Posted inArt

A Tibetan Artist’s Political Pop

HONG KONG — In his new show at Pearl Lam Galleries in Hong Kong, contemporary Tibetan artist Gonkar Gyatso uses traditional Tibetan landscape themes and iconography, but also tchotchkes, bricolage, cartoon bubbles, and stickies, all of which serve as cheery subterfuge for the dire messages he buries under his techniques.

Posted inArt

Artistic Revelations from Ancient Southeast Asia

With Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia, 5th to 8th Century, the Metropolitan Museum of Art once again proves its stature as a world-class museum — not just because of its collections, size, or location, but because it is one of the few institutions in the world that can luxuriate in mounting shows of profound global impact that are not dictated by the whims of mass popularity.

Posted inArt

Blood, Guts, and Splattered Gore: Hermann Nitsch Hits Hong Kong

HONG KONG — Hermann Nitsch, one of the founders of the visceral Viennese “Aktionismus,” or Actionism, of the 1960s, has resurfaced with a retrospective of his work at the CIA (Culture Industries Association) gallery, located in the gritty and remote industrial Kwai Hing neighborhood, as if to counter the glamor and frisson of Art Basel Hong Kong. The inscrutable and pseudonymous gallery directors, Juiz and Mr. Outside, curated the retrospective, a first for the city.