated between USD 600,000 – 900,000

Up for auction is Barbara Walters’ Harry Winston engagement ring from Merv Adelson. This stunning ring features a 13.84-carat emerald-cut diamond flanked by trilliant-cut diamonds weighing 1.46 carats. Walters wore this ring to numerous events, including a 1985 gathering at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, where American GI liberators of World War II were honoured.

Décor, Furniture, and Personal Items

Barbara’s diverse collection reflects the colourful tapestry of her life. Each item holds a unique story, telling her vibrant experiences. The collection includes objets d’art that tell the tales of her extensive travels, serving as tangible memories of her adventures around the world.

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William and Mary Brass Bound Chinoiserie Cabinet 

Price: Estimated between USD 8,000 – USD 12,000.

The collection of furniture includes a William and Mary Brass Bound Chinoiserie decorated cabinet from the late 17th century. It features a design style inspired by Asian art and culture. This artistic approach was highly popular during the late 17th century in Europe, and it is reflected in the ornate and detailed motifs adorning this cabinet. The use of brass-bound details adds a regal aesthetic to the piece.

Royal Crown Derby Imari Porcelain Dinner Set

Price: Estimated between USD 800 – USD 1,200.

Among Barbara’s collection, you’ll find a Royal Crown Derby Imari Porcelain Dinner Set adding a touch of sophistication to her meal-time. The dinner set features the iconic Imari pattern, a design inspired by traditional Japanese Imari porcelain with its distinctive hues rich gilding. Each piece in the set is adorned with intricate hand-painted motifs that showcase the artistry of Royal Crown Derby’s skilled artisans. The intricate patterns have been a symbol of luxury and opulence for centuries. This dinner set includes a range of pieces, from dinner plates to tea cups, each meticulously crafted to perfection. 

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The 18th Century Continental Rococo Chinoiserie-Decorated Bookcase

Price: Estimated between USD 3,000 – 5,000.

Apart from its 18th century Italian design, what makes the Continental Rococo Chinoiserie-Decorated Red Lacquered Secrétaire special is its alleged connection to Walters. It is believed that within the confines of this beautifully crafted piece of furniture, Walters penned heartfelt letters to her beloved friends and family. This adds an extra layer of sentimental value to an already exceptional piece.

The Barbara Walters legacy lives on

In keeping with Walters’ generous spirit, the net proceeds from this spectacular sale will be devoted to supporting the cherished causes closest to her heart, adding an extra layer of meaning and magnificence to the event.

Reflecting on her mother’s sentiments about her cherished items going up for auction, Jacqueline Danforth, Walters’ daughter, shared, “My mother was a dedicated journalist, a loyal friend, and a loving mother. Our home was always adorned with fascinating and beautiful mementos from her remarkable and diverse life. I believe she would find solace in knowing that these beloved pieces will be appreciated and well-cared for.”

Explore the entire Barbara Walters auction collection here.

(Main image and featured image credit: Bonhams)

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Know the future of art before it happens courtesy of Yuki Terase’s Art Intelligence Global, and Eugenio Re Rebaudengo.

Pia Krajewski, a German artist exhibiting at Art Intelligence Global’s (AIG) new show in Wong Chuk Hang, Voice of a Generation: Works from the Collezione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, curated by Eugenio Re Rebaudengo, is not a name we’re familiar with, having discovered her work only 12 hours before our discussions with Yuki Terase, co-founder of AIG and Rebaudengo, on the eve of their combined exhibition. But having made such unexpected and delightful discovery, we can’t help but be swayed by her seductive abstractions, her geometric catchiness, redolent in fragments, of American artist Loie Hollowell, and French-Vietnamese impressaria Julie Curtiss. Yet, there’s a recondite but compelling singularity about her work, which seems invested with a sort of Kengo Kuma ‘zen’ – i.e. it shouts without making a sound.

“It’s interesting you respond so strongly to her work on a screen,” says Terase, who admits that she too hadn’t known of Krajewski until being introduced by Rebaudengo. “I wasn’t sure at first, and did a virtual studio visit with her during Covid, but later went to Düsseldorf and got to know her and the work in the studio, which left a big impression on me. I bought some there and then.”

Says Krajewski: “Eugenio bought one of the very first works of mine and supported me and my work ever since. I feel very lucky to have met him and have him as a wonderful supporter and friend.” Krajewski’s rise has been so prolific that as well as showing through AIG, she’s currently exhibiting at Fondation Carmignac, Porquerolles in the south of France, and will feature in a three-artist exhibition later this month alongside Antonia Freisburger and Antonia Rodrian at Kunst im Tunnel KIT Düsseldorf, until February 2024.

Call it the Rebaudengo effect. Just as his mother, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, who began collecting in the early 1990s and founded the Turin-based non-profit contemporary Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in 1995, discovered artistic luminaries of her time such as Maurizio Cattelan, Cindy Sherman, and Rudolf Stengel, her son Eugenio Rebaudengo, collector, curator, entrepreneur and writer, has been discovering and supporting his generation’s talent. He has especially focused on identifying gifted young artists and supporting the development of their careers and organised more than 40 exhibitions worldwide. “I was very lucky over the years that my mother involved me in the way that she did, and I was closely involved,” he says.

Terase and Rebaudengo have known each other for almost seven years. “I went to see one of his shows, liked one of the artists [David Czupryn] and bought one of the pieces,” says Terase. The idea of staging a collaborative show had been uppermost in their minds, but Terase’s role as head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, during which she enlisted luminaries such as K-Pop star and art persona T.O.P to curate a show in the city, precluded her from working with Rebaudengo. Until now, with AIG, the Hong Kong and New York-based art advisory she set up in 2021 with Amy Cappellazzo. “This exhibition is especially dear to me because Eugenio and Olga [his wife] and I have been discussing how we can collaborate over the years and finally our vision came true,” says Terase.

But we wonder, is it not strange that she’s staging a show in which none of the works are for sale? Not when it’s about content, she enlightens us. “We’re not a gallery, we don’t represent artists, we don’t do shows,” she says. “That’s not our mainstream business model. But this is more like a showroom, where we can connect with the audience here by bringing shows which one might seldom see in Asia. And then we can start the dialogue; this is more about client engagement. So this is our first non-selling show here. It makes a lot of sense because in Asia there’s a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and passion for art but there’s a lack of content. That’s still developing, and bringing a show like this benefits us all in the short term.”

Hence this show, featuring eight artists – Michael Armitage, Ian Cheng, David Czupryn, Sanya Kantarovsky, Josh Kline, Pia Krajewski, Christina Quarles and Avery Singer. “Voices comprises the idea of a time capsule, focusing on my generation of artists, born between 1979 and 1990,” Rebaudengo says. “These were artists I’ve been collecting since they started their careers, so the stage many of them are at now, was not something anyone could have predicted when I first got to know them.”

While Terase notes the enthusiasm among collectors in Asia for “buying trendy or popular artists”, she thinks this exhibition presents something they can learn from. “It shows the importance of getting to know an artist, taking the time to grow a relationship with the work. And then you get to see how an artist creates a work, you’re building a patronage with the artist, the person behind it, and how they evolve, and how you evolve as a collector.”

Which encapsulates Rebaudengo’s Fondazione throughout. “This is very much the spirit of this foundation,” Terase says. “You look at it now, because of his mother, and think that there are so many blue chip artists in the collection. But this was not the case at the beginning. His mother came to know artists like Maurizio Cattelan when he was first starting out. And it’s the same with Eugenio and his group of artists. And a lot of Asian individuals are in the process of setting up private museums, and building provenance and again that’s another reason I wanted the show here. We look at case studies of such things and consider how AIG can add value to it.”

Just days before we speak with Rebaudengo, he’s been scouted by Adrian Cheng to help co-run the hypepreneur’s newly established K11 Art Foundation International Council, with a mission to support and nurture young Asian artists. “This is very new,” Rebaudengo says. “I think the mission of supporting young artists is very much aligned to what we’re doing at the Fondazione (We speak with him only days after his arrival from visits to Kiaf Seoul and Frieze Seoul and a quick stop in Japan). “I see a growing, vibrant place here. People are curious, hungry and passionate about their art. And I’m very excited about this prospect and the opportunity.”

The foundation regularly commissions artists to produce work, and also runs the Young Curators Residency Programme (YCRP), which selects three graduates of international curatorial programs to research Italian contemporary art. Most recently, in 2018, the foundation acquired the abandoned island San Giacomo in the Venice lagoon which is being transformed into an art and cultural centre. Patrizia and her husband Agostino Re Rebaudengo will stage exhibitions, artist residency programmes and performances, as well as using the site as a research centre for renewable energy.”

David Czupryn (the artist Terase bought at the first show of Rebaudengo’s she went to) well recalls his first meeting with Rebaudengo. “Eugenio came to my studio in Düsseldorf and I had this feeling of trust. He bought the first piece I’ve ever sold for his collection. Later we started doing shows together. And after many exhibitions, catalogues and eight years, we are still going on,” he says. And how did Rebaudengo come to be in his studio? “He discovered my work in a show in London curated by Tomma Abts and Alastair McKinven. It was a group show of former students and students of Goldsmiths College and Artacademie Düsseldorf. He then came afterwards to see me in Düsseldorf.”

Other names in the collection might not be instantly familiar but the pedigree is high and Rebaudengo recognised it early. Moscow-born, former Rhode Island School of Design and UCLA alum Sanya Kantarovsky, channels everything from Surrealism to Symbolism with a rich vein of dark humour, an antidote to the accelerated, post-digital moment. He believes that art should be defamiliar (from the Russian avant-garde term ostranenie) and make you feel like you’re looking at it for the first time. Loewe designer Jonathan Anderson likes Kantarovsky’s work, and Kantarovsky’s so cool he enlisted fellow painter and friend Nicolas Party to decorate his house in Brooklyn. And for good measure, his wife is video and performance artist Liz Magic Laser.

And then there’s art darling Avery Singer. She’s a reminder of Rebaudengo’s intuitive stealth; i.e., while global gallery Hauser & Wirth champions the American as their youngest artist (39), Rebaudengo was collecting her work before almost anyone knew her name. Singer is known to local collectors, as Christie’s Hong Kong last year sold one of her works for US$3 million (Her top price at auction to date is US$4.1 million at Philips, New York in 2021). Interestingly, of the top 10 historical auction records for artists under 35, Singer sits at No. 2 on the list and Michael Armitage No. 10 (US$1.5 million at Sotheby’s New York in 2019).

Singer, for those not familiar, creates her ideas using modelling software Google SketchUp. She then transfers her computer- generated hybrids onto canvas using the airbrush, a tool more typically used in advertising, architecture and graphic design rather than Fine Arts. Her work has shown at Tate Modern in London, Yuz Museum in Shanghai, and more.

And then there’s Josh Kline, whose figure wrapped in what looks like plastic or cellophane, we mistook for Maurizio Cattelan. Kline’s work vibes sci-fi, and reflects art’s ability to exist at the frontiers of scientific advancement. He opposes the maxim that technological progress is positive, with the pervading sense that human productivity is improved at the cost of one’s humanity.

Ian Cheng’s work is distinguished by its use of artificial intelligence and video game technology, which he uses to produce computer-generated simulations, which mutate and evolve, exploring the human capacity for change. There’s also America’s queer, cis-woman Christina Quarles, born to a black father and white mother, in whose work bodies are fragmented, bisected and dislocated. She’s been having a moment with shows in China of late, but her moment with Rebaudengo, unsurprisingly, has been going on for much longer.

Lastly, Nairobi-born Michael Armitage, shown by everyone from White Cube to Yuan Museum, Beijing is a British-Kenyan painter who works on lubugo bark cloth, which is striped off the tree, lightly burned, soaked in water and then beaten for several hours before being dried. One of the first artists Rebaudengo began collecting, his paintings are colourful, rampant and moving, and he gains motivation for his work from pictures and videos on social media. As of last year, David Zwirner gallery said it would jointly represent Armitage with White Cube.

So if you want to know the future of art before it happens in the galleries, go consult Art Intelligence Global, and follow Eugenio Re Rebaudengo. The bragging rites you’ll espouse thereafter will be priceless.

Until 15 December 2023.

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Flavin Judd, son of American art legend Donald Judd, curated a show of his father’s work for Thaddaeus Ropac as part of Kiaf 2023 / Frieze Seoul 2023.

Donald Judd, artist, writer and heavyweight of American art, was either the pioneer of art-world Minimalism (a term he despised), or a gnarly, capricious intellectual bully given to firing people on the spot, or both. Whatever the reality, he played a pioneering role in shaping the artistic landscape of the second half of the 20th century, establishing a new visual language. A painter first, he subsequently liberated himself from the canvas for the three-dimensional, exploring notions of empty space – the place in which his art was exhibited being as integral to the experience as the art itself. Oh, and he also helped launch the career of a certain young Japanese artist called Yayoi Kusama, in New York, in the 1950s, and they lived in the same building … but more of that, later.

Judd is a polarising figure in the lofty art firmament. And among art writers, detractors included the late Time critic Robert Hughes, who described his work as a “temple of aesthetic fanaticism”, claiming its “denial of the sensuous is deeply American” and bemoaning its likeability, or lack of. He claimed Judd’s work showed no figures, no relationships, no movement. And the late New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl began a 2020 piece on a Judd retrospective at New York’s MOMA, thus: “I would tell you my emotional responses to the gorgeous work in the Donald Judd retrospective that has opened at the Museum of Modern Art if I had any.”

Judd talked the talk and walked the walk. He thought straightforward industrial materials offered more potential to artists than traditional paint on a canvas. Wall- mounted brass tubes, rectangular boxes and shelflike units in Plexiglass, plywood, rolled steel, aluminium and iron became his stock in trade; hardly user-friendly when measured against French impressionism or Pablo Picasso, and certainly not every gallery- and museum-goer’s cup of tea. The chief problem for any writer or critic assessing Judd’s work was that it didn’t really seem to be about anything. All the more so, when gazed at through the storytelling lens of the 21st century. Not that Judd cared: he thought museums were places art went to die.

That said, Judd’s works espoused high-end production values. They’re consistently exquisite to behold in the flesh, but in spite of being visually stunning they can feel emotionally sterile, devoid of any narrative or symbolism. A Judd work will more likely incline you to salute its military precision, than melt your heart with its soft power. But that’s Judd’s whole mantra. He wasn’t dealing in illusionary, painterly creations and imaginative leaps of heart and mind. Judd’s art was life, but specifically the stuff that surrounds us, which he felt we don’t take time to ever properly see. “Things that exist exist and everything is on their side,” is one of his most oft-quoted lines.

All of which provokes a spirited reaction from his son Flavin on what his father might have thought of the internet and social media as an art platform. “Don would have hated the digital world,” he declares. “He’d have had absolutely no interest in it whatsoever.” But might he have come to like it, perchance, seeing its infinite yet unexplored capabilities, we wonder? “No,” he fires back over Zoom, in his Breton-sleeved top from his apartment in Paris. Categorically ‘no’, I enquire, playing devil’s advocate? “Never.”

And NFTs? “Now there’s a good example of the real world versus the art world. The art world is chasing after NFTs. One thing I must say; if you look at Don’s [Flavin always refers to his father as Don] work, the work itself is always an attempt to make something that is clear, so there’s a morality built into the work, and the work itself is … ” he pauses to contextualise his father in the present. “He’s highlighting a world in a way which is contrary to the current digital realm. Possibly Don’s work is an antidote to the so-called digital realm, and its illusoriness, and not at all fact based. I don’t have any big theories, I’m just saying his work is the anti-NFT, because it’s absolutely there, it’s absolutely in front of you, and you might overlook it in your daily life. And in his view, that’s the most important thing we have.”

Part of which was visible at Thaddaeus Ropac gallery in South Korea during Kiaf 2023/Frieze Seoul 2023, the first solo show of Judd’s work there for 10 years. Curated by Flavin, artistic director of Judd Foundation, the exhibition spans more than three decades of his father’s work, from the 1960s to the beginning of the 1990s. Featuring early paintings alongside his three-dimensional works, a highlight of the show is the 20 woodcut prints conceptualised by Judd while in Korea in 1991, being presented in Seoul for the first time.

Donald Judd was no stranger to South Korea. “It was the first place Don ever discovered outside the US,” Flavin tells us. “It’s pretty radical for your first trip ever, and he wasn’t even an artist when he went to Korea. But it informs his aesthetic in a way that other countries don’t.” His next trip was Sweden in 1964, but by then, he’d already had his first show.

How then, does the Korean aesthetic manifest in Judd’s work? “Michael Govan [director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, who writes in the show’s catalogue] and I were discussing that,” says Flavin. “We both think the probability of seeing the palaces in Seoul, with their high walls and very regulated placement of buildings within the walls is not dissimilar – I’m not saying there’s a direct connection – but not dissimilar to the blocks in Marfa, and … I will say it’s mostly visual. His interest in space, was I think, informed to some extent by his visit to Seoul. I think the palaces in Seoul could possibly have given him an idea of what architecture can do which you couldn’t find in the Midwest.” Govan believes the use of emptiness in Korean art and architecture bespoke a tradition which likely influenced Judd’s own theory of space.

The paintings and three-dimensional works are accompanied by a work showing in Korea for the first time; a group of 20 woodcut prints. Emitting both expression and radiance, it represents Judd’s most extensive use of colour across his printmaking practice. The work plays on reversals of filled and empty space through a rigorous geometric logic of grids and rectangles, the rigidity of which is tempered by the handmade hanji paper they’re printed on; a paper made from the inner bark of the mulberry plant native to Korea’s rocky mountainsides, which Judd selected for the prints when he travelled to South Korea in 1991. After his transition to 3D works in the early ’60s, his prints were the only works he continued making in a two-dimensional format, placing them at the centre of his artmaking.

Judd shared a decades-long friendship with Yayoi Kusama and the two of them exchanged correspondence and artwork throughout their lives. Part of the reason he was in Korea in 1991 was on account of two shows he held in Japan, during which he visited Kusama. He owned many of her works, including dresses she designed. They dated and became neighbours, living and working on separate floors at 53 East 19th Street. Judd would help her stuff soft sculptures and armchairs with phallic protrusions. (He moved to 101 Spring Street in 1969.) You can go to the Judd Foundation page and read all about it. In October 1959, Kusama had her first solo show in New York City at the Brata Gallery and Judd wrote about it. He also described his first meeting with Kusama at her studio: “Yayoi Kusama is an original painter. I thought the paintings were terrific and I wrote it all down. They were the best paintings being done. Or at least, the best paintings that were new in any way. I mean, besides from Newman [Barrett] and Rothko [Mark].

It transpires that, remarkably, for man who wrote so prolifically, and whose Complete Writings 1959-1975 are an art masterclass unto themselves, Judd never used a typewriter. “Everything was handwritten,” says Flavin. “He used what was at hand, pen, pencil, biro, and usually wrote on a yellow legal pad.” Interestingly Flavin, despite being named after his father’s friend and fellow light artist Dan Flavin, also carries the middle name Starbuck, which he says is nothing to do with coffee, but knows not its epistemological route, although he does attest to its being from early 1800s America.

Meantime, it was because of the support of friends like Judd, that Kusama got permanent-resident status in the US in 1963. Here’s his 1961 letter to US Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) in support of her claim. “In October 1959, Yayoi Kusama exhibited five large paintings which were recognised as exceptional. The show proved to be the sensation of the season and remained one of the few important shows of the last two years.”

In March 1978, Judd travelled to Japan for one of his shows and visited Kusama. She later wrote: “The thing [that] delighted me most was to see that you had become a truly mature and profound artist. (I hope I have matured as you have.) I am proud of your brilliant achievements. I know we cannot escape from getting older, and I feel strongly that we should make our utmost efforts in creating our best works while we can.” Forty-five years later, she’s still delivering wonder.

And it wasn’t just Kusama. South Korea’s Nam June Paik, champion of the electronic superhighway and Fluxus member, was “practically a next-door neighbour too, and would come around to Spring Street for dinner with Donald.” Flavin doesn’t recall much of their conversations but was struck by Paik’s generous, engaging and charming deportment at all times.

And then Judd ditched New York and moved to the unlikely setting of Marfa in West Texas, in 1971. It had featured in the movie Giant and only had a population of around 2,000 when Judd moved there, and began to make a destination out of it. He converted domestic, military and commercial buildings to house installations of his work. He also created studios, guest quarters and his own living space, in a former gymnasium.

To a generation that’s grown up in digital times, the word Marfa is more commonly associated with Prada Marfa, the sculptural, non-functioning replica of a luxury Prada boutique located in the middle of the Chihuahua desert, by the side of a west Texas highway, 60km from Marfa, created by Scandinavian artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. They assumed their work would disappear into the landscape before most people had chance to see it. Almost a rumour. It’s become a cultural sensation, on The Simpsons and on Beyoncé’s Instagram feed. And people visit on the way to Judd central in Marfa.

Judd died in 1994, so, nearly 30 years hence, how did Flavin decide what to curate of his father’s work for the Seoul show? “It’s always based on the space and colour. There’s no theme, ideology, no point to be made, it’s just what goes well with what, and a spread of time, from the early ’60s to the early ’90s. I try to stay away from thematic shows. You want the work to look as good as possible, so you take the space and light into account. It works. That’s my only concern, you never see it before you start it, so you always just hope it’s going to work.”

After all, despite his work with the Judd Foundation, he’s “in the art world by accident”, he says. “Put it this way, there’s nothing we want from the art world. We want to do what Don wanted, to restore his buildings, his work to be seen, his writing to be read and published in Korean. And if we can publish in Korean, that’s fabulous.”

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New art exhibitions this October reach into a world in which technology and nature communicate, inquiring how dread can consume environments

Scroll down to discover new art exhibitions in Hong Kong this October 2023.

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Decoding Nature

When: From October 26

The solo exhibition of works by California-born artist Tim Irani opens at Double Q Gallery later this month. Mixing natural and digital elements, Irani offers a refreshingly bold perspective on pop art and, with it, an inquiry into the essence of life and technology.

Double Q Gallery, 68 Lok Ku Rd, Sheung Wan

Luminaries

When: From September 22

M+ Sigg Collection: Another Story spotlights six young artists born or working in Greater China: Jes Fan, Miao Yang, Wang Tuo, Xie Nanxing, Trevor Young and Yu Ji. Through an impressive selection of 120 pieces, the exhibition highlights the evolution of contemporary Chinese art and the multi-faceted nature of its visual language.

M+, West Kowloon, Museum Dr, 38號 M+ Cultural District

Terror and Desolation

When: Until October 21

In Just Arrived in This World at Kiang Malingue, artist Cui Xinming explores the accumulated experience of pandemic-induced dread and loneliness through his signature fiery-red figures placed against a sombre background. Here, Xinming’s multifarious depictions of psychological tension and mysticism are given a newer and darker context.

Kiang Malingue, 5-6/F,10 Sik On Street, 10 Sik On St, Wan Chai

Electric City

When: Until October 10

Hao Zecheng’s solo exhibition Grand Tour Through the Stars and the Moon at Tang Contemporary spotlights the artist’s photographic landscapes in a style uncomplicated by symbolism and grandiosity. The works explore the concept of “electronic colonisation” by focusing on the contrast between neon and fluorescent lights and greenery.

Tang Contemporary, 18 Sa10/F H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central

Crossing Continents

When: Until November 11

Together with the Consulate General of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Hong Kong, Kwai Fung Hin presents Human Silk, a group exhibition featuring mid-career artists Paola Angelini, Thomas Braida and Nebojša Despotović. The show hopes to articulate a complex dialogue between East and West, bringing to mind Marco Polo’s journey along the Silk Road.

Kwai Fung Hin, G/F, Headquarters Block, Tai Kwun 10 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong

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Artist, sculptor and digital designer Bill Barminski and his masterclass of satire in Moon Lands on Man.

Picture this: it’s the ‘80s, and you’re living in your mother’s basement, where the walls are covered in black-and-white images of astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong training in NASA’s mock-up of the moon, close-ups of the Apollo-16 rover and, inevitably, the photo of Neil Armstrong performing his “one small step for man” bit, all connected with around 1,000 red threads. On the tiny table beside your rat-infested cot rests a stack of records you allegedly procured directly from NASA, which you’ve been obsessively researching for months on end. At long last, you have enough evidence to produce a manifesto: “The moon landing was a hoax”.

The picture painted is too far-fetched for even the most ingenious sci-fi author, yet the number of conspiracy theories surrounding this historic event was so huge it inspired a subculture of its own. This phenomenon – along with the ignorance that nurtured it – was the subject of American multidisciplinary artist Bill Barminski’s recent exhibition Moon Lands on Man: Unveiling the Moon Landing Hoax.

“Moon Lands on Man aims to provoke critical thinking and encourage dialogue about the nature of truth, the influence of media and the human tendency to question established narratives,” reads the first part of the artist’s statement. Stuffy? You bet. Pretentious? Certainly. But in Barminski’s defence, the quote isn’t his. “I asked ChatGPT to describe this show – a show it’s never seen and knows nothing about,” he says, noting how such ventriloquy somehow feels real, just like the cardboard works occupying the JPS Gallery space in Landmark last month.

The exhibition presents an eerily peculiar toy world: a cardboard control panel with a cardboard CCTV camera pointed at it; cardboard magazines carefully laid out on a cardboard shelf; a cardboard boombox and even cardboard fire extinguishers (never too safe with so much inflammable material around). On the wall are creepily adorable portraits of “Neil Whatshisface” [Armstrong], Michael Collins and “Buzz Fuzzwhatever” [Aldrin], on which each astronaut has acquired an extra mouth. Then there’s the Apollo Missions Landing Map – a road map of American capitalist expansion to the moon, on which coloured dots represent

a 7-Eleven store, a gas station and, of course, a Burger King. Barminski’s satire of the entertainment industrial complex is enriched by the cardboard shelves stacked with cardboard boxes of action figurines, like Astro Boy and Boozy Uzi. And, of course, it wouldn’t be an authentic depiction of the staged moon landing without a set, where a “Welcome to Area 51” sign greets us, along with a cardboard statue of an astronaut holding the American flag.

“A cool vibe, cool colours, and it occupies a moment in history,” is how the artist describes the show, adding, “It’s nostalgic for me, and most people can relate to it, since it was a global event.” To our question of whether satirical depictions only enable the obscurantists behind such conspiracy theories, Barminski has an unambiguous answer. “To the contrary,” he says, “I think satire is most likely to deflate a conspiracy theory.”

But why cardboard? It all goes back to the tenet expressed in the artist’s statement. Barminski’s acquaintance with the medium happened during his childhood, though his relationship with it truly bloomed in the noughties. “I quit painting after about a dozen solo shows to focus on animation and visual effects,” he says. “One day I needed a gun to test the effect of adding muzzle flash in post-production. So a cardboard gun was made – which started it. I began making all sorts of things out of cardboard.”

Dark themes, sardonic takes on controversial topics and eternal nonchalance still saturate Barminski’s works. He is, perhaps, best known for his Security Theatre, a life-size interactive paper sculpture reminiscent of an airport security area, which served as the entrance to Banksy’s dystopian theme park, Dismaland, in 2015 (not to mention his underground comic book, Tex Hitler, Fascist Gun in the West, which scandalised Texan holier-than-thous and amused American author and cultural critic Greil Marcus back in the 1980s).

He’s also, as it turns out, a true digital media pioneer. Did we mention he directed a music video for Baz Luhrmann? “At the time [of directing], the record label didn’t understand what I was making – and I don’t blame them,” he says. “I was using a digital still camera to shoot it, which seemed risky and weird, because those days everybody used analogue.” The video was based on American journalist Mary Schmich’s column in Chicago Tribune, bore the name Everyone’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) and featured animation and a collage of home movies starring Barminski himself together with his family. After decades, the artist still fondly remembers the trust bestowed upon him by Luhrmann. “Baz told me to follow my creative instincts and not to listen to anyone. If there were any creative issues with the record label, he said he’d sort them out.”

“Conspiracy theories interest me on multiple levels,” he says, “There’s a certain level of creativity that goes into many of them.” Having grown up in Dallas, Texas, Barminski’s been exposed to his fair share of Kennedy assassination theories: “They’re quite complex – 1,000-page books in some cases.” He confesses his favourite one remains the Paul is Dead theory – an urban legend suggesting that Beatle Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was subsequently replaced by a doppelganger.

In Moon Lands on Man, Barminski’s commentary on a decades-old topic feels as fresh as ever. As long as our society has conspiracy theories to brighten up avid Redditors’ days, we can look forward to more mind-haunting shows. And for that he’s hopeful. “Some people say things can’t get worse. As an optimist, I say, yes they can.

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Alez Branczik and Nick Buckley Wood of Sotheby’s Asia talk to Prestige about the rise of the South Korean market and an exhibition of work by the artists Banksy and Keith Haring, currently on show at the Paradise City resort in Incheon.

In Asia’s rapidly growing and evolving art market, South Korea and its capital, Seoul, are currently enjoying a “moment”. Just last month, artists, collectors and professionals from around the world descended upon the city for Kiaf Seoul and Frieze Seoul art fairs, while at the same time Sotheby’s opened its first office there.

Coinciding with those three events, Sotheby’s and the Paradise City integrated luxury resort in Incheon, famed for its design focus, galleries and an incredible collection of contemporary art, opened the exhibition Love in Paradise, featuring 32 works by the artists Banksy and Keith Haring, which is open to the public until November 5. On the exhibition’s opening day, Sotheby’s Asia chairman of modern and contemporary art, Alex Branczik, and director of private sales, Nick Buckley Wood, sat down with Prestige to talk about the collaboration with Paradise City, trends in the art scenes in both South Korea and Asia, and how to take your first steps towards becoming a collector.

We’re here in Korea, where there’s an increasing buzz around the art market. How does Sotheby’s regard the potential in the Korean market, and are you boosting your presence here?
Alex Branczik: We’re imminently opening a new headquarters here in Seoul, which is part of a larger strategy for Sotheby’s in Asia to increase and grow our footprint here, to connect with our clients and the art-market professionals on their own doorstep in cities around the region. It’s not only in Seoul: earlier this year we opened
a new office in Shanghai, with an education and exhibition space, as well as staging auctions [around the region] – we had our second this year in Singapore – and a non-selling exhibition in Vietnam.

How did this collaboration with Paradise City come about? Do you regard the resort as a natural partner for Sotheby’s, and will this be an ongoing partnership?
Nick Buckley Wood: This is our first collaboration with Paradise and it’s also our first major project in Korea, which also coincides with our office opening in Seoul. It was a natural choice, because Paradise is known for its art collection; they have this great art space here where they’ve hosted many exhibitions. They’re also very much in touch with the entertainment industry and youth culture. So it’s a very natural collaboration, and hopefully we can collaborate on more in the future.
AB: It’s my first time here, as I’m relatively new to the region. The space is incredible
– you only need to walk around the hotel and casino to see the incredible artworks on public display, which work very well with the environment. The Kusama Pumpkin right in the middle of the atrium is incredible. Clearly for us to be associated with such a great collection represents an amazing partnership.

Tell us more about the Banksy and Keith Haring exhibition. Is this a selling exhibition and can you pick out for us one or two highlights?
NBW: It’s a non-selling exhibition, and one of the highlights of the show is the shredded Banksy, which we’ve loaned for the exhibition along with 38 other pieces by Banksy and Keith Haring. It’s the first time the two artists have been shown in the same place and the first time most of the have been seen in Korea. It’s also a free exhibition: people can reserve online and then come, which is a great message. Also, as these two artists were originally street and performance artists, they’d have wanted the exhibition to be open to everyone.
It’s an amazing marketing opportunity for both Sotheby’s and Paradise. We had a press preview with about 150 media the other day, so there’s been a huge amount of interest in the exhibition. It’s also the first post- pandemic exhibition for Paradise, and they wanted to make a big splash.

The post Art and Seoul: Sotheby’s Asia on the rise of the South Korean market appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Some of the world’s most significant artworks have been highly controversial. From paintings to installations, these specimens of refined imagination have often been at the heart of serious debates, pitting freedom of expression and rigid societal conventions on opposing sides.

For instance, the recent Royal Academy exhibition on Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović. To enter the exhibition, visitors have to squeeze between two nude models. However, those who want to avoid taking on the daring act can enter from a separate gate.

Inside is a career retrospective of Abramović, showcasing nude models resting with skeletons among the other performance art she created between the 1970s and 1980s mostly with her then-partner German artist Ulay.

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Art has had a long history of creating a stir in society. Michelangelo, perhaps the greatest artist of all time, faced the ire of the Catholic church when he painted The Last Judgement on the wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City in the 16th century. The fresco was deemed offensive because of the depiction of mostly nude figures. The exposed parts were painted over with flowers and fabric designs. It was only in the 20th century that part of the coverings were removed during restoration.

In modern times, Abramović, too, has been making headlines with her works. In 1974, she asked the audience at her exhibit to use anything — from lipstick to chains and knives kept on a table — on her own body as part of the performance art. The predominantly male audience used dangerous objects to hurt her. A paper was attached to her body that read “VILE.” Abramović endured the pain but was seen in tears. Photographs of the exhibit and Abramović’s vivid description of what she went through continue to horrify to date.

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Controversies have, therefore, been a part of especially those artworks that have an important message, hitting hard at the established traditions of society and mocking conservativeness. Sometimes, the objection is simply in the form of a refusal to exhibit an artwork that may be perceived to offend a few. For others, it takes an extreme turn, with vandalism of the works and threats to the artists.

It is important to note that while most of the controversial artworks have continued to exist, some do not. An example is Andy Warhol‘s 30-metre mural Thirteen Most Wanted Men, depicting 22 mug shots of the 13 wanted men taken from a 1962 booklet of the New York Police Department. It was created for display on the façade of the New York State pavilion at the New York World’s Fair in 1964.

A political controversy ensued as the mural showed mainly Italian-American gangsters and hinted at police brutality. The mural was completely obliterated by officials who painted it over silver paint days before the fair’s opening.

Compared to Warhol’s mural, many of the other controversial artworks have been more fortunate despite even stronger criticism. Each of these has managed to trigger a new discourse in humanity’s unending quest for absolute liberalism. Some of them even fetched millions of dollars at auctions and a rare few have gone on to redefine the world of art itself, introducing and establishing new techniques that were once frowned upon.

Controversial artworks that shocked the world

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon by Pablo Picasso (1907)

Spanish master Pablo Picasso’s oil painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (The Women of Avignon) is seen by many as the first masterpiece of the 20th century. It is also among the most controversial in the sense that it created a stir in the society of its time and continues to have a bearing on viewers through its stark boldness.

The painting depicts five nude women, two of whom appear to be staring directly at the onlooker. Two women on the right of the large canvas are seen with African-style masks on their faces. According to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City (NYC), where the art is permanently housed, Picasso gave the mask impression after he visited the Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro in Paris, where he saw African and Oceanic art.

It was first displayed by Picasso in his Paris studio and was seen by his friends, some of whom were celebrated artists. However, they didn’t like it. The painting was first publicly exhibited in 1916 when it was deemed immoral.

One of the reasons Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was controversial was because it hinted at prostitutes of Avignon, Barcelona’s red-light district. The other major reason was the style of the painting. It gave birth to Cubism but went against the artistic tradition of the time. The society of the time was more into Impressionist art, such as vivid landscapes, and was unprepared for a painting with geometric, angular lines forming the distorted figurines of humans.

“It created an uproar and changed forever the course of painting in particular and art in general. One can easily speak of art before and after this work,” underlined American philosopher Jorge J. E. Gracia in a discussion on desecration of art for Michigan Quarterly Review.

Fountain by Marcel Duchamp (1917)

Marcel Duchamp is hailed as one of the pioneers of Dada (or Dadaism), the early 20th-century avant-garde European art movement.

On 9 August 1917, Duchamp attempted to submit a porcelain urinal placed upside down to the Society of Independent Artists exhibit in New York. He named the urinal Fountain and signed it under the pseudonym “R.Mutt, 1917,” since he was a member of the Society.

The exhibition was open to all who could pay a fee. But the Society’s board decided not to display Duchamp’s submission, citing reasons such as vulgarity, immorality and even plagiarism. In protest, Duchamp resigned from the board.

He then got his artwork photographed by the renowned American photographer Alfred Stieglitz and had an anonymous editorial published about the controversy in his avant-garde magazine, The Blind Man.

“Whether Mr Mutt with his own hands made the fountain or not has no importance. He CHOSE it. He took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new title and point of view – created a new thought for that object,” noted the editorial, which some believe was written by avant-garde icon and the magazine’s co-founder Beatrice Wood.

The argument defined and laid the foundation of a revolutionary stage of modern art. As such, the Fountain is today seen as the object that started Conceptual Art. A controversial piece of its time, it serves as a radical inspiration for young artists.

Guernica by Pablo Picasso (1937)

Though it is one of the greatest works of art of the 20th century, the large oil black-and-white painting titled Guernica remained controversial for a long time. The main reason was political — it showed the bombing of civilians of the city of Guernica in Spain’s Basque region by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy at the behest of Francisco Franco (later Spanish dictator) during the Spanish Civil War.

The artwork was commissioned by the Second Spanish Republic, the government against whom Franco was leading the Nationalists. It was displayed the same year at the Spanish Republic Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Paris.

The painting, which measures 3.49 × 7.77 metres, depicts a dismembered soldier, a dead baby, a gored horse, a bull and screaming women. All of them are surrounded by flames, underlining the carnage the Nazis and Italian Fascists inflicted on the city on 26 April 1937. Owing to its mismatched subjects, the painting didn’t receive the attention it should have at the fair. The Second Spanish Republic toured the mural in parts of Europe, which led to an initial wave of popularity as a message against Fascism.

But when the Republic lost the Civil War and World War II began, Picasso loaned the painting to MoMA and refused to give it to the Spanish government under Franco, saying that he would do so only if the Spanish Republic came back to power. The painting was able to return to Spain in 1981 when both Picasso and Franco were dead.

During this period, and for years thereafter, the painting, despite being anti-war, was ironically the target of anti-war protesters. In 1974, anti-war activist and artist Tony Shafrazi defaced it at MoMA. A few years before in 1970, over 250 leading American artists and writers petitioned Picasso to remove his painting from MoMA as a mark of protest against the US atrocities during the Vietnam War.

Later, the Spanish government’s decision to move the painting to Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in 1992 became a subject of controversy as Picasso wanted it to be displayed only at Prado Museum in Madrid.

In 2003, the United Nations covered a tapestry version of the mural at the entrance of the Security Council. It was done because the then US Secretary of State Colin Powell was to address the media from that spot and defend the unjust American invasion of Iraq. The anti-war Guernica serving as the backdrop would have made a contradictory impression when a politician was justifying war.

Immersion (Piss Christ) by Andres Serrano (1987)

To date, Immersion (Piss Christ) is considered one of the world’s most controversial artworks and is seen as one of the most significant centrepieces in the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s.

It was created by American artist and photographer Andres Serrano and is part of his Immersions collection where he depicts religious iconography submerged in various natural liquids.

The photo artwork shows a small plastic crucified Jesus Christ submerged in a jar containing urine.

Interestingly, it was favourably received at the time of its debut at Stux Gallery in NYC. Over the next couple of years, it was exhibited at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Serrano won an award sponsored by the taxpayer-funded government body National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

But trouble began in April 1989 when the American Family Association (AFA) found it blasphemous. Two US Senators, Al D’Amato and Jesse Helm, objected to the NEA awarding Serrano for the artwork. They passed a law that required the NEA to take into account “general standards of decency” before issuing grants.

The wide-ranging debate brought the artwork to international attention. Serrano received hate mails and death threats. He also lost the grants he had received for the work.

The artwork continued to attract controversy at several other places where it was exhibited. Attempts were made to destroy it when it was exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia in 1997. A print of the artwork was vandalised beyond recovery with hammers when it was on display at the Collection Lambert contemporary art museum in Avignon, France, in 2011. And when it went on display at the Edward Tyler Nahem gallery in NYC in 2012, Conservatives urged US President Barack Obama to denounce the artwork.

In June 2023, Serrano was among the 200 people invited by Pope Francis to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Vatican’s contemporary art collection.

“I was surprised to be invited and even more surprised that he gave me a thumbs up,” Serrano told The New York Times (NYT). “And I was very happy that the church understands that I am a Christian artist and I am not a blasphemous artist. I’m just an artist.”

Tilted Arc by Richard Serra (1981)

Commissioned by the US government’s General Services Administration (GAS) in 1979, Tilted Arc was a 3.6-metre-tall and 36-metre-long curved slab of rust-covered Cor-Ten steel plate.

It was installed at Manhattan’s Federal Plaza two years later, firmly placed on the circular grid pattern of the pavement bisecting the building. It was meant to enhance the aesthetic of the place and be a permanent installation. Instead, Tilted Arc has gone down in history as one of the most bitterly contested sculptural installations in 20th-century America.

Soon after its installation, Tilted Arc became the centre of a heated debate, pitting mostly artists against office-goers and residents, as it forced them to take a longer route around it. Some art critics even saw it as a failure, but the public outrage was particularly intense.

Covering the discord extensively in the early 1980s, NYT noted in May 1985 that “no work of art has been the source of as much controversy” as Tilted Arc. It also called the public opinion against the installation “stubbornly uninformed.”

As the matter intensified, the GAS decided in June of the same year that the sculpture should be removed. The decision was criticised by the artist community.

“Aesthetic decisions are not best arrived at by counting noses,” Thomas Messer, the then director of the Guggenheim Museum, told NYT in June 1985 following the decision.

“If every esthetic issue were resolved that way, it would threaten the texture of the cultural life in this country,” he added.

William S. Lieberman, at the time chairman of 20th-century art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, said. “I think one should be concerned, but not treat it with hysteria,” he said. ”Think how often things were moved around in Florence.”

However, the United States Court of Appeals ruled in 1988 that Serra was not “constitutionally entitled to a hearing before the sculpture could be removed” because it belonged to the Government, and the Government had the right to do what it wanted with it.

Eventually, in 1989, after a long eight years of dispute, Tilted Arc was disassembled into three parts and deposited in a yard in Brooklyn.

So relieved were people and many others at the time that The Wall Street Journal reportedly ran an editorial headlined “Good Riddance.”

Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn by Ai Weiwei (1995)

Ai Weiwei is counted among the greatest Asian contemporary artists of all time. Besides his unique art installations, Ai is also known for his open criticism of the Chinese government and has, therefore, been forced to live in exile away from his country since 2015.

Ai’s installations are often inspired by Chinese imagery and history. For instance, his Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads is a series of sculptures representing the 12 Chinese zodiac signs inspired by an 18th-century fountain clock.

But what he did in 1995, two years after returning to China from the US, raised eyebrows in art circles. He picked up a Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) ceremonial urn dating back some 2,000 years and dropped it. The urn splintered into multiple pieces as it hit the floor.

The Han dynasty urn that Ai dropped had immense monetary and cultural value. When enraged critics called it an act of desecration, Ai reportedly countered with the words: “Chairman Mao [Zedong] used to tell us that we can only build a new world if we destroy the old one.”

Although the message Ai wanted to send remains unclear, some suggest he was questioning the cultural value, heritage and their place in society. Others say it was his way of reminding the world of the Communist excesses of the Cultural Revolution under Mao.

As for the ‘art,’ it was not just the dropping-and-smashing; it was Ai being photographed doing it. Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn is a triptych — a series of three black-and-white photographs. The first shows Ai holding the urn, the second shows the urn in mid-air and the third shows it shattered to pieces after it hit the ground. Ai later said that he, in fact, broke two urns because the photographer could not capture the act properly in the first instance.

The triptych was first published in 1995 in The White Book, a book that Ai Weiwei co-edited. It was later enlarged to 148x121cm for exhibit. Twenty years after first publishing it, Ai recreated a much larger version of the controversial piece using LEGO bricks.

Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn is of immense value as an artwork. Its copies have gone under the hammer at Sotheby’s and Christie’s for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Myra by Marcus Harvey (1995)

How can one make an artwork of a notoriously famous serial killer of children? But this is exactly what Marcus Harvey did when he depicted Myra Hindley on a large canvas.

Myra Hindley was dubbed the most hated woman in Britain for her participation in the gruesome murders of five children aged between 10 and 17. She joined her partner, Ian Brady, in the killings between 1963 and 1965 in the Manchester area. Four of the children were sexually assaulted. All five were buried on the moors, leading the media to dub the killings Moors murders.

The two were caught, tried and sentenced for life in 1966. Myra Hindley died from bronchial pneumonia caused by heart disease in custody at West Sussex Hospital in November 2002, aged 60. Following her death, over a dozen undertakers refused to cremate her because of the horrific nature of her crimes.

After obtaining the police mugshot of Myra Hindley, artist Marcus Harvey created a 2.7-metre-by-3.4-metre-large black-and-white artwork, depicting the serial killer using a cast of the handprints of a child. The handprints that formed the mosaic were meant to evoke the innocence of her victims.

No one bothered to take note of the artwork when it was made in 1995 because Harvey wasn’t known at the time. Two years later, the artwork was exhibited as part of the Sensation Exhibition of Young British Artists (YBA) at the Royal Academy of Art. It was here that it caused more than just sensation.

 

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The artwork was targeted by some other artists on the opening day. Canisters of ink were thrown at the painting and so were eggs. Some vandals were apprehended by security personnel. Stones were pelted at Burlington House, the Academy’s office, damaging windows. A pressure group named Mothers Against Murder and Aggression picketed at Burlington House along with the mother of one of the victims demanding that the painting be removed.

Despite the intense opposition, the artwork was again displayed two weeks after the vandalism incident behind a perspex screen and with increased security. It went on exhibit at other places before settling at the Saatchi Gallery for a while before a collector named Frank Gallipoli reportedly bought it.

Explaining the significance of the work, art critic Richard Cork wrote in The Times newspaper, “Far from cynically exploiting her notoriety, Harvey’s grave and monumental canvas succeeds in conveying the enormity of the crime she committed.”

In 2008, the artwork appeared fleetingly in a video shown in Beijing for the promotion of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. An organisation not associated with the official organisers was the creator of the video. But it caused enough embarrassment for officials in London, with both Downing Street — the office of the Prime Minister of the UK — and the then mayor of London Boris Johnson condemning its use.

The Holy Virgin Mary by Chris Ofili (1996)

After the storm it created in the UK, Myra was also displayed at the Brooklyn Museum in NYC in 1999. But it did not create a flutter in the Big Apple. However, another painting, which too was part of the same Sensation collection and displayed along with Myra, came at the centre of a fresh controversy in NYC.

This was The Holy Virgin Mary, an artwork that had earned its creator, Chris Ofili, the Turner Prize — the most important art award in Britain — a year before the NYC exhibit.

Ofili is a British of Nigerian descent. His works are inspired by the rich African culture, symbolism and heritage. Likewise, The Holy Virgin Mary, which measures 2.4 metres x 1.8 metres, was made using oil paint, resin, glitter and elephant dung.

The painting depicts the Virgin Mary as an African woman in a traditional blue robe with a yellow background similar to the gold leaf pattern of religious icons.

The controversy wasn’t over the African imagery but because Ofili used elephant dung to depict a bare breast and introduced eroticism to the sacred religious figurine by adding around 100 magazine cut-outs of intimate parts of a woman’s body resembling butterflies. Elephant dung was also used as two large balls, one decorated with the word “Virgin” and the other with the word “Mary,” supporting the painting at the base.

Opposition to the painting was severe. Rudolph Giuliani, the then Mayor of NYC, took particular offence.

“You [the museum] don’t have a right to government subsidy for desecrating somebody else’s religion,” BBC quoted him as saying. “The idea of having so-called works of art in which people are throwing elephant dung at a picture of the Virgin Mary is sick.”

Giuliani threatened to cut off a grant of USD 7 million and evict the museum from its building, which was owned by City Hall if the Sensation exhibition wasn’t cancelled.

Religious groups also protested. William A. Donohue, the then President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said, “I think the whole city should picket the show…[it] is designed to shock, but instead it induces revulsion.”

Reacting to the outrage, Ofili said, “As an altar boy, I was confused by the idea of a holy Virgin Mary giving birth to a young boy. Now when I go to the National Gallery and see paintings of the Virgin Mary, I see how sexually charged they are. Mine is simply a hip-hop version.”

His spokesperson equated Giuliani’s threats as “totalitarian and fascistic.”

The museum sued the City of New York for violating its First Amendment rights and won. The painting remained on display but was placed behind a plexiglass shield. However, in December 1999, a man went past the shield to spray white paint across the artwork. When asked why he defaced the painting, he said, “It’s blasphemous.”

Despite all the controversies and the vandalism incident, the Sensation exhibition as a whole was a major success both in the UK and New York. Christie’s sold The Holy Virgin Mary for USD 4.6 million in London in 2015. The amount was almost twice the maximum estimate and record for Ofili. It was later gifted to MoMA, where it is now stored.

(Hero and Featured images: Michelangelo/Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– What is the most misunderstood art?

It is difficult to pick one work of art as the ‘most misunderstood’ because there are several spanning centuries that have been interpreted wrongly by society. Among the recent examples could be Immersion (Piss Christ) by Andres Serrano and Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn by Ai Weiwei. Works of artists, such as Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol, have also been misunderstood.

– What is controversial in art?

Anything can be interpreted as controversial when it comes to art if what the artist depicts goes against the established norms of society and leaves the people shocked.

– What was Picasso’s most controversial painting?

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is widely known as Pablo Picasso’s most controversial painting.

– Which is one of the most controversial artworks of the Classical period?

Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement is considered one of the most controversial artworks of the Classical period. The massive fresco covers the entire altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City and took four years to complete, from 1536 to 1541. The Catholic church found the fresco offensive because of the depiction of 300 mostly nude figures. A fig-leaf campaign led to the covering of the exposed parts with flora and fabric. A restoration work in the 20th century led to the removal of some of those fig coverings.

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