EVENT DESCRIPTION
Cats have long been cherished figures in art and literature, and stories of affection for them abound. For Benny SY Li—a painter, writer, and prominent cultural figure in the Chinese-speaking world—cats are a recurring subject through which his philosophy of life is expressed: an unhurried way of observing the world, and a quiet freedom to come and go with ease.
From 26 February to 13 March, Bonhams Hong Kong will present the special exhibition Where Is the Cat: The Art and Life of Benny SY Li. The exhibition comprises two sections: “Where Is the Cat,” featuring over 30 cat-themed paintings by Li, available for private collection; and “Echoes of a Golden Era,” which showcases the artist’s personal collection and reflects Hong Kong’s cultural “Golden Age.”
The paintings in “Where Is the Cat” reveal a world that drifts between reality and imagination. Li’s cats are free and wily, maintaining a deliberate sense of distance. They are unconstrained travellers, moving across varied settings—appearing in unexpected places, slipping into familiar scenes, or disappearing altogether. Sometimes the cat is clearly present; at other times, viewers are left to search for its trace.
Through cats, Li projects human experience and emotion with subtlety and humour. By letting them speak for people, his works often invite a quiet, knowing smile.
The world of cats is intertwined with human stories. The exhibition’s second section, “Echoes of a Golden Era,” presents a selection of letters, gifted artworks, and archival images that Li has preserved over many years. Together, they trace his friendships and exchanges with leading figures from the arts and cultural world, while evoking the energy and vitality of Hong Kong’s cultural “Golden Age” of the 1980s and 1990s. As a firsthand witness to this era, Li draws on his keen observation and distinctive cultural position to capture fleeting moments, preserving them in ways that allow them to resonate in the present.
