Lita Cabellut
Lita is an acclaimed Spanish painter best known for her use of the traditional fresco technique to paint large-scale portraits that display a range of emotions and moods, as well as an exposed vulnerability. A master of colour and style, she paints in a way that is poised and controlled, yet her intentional creation of “imperfections” adds to the poignant characteristic, making her artworks very eye-catching. Celebrities like Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, and Gordon Ramsay own works by Lita.
Nina Chanel Abney
Nina has a great way of capturing the frenzied and distraught side of contemporary culture with a particular satire that connects with the viewer. Her works touch on all subjects, including race, religion, sex and art history. They are almost like an overflow of ideas yet balanced with a crazy ad-lib configuration that somehow compresses an interchangeable notion that anyone can cohere to.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby
At first glance Njideka’s works may give an impression of a modern-day still life painting, focusing on interiors and everyday scenes. On closer inspection, the artwork unveils the use of patterned photo-collages created from images derived from Nigerian pop culture and politics. Each piece of artwork is created with densely layered figurative composition, a compelling visual metaphor that resembles the layers of her memory and cultural history.
Jasmine Tse
Jasmine is a local artist from Hong Kong and I find her anecdotal sketches to be both artsy and full of stories. She encapsulates the life and culture in our city accurately with unique tongue-in-cheek references and cynicism. Her art is also reminiscent of quirky comics from the ’90s.
Abigail Goldman
I have the pleasure of owning one of Abigail’s ‘dieoramas’ and I love to see people’s reactions to it as if it entices you into this false narrative of a “pleasant dollhouse”. As you peer into it, the familiarity is quickly altered. I love the fact that Abigail worked as a private investigator, so her fascination is beyond purely clinical depictions of violence, but a unique narrative lies in each of these grisly ‘dieoramas’.
Lucy Sparrow
British textile artist Lucy Sparrow is a creator of felt art and comments on subjects from controversial issues on gun control, mental health and the demise of the traditional high street, to censorship in pornography. Through felt and stitching, Lucy creates pieces with soft fabrics and bright colours and has opened numerous installations, including her first solo show in 2017 – ‘The Convenience Store’ – a New York bodega stocked with 9,000 felted artworks, followed by her works being showcased in art fairs worldwide.
Running from 1 to 31 March, Opera Gallery Hong Kong celebrates International Women’s Day with an exhibition on the works of Spanish artist Manolo Valdés, famous for his interpretation of the female form. The gallery also celebrates Women’s History Month by standing with United Nations’ global solidarity campaign – #HeForShe – in order to increase visitors’ awareness and help one another understand the united force of gender equality around the world.
Editor
Sharlane Foo
