Date: 29 Mar 2025 - 30 Mar 2025
Events at Art Basel Hong Kong 2025
Venue: Exchange Circle at Art Basel Hong Kong 2025
Level 1 Concourse (near Entrance 1A), Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
[Talk] Continuously questioning their own work . . . on the concept of the systemic in art.
Date: Saturday, 29 March 2025
Time: 12:00 nn–12:45 pm
Language: English
Speaker: Klaus Merkel| Adrian Falkner | Dr Harald P. Kraemer
Free and open to all, Walk-in only
Abstract
The exhibition ‘8 times 8. stories series systems in mythology & art’, currently on show at the University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, juxtaposes six contemporary artists with traditional works of applied art in order to show that serial and systemic narratives are still used as artistic strategies. Systemic is used here in the sense of individual works of art being seen as part of a larger overall system of interrelated elements. Individual approaches to the systemic concept will be examined in discussion with the artists Klaus Merkel and Adrian Falkner and the exhibition’s curator Harald Kraemer.
Speaker
Adrian Falkner (b. 1979, Basel, Switzerland). Developed various graffiti techniques as SMASH137. Member of the Montana Writer Team. MA Fine Arts from the Department of Fine Arts at the Academy of Art and Design, Basel. Focus on painting since 2005. Works from the current series ‘Boulder’ are exhibited at UMAG during ART BASEL HONG KONG. Lives and works in Basel.
Harald Kraemer (b. 1963, Trier, Germany). Teaches ‘Future Museums’ and ‘The Art of Storytelling’ in the HKU MA Museum Studies programme. Curator at UMAG. Known for his thematic exhibitions such as ‘The Age of Experience’, ‘Future Memories. Utopia Dystopia Nature’, ‘COUPLET PAIR REBUS. The Principle of Cause and Effect in Art’. Currently at UMAG: ‘8 times 8. stories series systems in mythology & art’. Lives and works in Hong Kong and Basel.
Klaus Merkel (b.1953, Heidelberg, Germany). Studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe. 2009–2020 Professor of Painting, Münster Art Academy. Renowned German painter who has been exploring the boundaries of painting for over 40 years. During ART BASEL HONG KONG works from the seminal series ‘Master Slave System (afterglow)’ will be shown at UMAG. Lives and works in Freiburg/Breisgau and Schallstadt.
[Talk] The authentic way of painting Chinese landscapes: Artist Talk with Tsang Tseng Tseng
Date: Sunday, 30 March 2025
Time: 1:30 pm–2:15 pm
Language: English and Putonghua, supplemented with Cantonese
Speaker: Tsang Tseng Tseng
Discussant: Dr. Shuo Sue Hua
Free and open to all, Walk-in only
Abstract
The University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG) of The University of Hong Kong presents Wondrous Rivers: Exploring Chinese Landscape Paintings. This exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in the captivating world of Chinese landscape art through a diverse series of paintings spanning from the early Qing dynasty (17th century) to modern and contemporary times. This artist talk is part of the educational and research program accompanying the exhibition. Ms. Tsang Tseng Tseng (曾貞貞), also known by her artist name Three Zan (三真), has been practicing the classical genre of ink and brush painting for two decades. Her distinctive artistic style is rooted in the brushwork techniques of Chinese landscape painting, seamlessly blended with Western painting and compositional methods. This fusion creates a natural and refreshing aesthetic that achieves a balance between Eastern and Western painterly traditions. Through engaging discussions between the artist and curator, we invite art enthusiasts to explore the techniques and artistic concepts of Chinese landscape painting, while reflecting on the relevance of appreciating landscapes in contemporary life.
Speaker
Tsang Tseng Tseng (曾貞貞), artist name Three Zan (三真), holds an MFA focused on traditional scholar paintings of the Yangtze River Delta. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the China Academy of Art. Since 2022, she has been a lecturer at the City University of Macau. Three Zan possesses an open and dynamic approach to thinking, visualising and perceiving art, allowing her to express and interpret classical Chinese paintings in a bold and innovative way.
Discussant
Dr. Shuo Sue Hua is Associate Curator at UMAG and adjunct Lecturer in the HKU Museum Studies Program. She received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from the University of Hong Kong. She was a Lee-Hysan visiting PhD at the Cluster of Global Art History, University of Heidelberg. Her research focuses on East Asian paintings in a transcultural context.