MUGGSY by Giles Pates, WOAW Gallery
Giles Pates, Puerto Rico, 2024, Gouache on wood painting panels, 76 x 61 x 5 cm
Photo: @woawgallery via Instagram
Exhibiting in Hong Kong for the first time, Giles Pates tells of communal spaces in Muggsy exhibition held at Woaw Gallery. Named after Mugssy Bouges, one of the shortest players to play at the NBA standing at 5’3”, the exhibition showcases paintings of basketball courts from around the world. He reflects on how courts are often where friends are made and communities formed — whether one plays basketball or not, there’s bound to be a local court that springs to mind. His paintings are void of human figures but a basketball hoop remains central across all paintings. “The hoop is constant and the background is variable,” Pates explains in a video, “I want to touch on different cultures, tones and landscapes.”
When: until February 8, 2025
Where: G/F, 88 – 90 Staunton Street, Central
Shooting Hoops by Austin Bell, Blue Lotus Gallery
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When photographer Austin Bell visited Hong Kong for the first time in 2017, he was struck by the colours of the city’s basketball courts. When he returned to Hong Kong in 2019, he sought to capture all of them. In Shooting Hoops, the title of Bell’s book and exhibition, he shares photos of the 2,549 basketball courts he captured in 140 days across multiple visits — routinely shooting upwards of 100 courts a day. As Bell shared, “The insane became mundane. I had become an obsessive completist, unable to rest until I found every court in the city.” The photos are vibrant, meticulous and extensive, an exploration that inspires curiosity and joy for the city’s breathtaking urban fabric.
When: until February 23, 2025
Where: 28 Pound Lane, Tai Ping Shan
A&G Boulangerie by Afa Annfa x Gloria Chung, JPS Gallery
Guided by legendary conceptual artist Maria Abramovic’s quote on art and context, visual artist Afa Annfa and food stylist Gloria Chung present a duo exhibition that examines the symbolic meaning of food both real and artificial. Divided into distinct zones, one particular ‘altar’ area explores the use of butter with Chung’s hand-carved butter sculpture of Guan Yin set against Afa’s imposing monument made of artificial butter. The thoughtful curation probes contemplation on the juxtaposition between the sacred divine and the devoted mortal, exploring the mystifying theory that “gods are born from human imagination.”
When: until March 1, 2025
Where: G/F, 88 – 90 Staunton Street, Central
Sarah & Samuel by Sarah Lai x Samuel Swope, PHD Group
“Not a duo show, but a show about being a duo”, the “Sarah & Samuel” exhibition by artist-couple Sarah Lai and Samuel Swope uncovers the similarities and differences in their respective practices. While Lai engages with image and popular culture, Swope is concerned with machines, drones, and flight. As their works become entangled in the exhibition, the artists’ subtle influence on each other comes to light. Old works are displayed alongside new collaborative pieces including the multi-component installation Sarah (2025) and Her Breath (2025) which narrate the longing, absence, and sacrifice over their 19-year relationship.
When: until March 8, 2025
Where: G/F, 88 – 90 Staunton Street, Central
DAY ZER0 by Yukimasa Ida, Villepin
Yukimasa Ida, Las Meninas , 2024 Mixed media on canvas 215 x 187 cm
Photo: Courtesy of Villepin
Japanese artist Yukimasa Ida’s Day Zer0 exhibition is segmented into three parts across three floors. Titled “In Space”, the first part explores ideas of technological control through abstract paintings and the enduring legacies of influential figures through sculptures. The second part brings viewers to “The Ark”, where elements of the Earth are preserved. The third part “Zero Hour” brings the experience to a crescendo, leading viewers to the “moment of rebirth” where Ida puts a contemporary spin on iconic paintings — urging viewers to embrace the journey into the future.
When: until March, 2025
Where: 53-55 Hollywood Road, Central
Alicja Kwade: Pretopia by Alicja Kwade, Tai Kwun
Alicja Kwade, The Condition (Antinomy) , 2022–2024. Courtesy of the artist and Tai Kwun Contemporary.
Photo: Jimmy Ho
Polish-born artist Alicja Kwade makes a stunning solo institutional debut in Hong Kong, showcasing works across her career and a site-specific installation made for Tai Kwun’s Prison Yard space. Pretopia reflects on the perception of time, as well as boundaries that are mental, social, and artificially created. Through bronze-cast monoblic chairs, bricks floating in the air, a clock turning in reverse, and other constructs, Kwade leads visitors to contemplate the nature of the “real”, as well as the ways “we each bear our burdens”.
When: until April 6, 2025
Where: JC Contemporary, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Rd, Central
Cézanne and Renoir Looking at the World — Masterpieces from the Musée de l’Orangerie and the Musée d’Orsay, Hong Kong Museum Of Art
Paul Cézanne, Apple and Biscuits , 1880, oil on canvas, 45x55 cm
Masterpieces by French Impressionist masters Paul Cézanne and Pierre-Auguste Renoir travel from Paris to Hong Kong for the city’s first major exhibition dedicated to these masters. Placing the two artists’ works together, the exhibition creates a dialogue between their artworks and explores their deep friendship. Among the 52 pieces, 51 are making a debut in Hong Kong.
When: until May 7, 2025
Where: The Special Gallery, 2/F, Hong Kong Museum Of Art, 10 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui
Editor
Karrie LamCredit
Lead Image: 'Miniature Garden - Creative Allegory - Ver. 2024' (2024) by Yukimasa Ida. Courtesy of Villepin.
