Women in Art: Hong Kong

March 5, 2018 - March 10, 2018

Venue: Sotheby’s, 5/F, One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong

Hours:  Monday (1-6pm),  Wednesday to Friday (10am-6pm), Saturday (midday-5pm)

This exhibition of work by 13 artists covers the past 50 years of artistic development and creativity in Hong Kong. From Ink to performance, they cross generations telling the story of women who have added to the creative landscape of Hong Kong.

The time frame encapsulates a period of huge artistic and political change and is reflective of the modern and contemporary works in the New Hall Art Collection at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge, the largest collection of works by women in Europe.

Ellen Pau, Au Hoi Lam, Rosamond Brown, Irene Chou, Choi Yan Chi, Fang Zhaoling, Ho Sin Tung, Ko Sin Tung, Jaffa Lam Laam, Man Fung-yi, Angela Su, Nicole Wong and Doris Wong

Presented during the period of International Women’s Day, the exhibition is shown alongside the launch of new research by New Hall Art Collection and the Asia Art Archive that has gathered data and looked at the experiences of women artists working in the region.

Importantly these diverse works show a breadth of experience, practice and ideas generated by women. There are however threads and commonalities – both clichés and facts – that arise every time a platform is raised to talk about ‘women artists’: recurring questions about representation and visibility in art history, public institutions and the market.

From the ink works of Fang Zhaoling and Irene Chou to the works in film, sculpture, drawing and installation that explore popular culture, consumerism, motherhood and identity shown here, artists reflect the world we live in.  How we nurture culture in society, how artists are supported and how art is consumed says much about us.

What is striking about the statistics of gender analysis in the visual arts arena is the pervading imbalance between the high numbers of women entering arts education, and the higher percentage of men that dominate the market. Perhaps more significant is the lack of exposure of art by women in art institutions and academies across the board: an omission that reverberates and is perpetuated through programming, critical review and press, and which calcifies as the understanding of art history in the next generation. These omissions cross borders and nationalities.

At this time of monumental change for the visual arts in Hong Kong, we hope that the research findings enable conversation and debate on the visibility of the many women who shape, support and create the vibrant arts ecology of Hong Kong.

Read Eliza Gluckman’s blog on the ICOM website.