Curatorial Statement

"Collect Hong Kong Art Fair" is a signature exhibition and art fair organised by the Hong Kong Arts Centre in 2025 to promote local artists. This year’s event focuses on the stories of Hong Kong artists, recounting the past and exploring the future to illustrate the complete picture of the local art ecosystem for the visitors.

Hong Kong's art history can be traced back to the 1920s with Gao Qi Feng — master of the Lingnan School of Painting and professor at the University of Hong Kong — and Bao Shao You, who founded an art school on Caine Road. But their impact on the overall art scene was limited. The true formation of Hong Kong's art history began about 70 or 80 years ago with the gradual migration of renowned artists from Guangdong to Hong Kong, eventually establishing two major streams of Eastern and Western art.

Traditional Chinese painting pioneers such as Ding Yan Yong and Lu Shou Kun taught at New Asia College, the predecessor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His esteemed student, Kao May Ching, laid a solid foundation for his future career as the curator of the Department of Fine Arts and the Institute of Chinese Culture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Furthermore, outside the academic system, Lu Shou Kun nurtured future Hong Kong art icons such as Wang Wu Xie and Zhou Lu Yun, laying a solid foundation for the Department of Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. With the establishment of Hong Kong Baptist University’s School of Visual Arts at the beginning of this century, art education became more diversified — and many young students began to make their mark in the art world both domestically and internationally.

Private art education also played a crucial role. Chan Hoi Ying founded the Hong Kong Academy of Fine Arts, inviting Chinese oil painting pioneer Li Tie Fu to teach, and foster a generation of renowned plein air painters such as Jiang Qi Ming, Auyeung Nai Chim, and Wong Kum. Private institutions such as First Institute of Art and Design, Linghai Evening Art School, Hong Kong Ching Ying Institute of Visual Arts, and the Hong Kong Art School were then established, cultivating local talent with both artistic literacy and practical skills.

Another monumental group are artists who have returned from studying abroad and those who have recently immigrated, including Lin Feng Mian, Luis Chan, Wu Bu Yun, Cheung Yee, Chu Tat Shing, Raymond Fung, William Lim and Lui Chun Kwong. Their diverse academic backgrounds, creative styles and aesthetic approaches have continuously enriched the landscape of Hong Kong art.

Hong Kong artists such as Szeto Keung, Wong Cheung, and Lam Yuk Fai introduced Western modern photorealism in the 1980s, launching avant-garde painting experiments in Hong Kong. Characterised by meticulous realism and urban themes, the works were unique in the art world at the time; but the scene rapidly shifted towards new media and conceptual art, and this trend only lasted a short time before gradually fading.

Art communities emerged in 1970s when artists such as Eddie Lui established the Hong Kong Visual Arts Society, promoting artistic exchange and creative practice, and becoming an important force in the development of local visual arts. In 1997, artists such as Wong Shun Kit founded the Commune of Art, Hong Kong that provided a platform and space for independent artistic creation. Subsequent artist communities such as the Cattle Depot Artist Village, Fotan Studio, and Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC) emerged to provide artists with stable creative spaces, making Hong Kong's art scene more vibrant, rooted and diverse.

Collect Hong Kong Art Fair 2026 brings together works by cross-generation artists, focusing on creativity combined with archival materials from different eras to trace the development of Hong Kong art. The fair aims to spotlight future pillars of the art world and serve as a practical "manual" for understanding, appreciating and collecting Hong Kong artists — encouraging more viewers and collectors to engage with, support, and value local art.

Gary Mok Wai Hong
Curator