Hong Kong artist Tsang Kin-wah’s comeback exhibition creates an apocalyptic landscape
One of the most talked-about openings during Art Basel week, Tsang Kin-wah’s exhibition at Galerie du Monde is a memorable return
Tsang Kin-wah’s first Hong Kong exhibition in years was one of the most talked-about openings during Art Basel week, even though nobody could quite pronounce the title.
“T REE O GO D EVIL”, with the deliberate gaps, is still on view at Central’s Galerie du Monde, one of Hong Kong’s oldest established commercial galleries.
The immersive exhibition that completely takes over the gallery space’s surfaces also rings with political urgency. It is a particularly memorable comeback for a person once widely regarded as Hong Kong’s most prominent contemporary artist.
In 2014, when he was chosen to represent Hong Kong at the 56th Venice Biennale, Tsang was best known for his wallpapers that concealed Cantonese swear words in elegant floral patterns. Such playful symbols of hybridity morphed into something more sombre in Venice, where his exhibition “The Infinite Nothing” included powerful videos and projections about how human history is trapped in endless, recurring cycles.
Born in mainland China in 1976, Tsang moved to Hong Kong in 1982 with his family and studied art at the Chinese University of Hong Kong before pursuing a master’s degree in book art in London.