Celebrity Life

There’s no doubt Alex Lam inherited his musical talent from his parents, his father being Cantopop legend George Lam Chi-Cheung, and his mother, Sally Yeh. Still, the singer-songwriter and actor hasn’t let privilege get to his head — he’s not afraid to explore other paths, from a stint in Los Angeles to discover yoga and becoming a yoga teacher, to dipping his toes in fashion.

Lam met Hiro Yoshikawa, founder and designer of Washi Jeans, a Japanese denim brand, a couple years back and was intrigued by the designer’s backstory. Now based in Hong Kong, Yoshikawa is the 18^th generation of a revered sake maker in Okayama, Japan, and the first to leave the family business to pursue his own passion in denim-making. By chance, Yoshikawa had found an old document that charted out his family’s history, written on washi paper. Inspired by this, he developed and patented the Washi No. 6 paper yarn, which he utilizes in his first solo collection launching this month.

Lam, who has always had an eye for detail, quickly became an ambassador and muse for Yoshikawa, and took it upon himself to bring the recognition Yoshikawa deserves by helping him stage his upcoming solo debut.

We sit down with Alex Lam and Hiro Yoshikawa at Washi Jean's studio to talk about style and the upcoming debut of Yoshikawa's solo collection Life on Earth.

Can you describe your style? What are your wardrobe essentials?

AL: My style has always been inspired by musicians. I grew up watching some of my favourite bands like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and today, I'm inspired by singers like Drake. For me, my summer essentials include a sleeveless vest, a good multi-functional blazer and a pair of high-quality designer jeans.

Have you always been passionate about fashion and did you want to work in fashion?

AL: I have always cared about how I look and my outfits since I was a kid. I remember there was one time when the collar of my t-shirt wasn't right and I wouldn’t wear it out until my parents fixed it for me. Having friends who are in the fashion industry allows me to execute and experiment my ideas during workshops, like the ‘marshmallow’ colourway of the t-shirt I’m wearing right now. 

How did the both of you meet?

AL: I met Hiro-san thought some of our mutual friends.

HY: have been making jeans for other brands for the past 30 years and it has always been my dream to have my own denim brand. I have always hung out with people from the fashion industry, and meeting Alex from the music and acting world has made my life more fun and exciting.

Can you tell us a bit about your project with Hiro-san?

AL: I was hanging out with a group of producers and we often talk about fashion shows, designer brands’ videos, installation art and music. Once we found out Hiro-san wanted to launch his own denim brand this year, we decided to catch this opportunity and put our ideas together. We are organising a VIP launch event with a fashion show on June 11, 2021.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome with this project?

AL: I think the rules of the game changed after Covid started last year. We looked at online fashion shows last year, without the tradition styles, and we knew our team needed to do it in a cleverer way. The restriction for event gathering is 30 persons at the moment, so we were not able to invite too many friends and make the event as big as before. Plus the campaign and fashion show video shoot all in one day, that’s the biggest challenge in this project.

HY:  We have been staying in our studio almost every day is the past few months, meeting different parties like our PR team, models, videographers and producers.

What else are you up to this year that you can share with us?

AL: I have released a new song and I just finished a music video for another song. I have also been working on my YouTube channel and created a few series, but it’s been slightly slowed down because I was focusing in this project.

Has the pandemic affected the way you work or changed your priorities?

AL: Before Covid, I was busy working with clients, who often prepared everything. With changes and restrictions during this period, I am able to organise and create more content by myself.

What are you currently inspired by?

AL: There are many indie musicians and young kids out there who are doing their music in their unique styles. I admire them a lot as they can release songs as long as they think it sounds good. I used think good music requires the best studio and recording equipment, but turned out a lot of indie musicians are producing high quality songs just by working at home.

You have a YouTube channel, you're into fashion, music as well as classic cars. How did you get into each of those passions and how do you balance it all?

AL: Project by project. I’m now focusing more on quantity over quality and I'll keep learning from the progress and mistakes.

Do you have a motto you live by?

Stay healthy. As I was a yoga teacher, I still practice yoga for two to three hours each day. It’s a good way to reflect on myself and find peace.

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With Art Basel and Art Central kicking off concurrently next weekend, satellite shows abound. Here are a few of our top picks for where to get your fill of art this coming month, and beyond.

Lévy Gorvy: Eternal Seasons Part II

Part two of Lévy Gorvy's Eternal Seasons opened at the end of April following the critical success of Part I, which featured Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterworks by Claude Monet, Edvard Munch and Vincent Van Gogh, juxtaposed by the magnificent jewellery sculptures by Wallace Chan. The second part explores postwar and contemporary works by international artists such as Alexander Calder, Francesco Clemente, Alex Katz, Yayoi Kusama, Andy Warhol, Joan Mitchell and more, and looks to be equally as spellbinding as the first.

Open now until May 31. Lévy Gorvy, Ground Floor, 2 Ice House Street, Central. More details on www.levygorvy.com.

Perrotin: Spectrum

Marking Josh Sperling's first solo show in Hong Kong, Spectrum is dedicated to the two art forms that have really defined Sperling's works: "squiggles" and "double bubbles" in bold and bright pop-art colours. What makes the works so special are the way they're constructed as sculptural paintings; Sperling has developed a meticulous process that culminates in canvas stretched over precisely stepped plywood support in the shape of curving lines or circles, that are then painted over with acrylic paint and varnish to create each "painting".

Open now until June 12. Perrotin, 807, K11 ATELIER Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. More details on https://www.perrotin.com.

Crafts on Peel: Creations Enlivened - Metal

Crafts on Peel brings together traditional craftsmen and contemporary artists together to collaborate on a series of exhibitions that showcase one particular material or craft in the region and beyond. Its third exhibition, Creations Enlivened: Metal, focuses on metal crafts created by artisans from Hong Kong and Japan. Working across a myriad of metals from copper, brass, silver, tin to galvanised iron, the exhibition showcases a wide-range of common objects and invites the viewers to look at them through new eyes and appreciate their infinite beauty and durability.

Open now until July 24. Crafts on Peel, 11 Peel Street, Central. More details on www.craftsonpeel.com.

L'École School of Jewellery Arts: The Art of Gold

The preciousness of gold has often been overshadowed by that of porcelain and jade in the appreciation of Chinese treasures, but this exhibition at L'École School of Jewellery Arts, supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, dispels the myth by showcasing 3000 years of Chinese treasures in gold. Expect an absolute eye-opener to the meticulous crafting process and learn all about the evolution of the art and craft of gold jewellery and objects in ancient China.

Open now until August 29. L'École School of Jewellery Arts. 510A, 5/F K11 MUSEA, Tsim Sha Tsui. More details on www.lecolevancleefarpels.com/hk

Alisan Fine Arts: Symphony

The life and work of Chu Teh-Chun is majorly celebrated this year on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Franco-Chinese artist. Apart from a documentary premiering at Art Basel Hong Kong and at select cinemas as part of Le French May's programming, Chu's works will also be showcased at Alisan Fine Arts. The exhibition displays a curation of 16 of Chu's most important works on paper that highlight his iconic abstract compositions and calligraphy.

Opens May 12 until 10 July. Alisan Fine Arts, 21/F Lyndhurst Terrace, Central. More details on www.alisan.com.hk.

Ben Brown: What is in a Head?

This exhibition features two of Britain's leading figurative painters, Frank Auerbach and Tony Bevan, cantered around the philosophical and intriguing question, "What is a Head?" The exhibition is a powerful one, displaying works ranging from the 1960s to the present day, and comparing and contrasting the works of Auerbach and Bevan and the way they interpret this most defining feature of humanity.

Opens May 15 until July 3. Ben Brown Fine Arts, 202 The Factory, 1 Yip Fat Street, Wong Chuk Hang. More details on www.benbrownfinearts.com.

Villepin: Myonghi Kang

One of contemporary Korean art's leading figures, Myonghi Kong has, for five decades, sought to represent nature on paper and canvas in an assortment of ways, from abstraction to figuration. Extremely poetic and soothing, the artist's works constantly probe at our collective perception, embodiment and understanding of nature. Kang also draws from her own extensive travels, and uses her work to reconcile eastern and western sensibilities.

Opens May 17 until October. Villepin, 55 Hollywood Road, Central. More details on www.villepinart.com.

David Zwirner: The Real World

The Real World is a group exhibition featuring paintings, sculptures and installations from some of New York and Los Angeles most prominent art influences from the 1990s and early 2000s, such as Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Raymond Pettibon, Jason Rhoads, Diana Thater, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Lisa Yuskavage. Additionally, the exhibition serves as a mini-survey of Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996), a renowned conceptual artist known for his minimal installations and sculptures that use common objects like lightbulbs, clocks, paper and even packaged hard candies, to track and measure the inevitable flow of time.

Opens May 18 until July 31. David Zwirner Hong Kong, 5-6/F, H Queen's, 80 Queen's Road Central. More details on www.davidzwirner.com.

Gagosian: Horizontals

Leading American painter Mark Grotjahn's first solo exhibition in Hong Kong comprises a new body of paintings from his Capri series. Grotjahn is known for his approach to colour, perspective and seriality and his uncanny ability to incorporate different modes of expression into an instantly recognisable aesthetic. The exhibition, titled Horizontals, brings Grotjahn's artistic language into the realm of full abstraction, inspired by the landmark modernist house of writer Curzio Malaparte on the island of Capri.

Opens May 18 until August 7. Gagosian, 7/F Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central. More details on www.gagosian.com.

Leelee Chan: Tokens From Time

Hosted during the period of Art Basel, the fair's partner BMW is unveiling the works of local artist Leelee Chan, who was the recipient of the BMW Art Journey prize last year. Exhibited at the car brand's Wanchai showroom, Tokens From Time, is the culmination of Chan's time spent in Europe on the first leg of her journey with BMW, and traces the material culture from the past, present and future, touching on contemporary debates on ecological and cultural sustainability today.

Opens May 19 to 23. BMW Luxury Class Wanchai Showroom, G/F Everbright Centre, 108 Gloucester Road, Wanchai. More details on www.bmw-art-journey.com.

Phoebe Hui: The Moon is Leaving Us

Did you know the moon is slowly but surely drifting away from Earth? Hong Kong-based multidisciplinary artist Phoebe Hui explores this notion in the most poetic way possible through a large-scale installation that is currently on view at Tai Kwun. Her work marks the fifth Audemars Piguet Art Commission, presented by Audemars Piguet Contemporary. The work also represents the first time Audemars Piguet Commission is shown in Asia. While the exhibition is invite-only, it can be accessed digitally via www.audemarspiguet.com.

Open now until May 23. Invitation only. Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Art, 10 Hollywood Road, Central. More details on www.taikwun.hk/en.

ArtisTree: Films by Fredrik Tjærandsen and Paul Cocksedge

Led by Swire Properties, ArtisTree in Taikoo Place will be home to two extraordinary exhibitions, featuring life-size installations and digital art by Norwegian artist Fredrik Tjærandsen and British design firm Paul Cocksedge Studio.

Light In/Out Film and Exhibition, by Tjærandsen, marries fashion with movement, film, photograph and visual arts, and spotlights the eccentric bubble dresses that earned Tjærandsen viral attention.

Please Be Seated, part of an ongoing collaboration between Swire and Paul Cocksedge, is a piece that features arches and curves constructed from sustainably sourced timber, and makes for a welcoming space for people to pass through or pass the time in contemplation.

Opens May 24 until June 8. ArtisTree, 1/F Cambridge House, Taikoo Place. More details on www.taikooplace.com.

The post Art Month: 12 Exhibitions to Catch this May appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Art Basel may be the main event, but there's plenty more for art devotees to see and do in Hong Kong this month, and the months ahead.

NOGUCHI FOR DANH VO: COUNTERPOINT

M+ Pavillion, West Kowloon Cultural District

From now until April 22
The eighth exhibition at Hong Kong’s museum for 20th- and 21st-century visual culture presents a unique dialogue between noted Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi and Vietnamese-Danish artist Danh Vo. It features a wide range of drawings, objects and sculptures by Noguchi as well as selected pieces produced by Vo in the past eight years.

HKWALLS

Wan Chai

From now until March 31
Hong Kong’s annual street-art festival welcomes local and international artists to realise their visions on exterior walls just a stone’s throw from Art Basel in the vibrant district of Wan Chai. Besides a front-row seat to live painting, visitors can enjoy pop-up exhibitions, workshops and special events throughout the week.

UNFOLDING: FABRIC OF OUR LIFE

Centre of Heritage, Arts & Textile

From now until June 30

The inaugural exhibition at the Centre for Heritage, Arts & Textile (CHAT) at The Mills in Tsuen Wan, which celebrates its grand opening on March 16, showcases works and performances by 17 contemporary artists and collectives from Asia. In keeping with the centre’s mission and home at former cotton mills, textiles are woven throughout the works to signify the experiences of textile labourers in the era of globalisation.

[caption id="attachment_135464" align="alignnone" width="1024"] An installation view of Eau de Cologne, Berlin, 2015.[/caption]

EAU DE COLOGNE

Hart Hall, H Queen's

March 27-April 12
The groundbreaking contemporary-art series -- known for establishing a powerful discourse around art, feminism and power -- makes its Asia debut, featuring Cindy Sherman, Jenny Holzer and three more of the seven seminal female artists who participated in the original project in 1983. Also featured are Astrid Klein and Kara Walker, presenting compelling messages about today’s social, political and cultural environments.

[caption id="attachment_135465" align="alignnone" width="759"] Palimpsest, 2016, by Art Central featured artist Hoon Kwak.[/caption]

ART CENTRAL

Central Harbourfront

March 27-31
The fifth staging of the second major fair of Hong Kong’s so-called Art Week welcomes 32 first-time exhibitors to its ranks of 107 international galleries. With 75 percent hailing from Asia-Pacific, expect a range of high-quality contemporary art from established and emerging artists in the region. Check the website for the full programme of talks, performances, partnerships and curatorial projects.

5TH COLLECTORS’ CONTEMPORARY COLLABORATION

Pao Galleries, Hong Kong Arts Centre

From now until April 22

In an effort to understand the phenomenon of contemporary art in mainland China, the Hong Kong Arts Centre and curator Ling Min of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts explore the habits and interests of two distinct groups of Chinese collectors: those who are artists themselves and those with their own art spaces or museums. Featured collectors include Guan Yi and Zheng Hao.

ASIA ARTS GAME CHANGER AWARDS HONG KONG

Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong

March 29
Honouring artists and art professionalsmaking significant contributions to thecontemporary arts in Asia, this gala celebration hosted by the Asia Society is also a chance for major artists, gallerists and collectors from around the world to reunite and reconnect. Past honorees include Zeng Fanzhi, Takashi Murakami and Park Seo-Bo.

SOUTH ISLAND ART DAY

Wong Chuk Hang and Tin Wan Districts

March 29

The South Island Cultural District welcomes art lovers to its growing gallery hub, with 16 local art spaces throwing open their doors for a variety of special events and exhibitions. Another 10 local and international artists have also contributed outdoor installations, while prestigious speakers will discuss art-related topics during the Art World Forum.

[caption id="attachment_135463" align="alignnone" width="812"] Cedar by Asia Contemporary Art Show featured artist Wu Qiong[/caption]

ASIA CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW

Conrad Hong Kong

March 29-April 1
Now in its 14th year, the longest-running hotel art fair in Asia returns to the Conrad Hong Kong with a wide-ranging array of art and art-related programmes. Highlights include a series of Artist Dialogues that enable artists and art enthusiasts to connect with one another as well as more than 2,000 works by artists from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, South Korea, the UK and more.

The post 9 Hong Kong Exhibitions to See Besides Art Basel appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

More than 30 years after his death, Andy Warhol is arguable as relevant and influential an artist and cultural touchstone as ever. So there's no time like the present -- Hong Kong Arts Month -- to explore the artist's life and work.

[caption id="attachment_134702" align="alignnone" width="824"] Andy Warhol, Self-portrait in Fright Wig, Polacolor ER, 1986. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, INC licensed by DACS, London, Courtesy Bastian, London/Andy Warhol Polaroid pictures at Bastian, London, February 2 - April 13, 2019, GalerieBastian.com.[/caption]

When the Whitney Museum of American Art opened its retrospective on Andy Warhol last November, it was the first time in three decades that an American institution had taken such a comprehensive look at one of the country’s most renowned artists.

“It seemed wildly overdue,” says Donna De Salvo, the museum’s chief curator. Although there have been smaller exhibitions over the years, and a retrospective at the Tate Modern in 2002, no major shows have been staged on the artist’s home soil since the Museum of Modern Art’s retrospective in 1989, two years after Warhol’s unexpected death following gallbladder surgery.

“There’s a perception that we know everything about Warhol,” and that may be one reason why so many years had passed without a close look, says De Salvo. She set out to prove otherwise. “I think Warhol is complicated.”

[caption id="attachment_134703" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Andy Warhol, Marilyn Diptych, 1962. Tate, London; Purchase 1980 © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, INC/ Artists Right Society (ARS), New York.[/caption]

More than that: Warhol is influential. Very influential. “Warhol didn’t make a mark on American culture,” wrote art critic Peter Schjeldahl when the Whitney show opened. “He became the instrument with which American culture designated itself.” Warhol turned the culture of mass media inside out, creating prints, paintings, films, installations and performances that broke down the line between fine and commercial art, representation and reality, authentic and artificial. He was the original YouTuber, the original Instagrammer, the first viral artist-celebrity.

“If you speak about the larger culture, Warhol was prophetic in the way he used all manners of distribution, and in making himself a star to brand himself,” says De Salvo. “Now you have agency, you can create your own image, and Warhol never shied away from that. I’ve heard people say he was the Facebook of his era.”[inline_related_article article_id="132974"]

Warhol was born in 1928 to Slovakian parents in Pittsburgh, an industrial city whose steep hills and valleys were choked by a constant haze of coal smoke. He was a sickly child but a gifted artist, taking after his mother, Julia, whose drawings and embroidery decorated the family home. After earning a degree in pictorial design in 1949, he moved to New York and launched himself into the world of advertising and magazine illustration. He distinguished himself with his work for shoe manufacturer Israel Miller, creating whimsical drawings that he eventually began to reproduce and modify en masse.

[caption id="attachment_134707" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Installation view of Andy Warhol - From A to B and Back Again. Ron Amstutz © 2018 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, INC/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.[/caption]

Around the same time, Warhol was drawing homoerotic sketches of cross-dressed male friends and making his own personal shoe drawings dedicated to the celebrities Warhol admired, including Truman Capote and Elvis Presley. Although these early works were overlooked until well after Warhol became famous, they planted the seeds of an important part of his later practice: the “queering” of things that represented mainstream American culture. “[He] questioned their validity, revealed their contradictions, turned them inside out,” notes critic Holland Cotter.

In the late 1950s, Warhol abandoned his career as a commercial artist and began exhibiting in galleries. But he maintained the techniques that had bolstered his commercial work, mass-producing silk-screen prints of Campbell’s soup cans and Coke bottles. It was art that flew in the face of the era’s dominant genre, abstract expressionism, which earnestly channelled the artist’s emotions on to canvas. Warhol’s work was wry and detached, befitting his perspective as a perpetual outsider -- a gay, Catholic child of immigrants. [inline_related_article article_id="134683"]

The 1960s saw Warhol become the artist that most people still recognise today. His succession of New York studios, all named the Factory, became a magnet for scenesters, drifters, artists, radicals and anyone drawn into the vortex of Warhol’s unlikely charisma. “The Factory was like a medieval court of lunatics,” recalled Mary Woronov, one of the many people in Warhol’s entourage who went on to become a “Warhol superstar” thanks to their time in the Factory. Warhol filmed them, made art with them and used them to cultivate his own beguiling persona. Although the Factory mass- produced physical art works — “It wasn’t called the Factory for nothing,” remarked musician John Cale — it was also an ongoing piece of performance art.

[caption id="attachment_134706" align="alignnone" width="796"] Andy Warhol, Mao, 1972. The Art Institute of Chicago; Mr and Mrs Frank Logan purchase prize and Wilson L Mead funds, 174.230 © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, INC/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York.[/caption]

The mystique of the Factory contributed to Warhol’s allure, but so did his distinctive silk-screen portraits of public figures like Marilyn Monroe, Richard Nixon and — perhaps most famously — Chairman Mao. The prints exploded the myth of originality, of the artist as a genius hero, and embraced the potential of mass media, channelling Marshall McLuhan’s 1964 observation that “the medium is the message” into his work. “I think that Warhol understood something about mediated culture and used the silk screen as a way to convey that,” says de Salvo. “It’s where the form and content come together.” The meaning of Warhol’s prints is found in their repetition and ubiquity.

Warhol was fascinated by the American mass media, but he was also captivated by the repetitive iconography of totalitarianism. In 1982, Warhol was invited to Hong Kong by entrepreneur Alfred Siu, who’d commissioned portraits of Prince Charles and Princess Diana to hang in his new nightclub. When he arrived, Siu surprised him with a three-day excursion to Beijing, which had only recently opened to the outside world after three decades of Mao-induced isolation. Warhol was fascinated by the abundance of Mao imagery, along with the lookalike Mao suits worn by most people. “He was all about multiples, and at the time China was the ultimate multiple,” recalled Warhol’s personal photographer, Christopher Makos.

[caption id="attachment_134700" align="alignnone" width="825"] Andy Warhol, Liza Minelli, Polacolor Type 108 1977. © 2018 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Ats, INC Licensed by DACS, London. Courtesy Bastian, London/Andy Warhol Polaroid Pictures at Bastian, London, February 2 - April 13 2019, GalerieBastian.com.[/caption]

Warhol continued making prints and celebrity portraits in the 1980s — including the series of Polaroid photographs showing at Bastian gallery’s London space until April 13 — but he also hosted a television talk show and began painting, further blurring the line between the hand-made and the mass-produced, the genuine and the fake. Warhol’s work was evolving in fascinating directions but, ironically, his popularity was on the wane, at least at home. “His career was being supported by sales in Europe, not in the US,” says De Salvo, who worked with him on a gallery show just before his death.

Things have changed in the three decades since then. Contemporary art has become more Warholian than ever, with artists such as Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami tapping into the ethos of his work to become celebrities much in the same way Warhol was. And everyday life itself now looks more and more like the kind of world that Warhol built for himself: relentlessly documented, filtered and promoted.

[caption id="attachment_134705" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Still from The Andy Warhol 16mm Silent Film Empire, 1964. © 2018 The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, A Museum of Carnegie Institute. All rights reserved.[/caption]

“He wanted to see how far you could push a photograph or a drawing or a painting and still have it called that,” says De Salvo. “That is an ultimate meaning for an artist today. Now we don’t even think twice if we have an artist who works as a sculptor but also in virtual reality. They avail themselves of new technology, and that’s what Warhol did.”

In many ways, Warhol seems more relevant today than ever before. “The response to the exhibition has been overwhelming,” says De Salvo. “It’s such an array of people that are coming. A lot of kids. I think there’s an acceptance of Warhol’s work in perhaps a way there wasn’t in the past. There’s a new generation for Warhol that comes at [his work] through the lens of digital culture.” Thirty-two years after his death, we are all living in Warhol’s world now.

The post Why We’re All Still Living in Warhol’s World appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

As Hong Kong’s Art Month ensues, we're seeing all sorts of creativity spilling out across the city and onto our plates. With art-inspired menus, dishes and cocktails on offer, there's something for everyone to celebrate the arty season. So if gallery hopping isn't for you, here’s a list of 9 other cool art-related things to eat or drink this month. 

Ozone, The Ritz-Carlton

From now until 31 March

If drinkable art is your thing, you can head on up to The Ritz-Carlton’s Ozone, the world’s highest bar, to sample cocktails and tapas inspired by the Bauhaus movement, which combined construction and fine arts in the early 20th century. Created by culinary and bar manager Oscar Mena, bar-goers can sip on artsy cocktails that have been inspired by Bauhaus maestros László Moholy-Nagy, Josef Albers, and Paul Klee. What’s more, artisan mixologist and Asia’s Monkey 47 brand ambassador Zachary Connor de Git will be guest bartending for one night only (Friday, 29 March) with some of his own signature creations.

Ozone, Level 118, International Commerce Centre (ICC), 1 Austin Rd West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon; +852 2263 2270

CÉ LA VI

From now until 31 March

Art lovers rejoice! You can now eat, drink and simultaneously experience art at CÉ LA VI. A tasting menu featuring six colourful dishes will set the tone with dishes such as oyster & botan ebi to start, and a vibrant beet & raspberry mousse to finish. Wash it down with their exclusive art cocktail, Panthère Cobblers, inspired by French ‘Born Wild’ pop-artist Richard Orlinksi, all the while enjoying the collection of sculptures, courtesy of Opera Gallery, displayed across The Lounge, Sky Deck and restaurant. To end the month on an artistic high, CÉ LA VI will also be hosting a closing party featuring a live performance by dance alchemy production group I AM.

CÉ LA VI, 25/F California Tower, 30-32 D’Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong; +852 3700 2300

Felix, The Peninsula

From now until 30 May

Get in the mood for artistry at The Peninsula’s 28th floor restaurant, Felix, and enjoy the Five Senses Art Experience menu by Chef de Cuisine Juan Gomez. Created to please all your senses, dishes like crispy king crab pillows will indulge hearing, whilst chargrilled Iberian pork pluma will excite your sense of smell and pan-fried foie gras with glazed plums will tickle your taste buds. But if that’s not enough art for you, The Peninsula -- being the official hotel partner of Art Basel Hong Kong — will also launch ‘Art in Resonance’, a multi-year art program that starts 26 March, in which the hotel will play host to newly commissioned, immersive installations by contemporary artists across the globe.

Felix, 28/F, The Peninsula Hong Kong, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon; +852 2696 6778

Whisk, The Mira 

From 28 March to 22 April

Back by popular demand (for the fifth consecutive year now), is Chef Oliver Li’s ingredient-driven, street art-inspired menu. Reflecting upon UK-born, HK-bred visual artist Szabotage’s pop-up exhibition “Reflections”, the six-course menu incorporates urban and pop culture in its dishes -- including the signature graffiti-style Koi patterns. Along with the meal comes four pop-artsy tipples that also pay tribute to the street art influence.

Whisk, The Mira Hong Kong, 118 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon; +852 2315 5999

Dr. Fern's Gin Parlour

From now until 31 March 

The artisanal gin bar tucked in the basement of The Landmark is a favourite most days, but during Art Month, the place is especially popular with bartender Gerry Olino’s art-inspired cocktails. The first of his creations is Flowers in the Snow -- a concoction of infused gin, honey, cream, egg white, soda and local jasmine tea -- instilled by artist Robert Tracy’s mysterious flower painting. The second drink is a must-order simply for its gorgeous presentation; The Blossom is derived from a simple seed, given the love and water needed to transform into beautiful and colourful life, and is made from Whitley Neill Quince Gin, London Orange & Elderflower and edible flowers.

Dr. Fern’s Gin Parlour, Basement Floor, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2111 9449

Mandarin Bar & Grill, Mandarin Oriental

From now until 31 March

Michelin-starred chef Robin Zavou celebrates Art Month this year with his Palatable Art menu. This time, he’s paired up with artist Konstantin Bessmertny and Benjamin Sigg of Art Advisory to put forth a four-course dinner menu. Each dish is a true work of art as it mirrors, complements, or exudes the feelings and ideas intended by the artist, and now, the chef as well. Special mentions include the caviar, leek and cauliflower starter inspired by Ancient Régime, and the Wagyu beef served with bark and smoked at the table to bring out the five elements, reflective of the piece with the same title by Chinese artist Ji Dachun.

Mandarin Bar & Grill, Mandarin Oriental, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2825 4004

Mumm Harbourfront Party 

27 March

Back for the fourth year now, Mumm Champagne returns to co-host one of Art Month’s biggest celebrations right at Hong Kong’s Central Harbourfront Event Space with Art Central. This VIP party is also the debut of Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar – the first Champagne bottle designed specifically for space travel. Although you may not have any plans to venture past our planet anytime soon, you are however guaranteed an evening that is out of this world, with free-flow drinks and international DJ performances.

Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar Lounge, Central Harbourfront Event Space, 9 Lung Wo Road, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2151 2699

The Lounge, Four Seasons 

From now until 31 March

Sunday afternoons just got better with Four Season’s new Art Frenzy Afternoon Tea set offering. Led by Executive Pastry Chef, Ringo Chan, the interactive tea buffet is an expression of the chef’s creativity in the form of sweet delights. Expect artistic creations in his interpretation of urban Hong Kong, bird cages found in the old parts of Kowloon, and paint tubes inspired by the city’s modern street art. The tea set is available from 2pm to 4pm, or 4:15pm to 6pm.

The Lounge, Four Seasons, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 3196 8820

Pirata Group

From 27 to 31 March, during dinner until end of service.

Walking through all the galleries and exhibitions at Art Basel Hong Kong can be thirsty work. Luckily, restaurant group Pirata has us covered with a list of venues across Hong Kong offering complimentary drinks (from glasses of Prosecco to cocktails and bottles of wine) to all Art Basel VIP ticket-holders this month. Visit Chaiwala, Madame Ching, TokyoLima, Meats, Pirata or The Optimist and recharge with a much-needed tipple to keep you going through art month.

Chaiwala, Basement 43, 55 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2362 8988
Madame Ching, 5 Star Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; +852 2577 7227
TokyoLima,  G/F, 18-20 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central; +852 2811 1152
Meats, G/F, 28 - 30, Staunton Street, Soho, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2711 1812
Pirata, 30/F, 235-239 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; +852 2887 0270
The Optimist, 239 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; +852 2433 3324

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