After major expansion and renovation, the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) will be ready for public visits tomorrow (November 30) with 11 exhibitions.

     The 11 exhibitions will comprise a series of collection exhibitions representing the cultural legacy in the museum's holdings, namely "Ordinary to Extraordinary: Stories of the Museum", "From Dung Basket to Dining Cart: 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Wu Guanzhong", "A Pleasure Shared: Selected Works from the Chih Lo Lou Collection", "The Wisdom of Emptiness: Selected Works from the Xubaizhai Collection", "Lost and Found: Guardians of the Chater Collection" and "The Best of Both Worlds: Acquisitions and Donations of Chinese Antiquities"; a series of exhibitions and displays on Hong Kong's art lineage in "Classics Remix: The Hong Kong Viewpoint", "Hong Kong Experience‧Hong Kong Experiment", "The Breath of Landscape" and "Rediscovering Landscape"; and an international blockbuster exhibition, "A Sense of Place: from Turner to Hockney".

     "Ordinary to Extraordinary: Stories of the Museum", an exhibition of gems from the museum's collection, will showcase exceptional works curated from the four core collections of the museum - Chinese Antiquities, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, China Trade Art, and Modern and Hong Kong Art. By sharing the fascinating stories behind these works, the exhibition will help visitors learn about little-known anecdotes of the museum throughout the 57 years since its founding.

     To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Wu Guanzhong, the exhibition "From Dung Basket to Dining Cart: 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Wu Guanzhong" will showcase more than 100 representative paintings by Wu in two phases. The exhibition will not only honour Wu's contributions to Chinese art, but also pay tribute to his artistic pursuits spanning over half a century.

     The exhibition "A Pleasure Shared: Selected Works from the Chih Lo Lou Collection" will display around 70 selected works dating from the Ming dynasty to the 20th century in two phases to feature the uniqueness of the Chih Lo Lou Collection of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, a private collection established by the late philanthropist and collector Mr Ho Iu-kwong which was donated to the museum last year.

     The renowned Xubaizhai Collection, also one of Hong Kong's three key collections of Chinese painting, was compiled by the late connoisseur of Chinese painting and calligraphy Mr Low Chuck-tiew, who spent nearly 50 years acquiring the invaluable treasures it contains. Showcasing more than 30 representative works dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties and up to the 20th century, "The Wisdom of Emptiness: Selected Works from the Xubaizhai Collection" will allow visitors to gain an insight into a selection of major works from the collection.

     The Chater Collection is one of the most legendary collections of the museum. The artworks were scattered and lost during World War II. Thanks to the selfless acts of Hong Kong citizens, some of the works were rescued and several of these will be on display in the exhibition "Lost and Found: Guardians of the Chater Collection". The narrative of the exhibition will be told through stories of how the artworks were kept hidden, scattered and eventually recovered during the war, shedding further light on a period of history filled with human spirit.

     "The Best of Both Worlds: Acquisitions and Donations of Chinese Antiquities" will feature more than 300 items of art and antiques from different periods to illustrate how museum purchases and generous private donations form and shape the museum's comprehensive Chinese Antiquities collection.

     Featuring a dialogue of 14 local artists and 14 highlight collections of the museum, the exhibition "Classics Remix: The Hong Kong Viewpoint" will incorporate new elements into the four major collections showcased in the exhibition "Ordinary to Extraordinary: Stories of the Museum". It will track the people and stories behind the collections, allowing the artists to display their unlimited imagination inspired by the classics to explore new creative possibilities, along with an artistic representation of contemporary Hong Kong.

     The development of Hong Kong art has been a unique local experience. With innovation triggered by different ways of life, local artists have exerted the spirit of experimentation in their works over the past decades. The "Hong Kong Experience‧Hong Kong Experiment" exhibition aims to make use of the museum's collection accumulated over half a century to capture all these different experiences and experiments, portraying the development of Hong Kong art.

     The exhibitions "The Breath of Landscape" and "Rediscovering Landscape" will feature interactive artworks by nine local artists, with Billy Tam as the leader. Based on a theme of nature and landscape, the exhibitions will offer a unique art experience by bringing the sky, flowing water, mountains and breezes from nature into the museum's extended area, the Wing, as well as making use of its surroundings and the Art Square at Salisbury Garden, thereby dissolving the concept of museum walls and letting the museum extend and expand its interaction with audiences outside.

     The thematic exhibition "A Sense of Place: from Turner to Hockney" is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Tate, the United Kingdom, and is jointly organised by the HKMoA and Tate. This first-ever collaboration between the HKMoA and Tate represents an unprecedented opportunity to display works by Turner, Constable and Hockney in Hong Kong in the same exhibition. Drawn from Tate's world-famous collection, this exhibition will feature 76 works that illustrate the remarkable development of British landscape painting and its influence on European art from the 17th century to the present day. To complement the exhibition, the museum has invited Hong Kong artists to respond to the British artworks on display and the museum's own collection of landscape paintings. These local artists' multimedia creations will invite visitors to explore the exhibition with a unique Hong Kong experience. The displays of "The Breath of Landscape" and "Rediscovering Landscape" will also echo the exhibition.

     For a better visiting experience, those wishing to visit the museum are advised to make online reservations for admission time slots via the museum's website at hk.art.museum. Members of the public can find more details on the museum's website to plan their visits in advance.

Ends/Friday, November 29, 2019
Issued at HKT 15:00

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