HONG KONG.- The Hong Kong Art Gallery Association (HKAGA) is pleased to announce UNSCHEDULED, a showcase of 12 Hong Kong galleries, which will take place from 17 to 27 June 2020 at Tai Kwun as the venue partner.

Organised in response to these unprecedented times and following the cancellation of the March art week, UNSCHEDULED strives to re-energise Hong Kong's art scene.

Neither a traditional art fair, nor a museum exhibition, UNSCHEDULED is a platform for selling and networking that will present solo exhibitions from HKAGA gallery members, with a focus on modern and contemporary art that has a connection to Asia. Upholding Hong Kong’s unique place as the art centre in Asia, UNSCHEDULED’s scope is rooted in a commitment to creativity emerging from the continent.

The event will take place in the heritage-listed Duplex Studio in the Police Headquarters Block at Tai Kwun. A rigid, but free-flowing floorplan, designed in collaboration with BEAU Architects, has been adopted in place of traditional art fair booth to create a decentralised and inclusive framework for the showcase.

The 12 participating galleries have been selected and the exhibition space has been curated by an independent selection and curatorial team comprised of established and
internationally respected Hong Kong-based curators and artists, Ying Kwok and Sara Wong.

Speaking on the curatorial process, Ying and Sara said that “an exhibition comprising solely of solo presentations has rarely ever been seen in Hong Kong and presented us with an exciting opportunity to create a unique and impactful experience for the visitor, which has strongly been influenced by the presentations rather than the galleries.

“Having individual artistic practice as the centre of the whole exhibition naturally led to group the works together and reflect how the artists deal with their subject matter to create a dialogue between the works as the visitor navigates the exhibition. While curating to a confined space, the floor plan of the exhibition has no aisles as experienced in a traditional art fair and the gallery booths bleed into one another.”

The organising committee is spearheaded by Willem Molesworth (de Sarthe) and Fabio Rossi (Rossi & Rossi) as HKAGA board members, who commented that “UNSCHEDULED is very much born from these unprecedented times. The idea is to create a novel, grassroot and community led event to bring galleries, collectors, and the public together and give the local art scene a boost. As the collective voice of the Hong Kong galleries, we remain positively confident in the city’s resilience for both its thriving local art scene, as well as its position as an international hub.”

Gallery List and Artists:
UNSCHEDULED features 12 Hong Kong-based galleries exhibiting solo presentations from a mixture of both young and established artists with a connection to Asia. Price of the works starts from US$3,000 to US$40,000, appealing to all levels of collectors.

Online catalogue available at hk-aga.org/unscheduled/online-catalogue/

The presentations have naturally been categorised into three groups according to the artists connection with their subject matter, audience and adjacent surroundings, which are intertwined within the space.

The first group of artists intentionally create a distance to avoid or disturb the direct encounter with the subject matter. This is seen in the works of Etsu Ogami from Whitestone Gallery, Kitty Chou from Ben Brown Fine Arts, Mak Ying Tung 2 from de Sarthe and Liu Bolin from Over The Influence.

While the second group of artists have a deliberate engagement with their subject matter through their artistic practices, which is captured in the works of Frog King Kwok from 10 Chancery Lane, Ng Chung from Contemporary by Angela Li, Zhang Gong from Kwai Fung Gallery, Irene Chou from Hanart TZ Gallery and Aruta Soup from L+ / Lucie Chang Fine Arts.

Finally, the third group of artists are more detached from their motifs with a sense of calmness and minimalism, which is experienced in the works Duan Yifan from Leo Gallery, Chou YuCheng from Edouard Malingue Gallery, Peter Peri from Pearl Lam Galleries and Heman Chong from Rossi & Rossi.