An exhibition featuring a selection of outstanding works by surrealist artists from the collection of the Centre Pompidou of Paris, "Mythologies: Surrealism and Beyond - Masterpieces from Centre Pompidou", will be open to the public tomorrow (May 21) at the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA). This art spectacular provides visitors with a better understanding of surrealism, an art movement that features bizarre and dreamy imagery, and its profound influence.
 
     Founded in 1924 in Paris, surrealism was of vital importance to the development of visual arts in the West. Many pioneering works featured the use of mythological signs and symbols to create radically imaginative worlds, which exerted a strong influence on the literature, art, films, music and other cultural spheres of the era. The exhibition "Mythologies: Surrealism and Beyond - Masterpieces from Centre Pompidou" is curated by the world authority on the surrealist art movement, the Deputy Director of the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, Mr Didier Ottinger. His significant project showcases a refreshing rendition of surrealist ideas for Hong Kong audiences, with the theme and concept featured for the first time. With mythologies as its narrative thread, this exhibition illustrates all important stages and aesthetics through the lens of mythology, a concept that permeates the journey of surrealism.        
 
     The exhibition showcases over 100 diversified art pieces and archive material by significant surrealist artists such as Giorgio de Chirico, Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Max Ernst, Man Ray and Jackson Pollock, among others.
 
     To provide a compelling component from a local perspective, the HKMoA has invited young local artists to contribute original works for the exhibition. New media artist Keith Lam delves into the interface between art and technology, and the nuanced relationships between reality and simulation in his robotic installation work "Artificial Reality". Artist Hazel Wong created an illustration booklet and the animation "Dreaming in Hong Kong" with a storyline as well as Hong Kong scenery blended with works featured in the exhibition. Audiences will be guided through a Hong Kong dreamscape to experience a different "new normal" with a surrealistic twist amid the pandemic.
 
     The exhibition is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the French May Arts Festival, and is jointly organised by the HKMoA and the Centre Pompidou, Paris, with major support from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It is supported by the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macao, and sponsored by Shun Tak Holdings Limited and BNP Paribas. It is a programme of the French May Arts Festival.
 
     The exhibition will run from tomorrow until September 15 at the HKMoA (10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon). According to the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F), visitors are required to scan the "LeaveHomeSafe" QR code or register their name, contact number and the date and time of visit before being allowed to enter the museum for necessary contact tracing if a confirmed case is found. An appeal is made by the LCSD to members of the public to download the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile app in advance and scan the QR code with the app before entering. Members of the public who opt for registering their personal information at the scene are reminded to arrive early to avoid delaying their visit, as a longer time is required for such registration.
 
     In view of the latest situation of COVID-19, the museum will apply a quota to limit visitor flow. Visitors to the museum will need to use hand sanitiser and will be subject to temperature checks before admission. They also need to wear their own masks. Children under 12 will only be allowed to enter the museum and exhibition facilities when accompanied by an adult. For details of the exhibition and the admission arrangements, please visit the website at hk.art.museum/en_US/web/ma/exhibitions-and-events/surrealism-and-beyond-masterpieces-from-centre-pompidou.html or call 2721 0116 for enquiries.

Ends/Thursday, May 20, 2021
Issued at HKT 19:31

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