AYE Project Space, a well-established Beijing-based gallery, is making its debut in Hong Kong with a dazzling pop-up exhibition, Angelus Novus, featuring the works of both Chinese and Western contemporary artists, including representative works of German Neo-expressionist masters.
Held from March 26th to 31st, this co-production of Michael Werner Gallery and AYE Gallery will be held concurrently with Art Basel HK, with a shuttle bus to the venue in Chai Wan from the convention centre.
Although Beijing-based AYE Gallery has appeared at Art Basel HK for almost a decade, the Hong Kong counterpart is open to public for the very first time. The exhibition, Angelus Novus, features works by Georg Baselitz, A. R. Penck, Markus Lüpertz, Jörg Immendorff, Sigmar Polke and Liu Wei.
Progress
The title of the exhibition, Angelus Novus (New Angel) pays tribute to German philosopher Walter Benjamin’s profound appraisal of Paul Klee’s Angelus Novus: “But a storm is blowing in from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings with such a violence that the angel can no longer close them. The storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward. This storm is what we call progress. ”
The selection spanning 50 years features Georg Baselitz’s unrefined, figurative depiction of Ein Jäger (1968); A. R. Penck’s expressionistic response in Standart-West K (1982) after relocating to West Germany in 1980; Jörg Immendorff’s enthusiastic brushwork seen in The Saints/Leda und die Schwäne (1984), where a charred female figure is surrounded by a convocation of haloed, supposedly innocent eagles; Markus Lüpertz’s daemonic figures in Geburt des Centaur (2017) inspired from ancient Greek mythologies; and Liu Wei’s daily transcription of Lan Ting Xu (2018) reaching for Vipassanā, an insight into the true nature of reality.
As the guru of Chinese Cynical Realism, Liu Wei, well acquainted in both western and home contemporary art scenes, had his mind set on progression and self-subversion. In Lan Ting Xu, Liu re-explored traditional ink painting techniques with an intuitive and novel approach.
As the year 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall the show not only commemorates this historical event, but also contemplates the looming fate of mankind: beneath the firmament, caught up in historic turmoil, what is mankind stepping into at the crossroads of globalization and nation-states?
Michael Werner and AYE envision a rosy prospect for the contemporary art scene in Angelus Novus, braving the storm of unknown with grace and finesse, educating and entertaining art lovers and academia alike.
It has not yet been announced for how long the pop-up exhibition will be open; more details here.
See also:
Venice Biennale Opens With Great Britain Represented by Cathy Wilkes
Art Installation Illuminates Hong Kong
Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale in Hong Kong
German Expressionist Works From Major Art Collection That Survived Nazi Purge Go to Auction
