SECOND NATURE
Artists: Alicja Kwade, David Altmejd, John Baldessari, Claus Böhmler, He Chi, HMFF, Idris Khan, Lam Yau Sum, Lin Xin, Helen Marten, Kingsley Ng, Tony Oursler, Utopia Group, Yang Xin Jia.
Opening exhibition Second Nature curated by Hong Kong curator Janet Fong
Building upon the success of its Central location, chi art space is thrilled to announce a new, expanded space in Clear Water Bay. An expansive two-level exhibition space spread over 5400 sqft, chi art space Clear Water Bay will enable the K11 Art Foundation (KAF) to continue its mission of nurturing and promoting the development of contemporary art locally. The extended platform will welcome artists, curators and new audiences, enhancing access to contemporary art whilst stimulating cross-cultural dialogue to generate new thought, knowledge and ideas. Embodying KAF’s mandate of incubating emerging curatorial talents, the inaugural exhibition, Second Nature: A Contemporary Art Exhibition of Your Own, is curated by Hong Kong independent curator Janet Fong, and runs from 11 March – 9 April 2017.
Second Nature is inspired by the contextual environment within which the exhibition is presented. Situated within the serene surroundings of Clear Water Bay, the space is backed by luscious green landscapes, and flanked by a linear row of newly built contemporary structures, beckoning a relational dialogue of ‘Nature’ vs ‘Artificial’. Presented across two exhibition floors, the first space explores the cultural traces of nature, history and human civilisation; whilst the second presents the artists’ reflections upon the issues through new media, interactive works and contemporary practices that exemplify society’s progression and exponential digital development. The subject matters as raised and examined by the artists are highly pluralistic, and demands viewers to observe, contemplate and deliberate. Diverse works are critically juxtaposed to encourage visual and sensory associations, highlighting similarities as well as differences, to embody the meaning of the exhibition.
The conceptual nature of the show is based upon American philosopher John Mcdowell’s proposition that “second nature” is humanity’s natural capacity to make decisions constituted not just by immediate biological imperatives but by informed understanding. This theory of the concept as an interpretative practice, through which we gain knowledge via experiences, forms the fundamental basis for the curatorial theme. In context of Fong’s exhibition, it refers to artists and viewers creating and experiencing the works through their own physicality, encouraging the audience to reach beyond the cognitive to exercise all five senses, journeying through light, time and space to discover multi-layered interpretations unique to their own imagination.
The landmark opening exhibition will feature over 20 works across a diverse range of media, from painting, photography and sculpture, to video, moving image, neon and large-scale installation works. The exhibiting artists include established names alongside emerging artists from Greater China, showcasing seminal works by: David ALTMEJD, John BALDESSARI, Claus BÖHMLER, HE Chi, HMFF, Idris KHAN, Alicja KWADE, LAM Yau Sum, LIN Xin, Helen MARTEN, Kingsley NG, Tony OURSLER, Utopia Group, and YANG Xin Jia.*
Adrian Cheng, Founder and Honorary Chairman of K11 Art Foundation celebrates with “KAF is dedicated to nurturing and promoting young Chinese artists and curators. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a fundamental paradigm shift, with many younger-generation artists rising to become global voices. The new chi art space is an extremely exciting addition to the wide range of programmes that have been developed thus far; and Clear Water Bay is one that will offer the breadth of space and clarity of mind for the appreciation of art. Second Nature also embodies our commitment to providing a meaningful platform to showcase home-grown talents alongside international masters, creating new ways of seeing, forging new dialogues, and generating new critical discourse. By presenting the show at chi art space in Clear Water Bay, we hope that the exhibition will stimulate the senses and build a community of new and old audiences alike.”