Art in Resonance

EVENT DESCRIPTION

The Peninsula, whose worldwide properties have long held partnerships with luminaries in the arts, has announced the return of its “Art in Resonance” programme, opening during Hong Kong Art Week. The relaunch will kick off with a collection of newly commissioned artworks from visionaries Kingsley Ng and Lachlan Turczan, which will be exhibited alongside pieces from The Peninsula’s collection at the iconic Peninsula Hong Kong. The exhibition will be open to the public.  

Originally introduced by The Peninsula in 2019 in collaboration with its global cultural advisors Isolde Brielmaier and Bettina Prentice, “Art in Resonance” won wide acclaim for offering guests deeply immersive experiences in its hotels’ respective destination cities. At its root, the commission-based art programme is designed to support the cultural eco-system by providing emerging artists with the funding, curatorial support and logistical capabilities that allow them to produce significant new public artworks.

A Dynamic, Thought-Provoking Exhibition

Starting in late March, visitors to The Peninsula Hong Kong will discover an inspiring collection of works. The first they will encounter is Hong Kong local Kingsley Ng’s (b. 1980, Hong Kong) monumental sculpture Esmeralda, which will hover over the hotel’s iconic façade. Ng describes the installation as “undulating between the physics of gravity and the buoyancy of air.” According to the celebrated artist, the piece – named for one of Italo Calvino’s fictional locations from his 1972 novel ‘Invisible Cities’ – is meant to be in dialogue with Hong Kong itself.

Ng’s work has been exhibited at the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Arts, Rome; and the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong.

Also on view is Lachlan Turczan (b. 1993, Los Angeles) newly commissioned Harmonic Resonance – a kinetic sculpture that provides a mesmerising exploration of visible sound. The work features a parabolic mirror measuring over 1.6m in diameter will shape a shallow pool of water with a series of choreographed infrasonic tones that invite audience engagement.  The low-frequency tones cause oscillating patterns to form on the surface of the pool – some of which appear to move in stop-motion.

Elise Morin’s (b. 1978, Paris, France) glittering sculptural work SOLI, originally commissioned in 2019, has been significantly expanded by the artist especially for the Hong Kong exhibition. The work is newly augmented with an additional 4,000 crushed CDs – pulverized according to the security grade of their content. Morin’s piece, resembling a whale breaching the ocean’s surface, is a quiet commentary on the material burden of objects.

Another inspiring work included in the exhibit is Saya Woolfalk’s (b. 1979, Gifu, Japan) Visionary Reality Portal, a digital portal for meditation and the contemplation of other worlds. The colourful, kaleidoscopic and multisensory video installation will be housed in a purpose-built room off street-level and open to the public. The piece, originally debuted at The Peninsula Paris in 2019, has also been further developed by the renowned Japanese-American artist to connect with viewers in Hong Kong.

A Commitment to Contemporary Arts

The Peninsula has been committed to promoting the rich and vibrant cultural aspects of its properties’ destination cities for generations by inviting its guests to engage with art through numerous channels. The group has hosted artist residencies; mounted enriching and culturally representative exhibits, talks, and symposia; and offered studio visits and workshops with local creators whose work exemplifies the distinctive flavour and energy of their home cities.

The exhibition artworks will remain at The Peninsula Hong Kong through May; after which they will travel regularly to other Peninsula properties, and be joined by additional, newly commissioned installations from local artists. For the duration of the exhibit, The Peninsula Hong Kong will offer visitors free access to all pieces, as well as guided tours, special dining experiences and other activations to highlight and pay homage to the artists and to the renewed vibrancy of the city.