Marc Chagall, A vision in my dream

May 22 - June 10, 2013

Blue donkeys, fish playing, nymphs, goats, lovers, musicians and acrobats…

Opera Gallery invites you to enter into the exotic and dreamy world of Marc Chagall.

The Russian born French based artist is one of the most prolific and successful artist of the 20th Century. Considered to be a pioneer of modernism and a critical member of the Avant-garde, Chagall’s breadth of work spans virtually every artistic medium including paints, prints, stained glass, tapestries, illustrations, ceramics and stage sets.

The exhibition, titled ‘A vision in my dream’, will feature the artist’s most prominent works in total in the territory, including 30 original paintings on canvas and over 40 limited edition works. It is an associated project of Le French May and is held in Opera Gallery’s flagship space recently opened on 52 Wyndham Street.

Opening during Art Basel week, the show celebrates great art in the exciting and ever growing art scene of Hong Kong.

“This is the first major Chagall exhibition to take place in Hong Kong since the Hong Kong University Museum and Arts Gallery Chagall show (as well associated with Le French May festival) in 1994. We are delighted to play host to such an important and prominent collection especially in Hong Kong where so rarely you have the chance to view this caliber of work ” said Ms. Shirley Yablonsky, Director of Opera Gallery Hong Kong.

Drawing his inspiration from reality, dreams and culture Chagall flirted with Fauvism, Cubism and Surrealism yet was a follower of no one movement. Separated by the unconventional world with his distinctive iconography, his hybrids and fantasy animals, his acrobats, musicians and lovers, sometimes lit by the moon, sometimes by the sun, turned him with no doubt into a timeless legend.

Marc Chagall died in 1985 at the age of 97. The last survivor of the first generation of European modernists, Chagall’s unconventional world is timeless.

We are proud to present the show in our new flagship gallery on 52 Wyndham Street and look forward to welcoming you into Chagall’s enchanting and dreamy world.

Behind the curtains

by Lita Cabellut

March 7 - 30, 2013

Opera Gallery is proud to announce its new flagship space opening on 52 Wyndham Street this coming March 2013. The space spreads over four floors with more than 4,000 sqf. of exhibition space, resembling the look and feel of a French boutique you may stumble upon on the streets of Paris.

Designed in the spirit of the brand’s headquarters on the iconic Rue Saint Honoré in Paris, the new gallery has ground floor access and a fantastic central location in line with the historic art hub of Hollywood Road and few steps away from the Police station headquarters, soon to be an Arts and Culture magnet of its own.

The new location maintains the brand strategy as a premier destination for art lovers and collectors alike with great visibility and rotating shows. Every floor carries a different design to answer various exhibition needs - a luxurious black floor is fully dedicated to blue chip masterpieces and a multimedia floor is set for digital art. Another floor has a wine bar and entertainment area set for private dinners and exclusive viewing by private
collector.

“We are thrilled by our new space and fondly nickname it ‘La Maison d’Opera Gallery,’” says Shirley Yablonsky, Opera Gallery Hong Kong Director, “this expansion proves our commitment and strong ties to Hong Kong and to the region. We have been here since 2004 and were the first international gallery to open in the city. Over the years we showcased major exhibitions by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Fernando Botero and Bernard Buffet and with this brand new space we can continue bringing further exciting exhibitions to a more than ever demanding market. Our new location has a fantastic line up of shows including a Marc Chagall solo exhibition planned for later this year.’’

LITA CABELLUT ‘’BEHIND THE CURTAINS’’
Debut show in Hong Kong

“Behind the Curtains” represents a voyage through the human emotions. Cabellut is a fascinating artist, successful in conveying human emotions through her portraits, while giving a unique depth to her characters. Her portraits have one major strength: they are the intense reflection of her own story. This fact makes these magnificent paintings so substantial, so thrilling and so rich in psychological impact.

The Spanish expressionist artist Lita Cabellut was born in 1961 to a prostitute mother that abandoned her and condemned her to street life at a young age. She spent her youth living with the gypsies on the streets of El Ravel, Barcelona. Her work holds strong ties with memories from the old area of Barcelona, with closeness to the docks, La Boqueria Market, Las Ramblas and Sant Antoni Market - places full with pickpockets, street performers and of course prostitutes. At the age of thirteen, Cabellut was adopted and a new beginning arrived. Shortly after on a trip to the Prado Museum she discovered Goya, Velázquez, Ribera and Rembrandt. On leaving the museum Cabellut knew being an artist was going to be her future, in her own words: “I married very young, my first marriage was to art.”

Within four years Cabellut got her first exhibition at the Town Hall Museum of Masnou, Barcelona. At the age of 19 she took on a new challenge and left home for the Netherlands. Having heard about the “Dutch light”, Cabellut intended to experience it. Educated at The Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam (1982-1984) she was strongly influenced by Dutch portraiture. Her center-focus portraits appearing from dark backgrounds are comparable to Rembrandt and carry the fearlessness of Goya. In 1987, Cabellut had her second solo exhibition at Art et Industrie in the Netherlands. And by 1988, Cabellut’s had achieved her artist reputation and was established enough to earn a living solely from her artistic endeavors.

Cabellut’s unique pictorial language, using a contemporary variation on the fresco-technique and her own personalized 'Cabellut-palette’, was created with the help of laboratories and chemists. Cabellut spent five years researching her special mix of media looking to give her portraits the most realistic skin-like quality. The results of her research are portraits filled with intimacy, striking in their size and scale, creating a deep and powerful visual experience that carry the discipline of Vermeer and yet the sincerity of Francis Bacon. The subject matter is derived from her ongoing dialogue with her canvas “I am more than a painter, I am a storyteller,” she states.

“In her art work there is a strong poetic emotional force, a deep cry, a freedom, courage and strong rhythms,” said the poet and critic Ali Al Amery, “she paints out of music, love, pain and memories…she paints faces wrinkled with tragedies…the wounded light of the human soul.”

Cabellut only paints those that she admires and respects in all aspects, “I want those I paint to be seen in their magnificent state, and in their grandeur.” Among them on display in this show are some of the most influential icons of all times such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin, Billie Holiday and Coco Chanel.

Paul Alexis & Eduardo Guelfenbein

January 17 - February 4, 2013

Opera Gallery rings in the New Year with an exciting dual exhibition by international artists Paul Alexis and Eduardo Guelfenbein, featuring cunning manipulations of medium and material play with illusion to
create sensational compositions of color.

The dual exhibition showcases the versatility of paint with the innovative techniques of the two artists – Guelfenbeinʼs vibrant, tactile abstractions on canvas versus Alexisʼ monochrome, shadowed illusions on metal.

PAUL ALEXIS is a French artist born in 1947. His artworks are a superposition of multiple painted metal sheets depicting shadowed iconic figures, using an unusual technique of camera obscure to play with visual structures. Preferring to work in large formats, his works of ghostly forms engulf the viewer – until a second look reveals an icon of the past. The effect highlights the essence of historical figures whose public images have lost so much meaning with overproduction. Alexis is currently the president of the Salon Comparaisons of Paris, the institution that once showcased the great artists of recent centuries, including Yves Klein, Arman, Niki de Saint Phalle and Serge Poliakoff.

EDUARDO GUELFENBEIN was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1953. After attending school in Great Britain, he moved to Milan, Italy to attend the Accademia delle Belle Arti where he graduated with a Masters Degree in Art. His art eventually led him to Paris, France, where he now resides. Guelfenbeinʼs vibrant canvases draw inspiration from a mixture of South American expression with European music and culture. With a signature style best described as thick abstractions of melding acrylic colors on canvas, his focus has evolved towards the exploration of color as form, where the “medium is the message”. Each canvas is a manifestation of a mood, led by the fluid strokes of his paintbrush. Since being launched onto the international platform, his bold style has drawn praise from collectors around the world.

The exhibition will unveil a new collection of works on canvas by Paul Alexis and Eduardo Guelfenbein, celebrating the signature styles of two multicultural artists. Their distinguished techniques, illusive versus expressive, prove to be equally captivating for their inventive use of paint and metal. On view will be a selection of their latest creations, including vivid thick-acrylic abstractions from Guelfenbein and shadowed iconic figures like Queen Elizabeth and Marilyn by Alexis.

Mach Mania - The David Mach Show

November 22 - December 12, 2012

David Mach, the renowned Scottish sculptor, installation and collage artist, and one of Britainʼs best-loved and iconic artists, is coming to inaugurate his major solo exhibition this November at the Opera Gallery in Hong Kong.

Over the years, Mach has made his name turning everyday items into gorgeous feasts of color. Working with an eclectic variety of mass-produced objects, his sculptures are made from magazines, match heads, car tires, bricks, scrap cars and more. "I use everyday stuff you have in your house, that you pay no attention to at all. There's no second thought for these things. That's why I like them. We all know them."

Mach was born in Methil, Fife, in 1956. His eccentric, romantic and cultured family was unlike any other in Fife. Growing up with a mother who watched every movie, read every book and listened to every song; and a father who tells stories of old family members surviving concentration camps in Siberia, Mach said he would just sit back and watch, mouth agape. He later studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in 1974, where he experimented with many of the techniques and ideas that remain until today the core of his oeuvre. After graduating he was awarded a place at the Royal College of Art in London, emerging with a Masters Degree in 1982.

Over the years Mach made his mark with a great output in a range of phenomenal art works including Polaris, a recreation of a nuclear submarine made from 6,000 car tires, a 60 meter long train made of 185,000 bricks built near Darlington, the Acropolis of Magazines, the UK's Self Portrait, and many more. These sculptures are on the verge of being completely overwhelming in their scale and audacity. The density of these installations is echoed in Machʼs less extravagant works.

MACH-MANIA / THE DAVID MACH SHOW is a major exhibition of Machʼs smaller-scale art pieces showcasing truly fascinating treats from the recyclable genius. On display, assembled using thousands of matchsticks, are faces of celebrated icons such as Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Boop. Collages of hundreds of postcards create two-dimensional Superman and Captain America iconic portraits, one thousand silver coat hangers bring to life a 2.5 meter long Cheetah and so on…

Mach continues on a furious schedule exhibiting worldwide. Nominated for the Turner Prize, joining the Royal Academy of Arts as Professor of Sculpture and election to the board of the National Portrait Gallery are only a few of his endless accomplishments. His art is packed to the brim of life, action, love and passion. From collages to sculptures, every inch of his work tells another story.

Bernard Buffet & Auguste Rodin

13th September - 1st October 2012

This September Opera Gallery unveils an exquisite collection of works by renowned French masters Bernard Buffet and Auguste Rodin.

The exhibition presents a unique view of the two masters work, revolutionizing the perception of the figurative form in both sculpture and painting.

Auguste Rodin’s innovation liberated the treatment of the form from traditional techniques and paved the way to the development of modern art. The show celebrates Rodin’s most significant works showcasing legendary figures such as "The Age of Bronze", "Eve", "The Shade’’ and "The Thinker" among the 17 pieces on display. These beautiful casts are reproductions from the original plasters. All have been certified as authentic and are accompanied by certificate of Authenticity signed by Alan Beausire, the head archivist of the Rodin Museum in Paris.

Bernard Buffet is one of the most significant artists of the post war era in Paris. Experiencing meteoric success at the young age of 21, Buffet’s thick black outline, intense expression and elongated body forms, positioned him as the leading figurative artist in Paris of the 1950’s and won him international recognition, particularly in Japan and USA. This profound collection traces the artist steps from the 1950s to the 1990s, a voyage through his coastal and Riviera scenes through his flowers and renowned clowns. It reinforces Buffet’s artistic philosophy that ‘Abstract Painting is limited and boring, while figurative is unlimited.’

BUFFET-RODIN presents the powerful impact the individual work of Rodin’s art, rooted deep in the 19th century, made on Bernard Buffet’s 20th century creation in the treatment of figures.

From prospering French turn of the century to post war era this show will surely captivate its viewers and all fans of European art.

Xiong Lijun & Yim Tae Kyu

Xiong Lijun & Yim Tae Kyu

June 14 – July 1, 2012

Opera Gallery presents Asian contemporary dual exhibition by contemporary artists Xiong lijun and Yim Tae Kyu.

“We live in a time that resembles rave party and splendid glamorous stage, new media created a new generation and rapidly flung this generation behind, people are surrounded by the explosion of information, provocation, pop and common way of live where there’s no escape.” Xiong Lijun

The two illustrative and flamboyant asian painters Xiong Lijun (China) and Yim Tae Kyu (Korea) put on a fantastic showcase embarking its viewers into a fantastic world that is all too familiar.

Both artist works reflects the social and commercial condition in two different illustrative manners. On one side Xiong Lijun rides on the explosive commercial heat wave in China while on the other, Yim Tae Kyu takes a protagonist individualism approach and explore one’s inner self and their place in this labyrinth world.

About Xiong Lijun…

Xiong Lijun was born in 1975 in Chongqinq, China. In 2002 she passed her master degree in oil painting at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. Before she obtained her degree, Lijun held group or solo exhibitions in China, Korea and in the United States. In 1996 she was part of the exhibition “Triumph of the long walk, 60th anniversary- Artistic exhibition” held at the art museum of Sichuan in Cheng Du, China. She took part in both the third national exhibition of Chinese painters at the national museum of Beijing, China, as well as in the exhibition “In pursuit of happiness and freedom, the new art of China,” in 2003, at Las Vegas, USA. Xiong Lijun is more than a young emerging Chinese artist. Her dynamic and stimulating cartoon-like works illustrates a post-modern and ultra-urban Chinese youth. Her very distinctive and expressive style bears a personal identity that documents the youth of our time. Only in years will we look back and reminisce this youthful and the beautiful millennium error. Xiong Lijun embodies modernity in its most joyful way, while living life to its full.

About Yim tae Kyu…

Yim Tae Kyu was born in 1976 in Seoul, Korea. Soon after his graduation form the College of Fine Arts of Seoul National University in 2000, Yim pursued his studies further at the Graduate School of Chung-Ang University. Yim was exhibited in solo and group shows in Korea, Paris, New York, and China. His paintings were auctioned at Christie’s Hong Kong, and were presented at various international art fairs. Yim’s work is part of the main collections such as Malaysia National Museums of Art, Art Bank of National Museum of Contemporary Art, Kumho Art Museum and Song Eun Art & Culture Foundation to be listed. His talent is continuously being recognized with awards, one of which was given by Korea’s National Museum of Contemporary Art. Yim lives and works in Beijing and was in residency program at the National Goyang Art Studio.

Infinity in the Universe of Yayoi Kusama

May 15-June 1, 2012

"I gradually feel myself under the spell of the accumulation and repetition in my nets which expand beyond myself, and over the limited space of canvas, covering the floor, desks and everywhere.”

Yayoi Kusama, Yayoi kusama: Early Drawings From The collection of Richard Castellane.

Opera Gallery proudly presents the exhibition Infinity in the Universe of Yayoi Kusama taking place this coming May in Hong Kong.

The infamous Japanese master Yayoi Kusama has won an unprecedented and well-deserved recognition this year being honored with major four Museum retrospective show traveling from the Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid to Pompidou center in Paris, via its current display in The Tate Modern in London. The show will finish in Whitney Museum in New York later this year.

Celebrating her international success and ever lasting popularity Opera gallery Hong Kong is putting on display an exceptional collection of Kusama’s works with pieces dating as early as 1978 and up to 2011. The works in the show include paintings, sculptures and limited edition prints highlighted by a 2.6 meter sculpture of polka dot girl titled Kei Chan.

Scheduled to take place during the HKART fair and the cultural festival Le French May the exhibition celebrates an exceptional timing of arts and culture blossoming in the city.

Supported by the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau the exhibition is an associated project of Le French May Arts Festival.

Fan Xiaoyan and Kwon Ki-Soo

From March 1st to 25th, 2012

Welcoming the spring Opera Gallery is hosting an Asian dual exhibition showcasing spectacular sci-fi futuristic sculptures by Chinese artist Fan Xiaoyan alongside a series of hyper surrealist virtual animations by Korean artist Kwon Ki Soo.

The works of Fan Xiaoyan reflects a new reality, a surrealist virtual world, in which humans and machine are merged into one. Xiaoyan combines soft, warm flesh against cold hard steel to strike up a deep contrast in her work engaging her viewer on a visual and a psychological level. On the other hand, known for his playful Dongguri characters and colorful visual world, Kwon Ki Soo paintings are influenced by classical Korean landscapes, which he transforms to new animated realities intriguing and inviting the viewer to a magical feast to the eyes.

About Fan Xiaoyan…

Born in 1983, Fan Xiaoyan graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing where she currently lives and works. Through her sculptures, Fan Xiaoyan portrays a blazing modern woman: free and ambitious, a fighter but still feminine. With her exceptional techniques and choice of glimmering metals, she unveils with acuteness the powerful energies hidden in the light and shapes. Fan Xiaoyan’s work is puzzling and spectacular, shocking and touching, very lively and sensual altogether.

This is her debut showing in Hong Kong following successful solo and group shows in Geneva, Paris, Beijing and New York during the years 2010-2011.

About Kwon Ki Soo…

Born in 1972 in Young-Ju, Korea, Kwon Ki Soo completed his MA at Hongik University, Seoul where he now lives and works. Kwon traditional landscapes paintings of Bamboos, chrysanthemums and cherry blossoms have become virtual, colorful and positively charged. His center character named Dongguri, is a black-and-white geometric figure with a cheeky permanent grin that roams across many and varied projects of Kwon Ki Soo and has become his repetitive artistic icon. Dongguri symbolic smiley face is said to be inspired by the Buddha, where the simple smile indicates that everything is going to be all right. A smile of silence that is also one of compassionate understanding. By using what he knows best of the traditional themes with contemporary sentiments Kwon created a New Wave of Korean Pop Art.

His work has been successfully included in ‘Fiction @ Love’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China, in 2006; ‘The Elegance of Silence’, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, in 2005; and the 'Busan Biennale 2006', Korea.

The photographer RANCINAN in Hong Kong

Opera Gallery pays tribute to the visual imagination of photographer Gérard Rancinan, showcasing his latest series of photography in Hong Kong, the first Asian stop of his world tour.

Curated by Gilles Dyan, Chairman of the Opera Gallery Group and Shirley Yablonsky, Director of Opera Gallery Hong Kong, the exhibition will be on display at Opera Gallery Hong Kong from November 11 to December 1, 2011. The exhibition has already been showcased in Geneva, Paris and London, and will continue its Asian tour showing in Singapore and Seoul following the Hong Kong debut.

Rancinan’s debut exhibition in Hong Kong and Asia will feature a selection photographs from his trilogy series – Metamorphoses, Hypotheses and Wonderful World, as well as some world famous Portraits.

Metamorphoses, a series of larger-than-life photos, is the artist’s testimonial of the mutations shaking our world today. Inspired by artistic masterpieces, Rancinan revisits mankind’s most ancient and significant interrogations, and realizes how important these issues remain today. With his unique and vivid genius, Rancinan presents a subjective and yet strongly symbolic report on the planet’s most profound questions against a backdrop of accelerated globalisation: ecology, migration, emancipation of the oppressed, freedom and basic human rights, starvation and fast-food.
 
Other series on display include Hypotheses and the brand new Wonderful world that depict the world as a “big amusement park”.  The exhibition will also feature some of Rancinan’s most exquisite Portraits of famous artists. From Yan Pei Ming to Paul McCarthy, Rancinan plunged head-first into the creative universe of each of these talented artists, and the result is a veritable communion of breath-taking “portrait-performances” that reveal parts of each person’s soul as well as their force and their humanity.

Speaking about his work, Rancinan comments “I am a witness of the metamorphoses of our humanity. My work is to exhibit some wonderful and powerful photographs but also to show to the viewers how society is today and to be a witness of my contemporaries using the tradition of classic art.’’

“Hong Kong is a new important hub for art and artists, between two different worlds, with a mix of people and culture. For me it's an important stop in my career as Hong Kong is the perfect resume of the contemporaries humanity(YES). Moreover, Opera Gallery is a very dynamic gallery and represents the ideal gallery to exhibit my work today in a city like Hong Kong,’’ he continued.

French born Gérard Rancinan has travelled the globe photographing events of historical importance and delivering the startling images through an ever-evolving aesthetic prism.  Seen in some of the most prestigious galleries around the world, the internationally renowned artist is constantly breaking down barriers, foremost as an investigator deconstructing the great sagas of contemporary life, and as a portraitist.
The last time Rancinan was in Hong Kong was during the handover where he was commissioned by The Sunday Times Magazine to capture this historical period.
He captured Chris Patten along side Stanley Ho, and other prominent Hong Kong identities.

FERNANDO BOTERO

Debut showing in Opera Gallery Hong Kong with lead sponsorship by the Colombian Embassy
September 16 – October 10, 2011

World famous Colombian artist, Fernando BOTERO will be showcasing his extraordinary works in Hong Kong from 16th September to 10th October, 2011 at the Opera Gallery in Central.
On display will be over 40 of BOTERO’S original works, including live size bronze sculptures and paintings as well as works on paper.

Seeming calm and tranquil BOTERO’S colorful and humorous compositions won him great acclaim internationally. In the past decade the number of exhibitions of his paintings and sculptures organized by art institutions from Stockholm to Tokyo has been almost without precedent in the case of an artist from Latin America. In fact few artists from any corner of the world have enjoyed more attention by the museum going public than BOTERO.

BOTERO’S massive sculptures have gained particular attention exhibited in significant locations along Park Avenue in New York, constitution Avenue in Washington D.C, the Champs Elysees in Paris and the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. In 2008 Adam & Eve, a pair of 3.5 meter bronze sculptures by the artist were showcased outside the Exchange Square in Central as part of Art Moderne exhibition curated by Opera Gallery.

The present exhibition is significant presenting the first major exhibition of the artist in Hong Kong and will focus on paintings from various periods of his career. On display viewers will encounter bullfighting scenes, acrobats from the cirques as well as BOTERO’S loved topic; The Nude Women. The show is sure to attract great attention by local collectors and art fans that have rare occasions to view the master’s work in the region. ‘’In the Chinese culture round and voluptuous looks mark a great sign of prosperity making BOTERO’S compositions top favorites among Hong Kong collectors ’’ remarked Shirley Yablonsky, the gallery director.

’’Botero’s acclaimed reputation is widely known and we are proud to play host to this important showing. Hong Kong is rapidly growing to become a focal point in the international and regional artistic arena making this show another mile stone in the city’s blooming art scene’’ claimed Mrs. Yablonsky.
‘’Botero is one of Colombia’s greatest assets. A true master of great talent and a phenomenal ambassador of Colombian art all over the world. It was my first mission to bring Botero’s art to Hong Kong and am delighted to play sponsor to this wonderful and unique show’’ quoted saying Colombia’s Consul General Jose Antonio Mutis.

Botero has been very successful commercially almost from the beginning of his career and prices of his works started soaring on international market since the late 60’s positioning his reputation as a ‘’Best Selling’ artist. Among the works on display there will be top pieces from the artist’s palate of works ranking anywhere from 2MHKD to as high as 15 Million HKD per piece.