State of the Art
Gallerist and collector Queenie Rosita Law opens an exhibition at K11 Musea
Like a sparkling oasis in a desert of sparse social calendars, a new exhibition had Hong Kong art lovers dashing to Victoria Dockside on January 15.
The exhibition, Tracing the Fragments, was the result of a collaboration between the K11 Art Foundation and Queenie Rosita Law, an artist and the founder of Q Contemporary, a gallery headquartered in Hungary that focuses on central and eastern European art.
Held on the sixth floor of Adrian Cheng’s K11 Musea, Tracing the Fragments was the first exhibition Q Contemporary hosted in Hong Kong and the first comprehensive exhibition of central and eastern European art in the city. The ever-glam Law personally conducted a private tour on the opening night, explaining that the idea behind the show was to explore the similarities between contemporary central and eastern European art and contemporary Chinese art.
“I love listening to artists’ stories, and visiting their studios is an absolute treat,” Law said. “A few of these artists are, in fact, the ones who sparked the whole [Q Contemporary] journey four years ago, including Dóra Maurer and Ilona Keseru from Hungary. I remember meeting them and telling them that I loved their work. They had this kind of amazed expression on their face, as if to say
‘Where did you even find me?’ They remember me as this Chinese girl who really loves central and eastern European art.”
Among the crowd were Yvonne Fong, Julien-loïc Garin, Elaine Kwok, Yuki Terase and Tiffany Chan, who mingled while looking at the pieces, which had been curated around the themes of time and memory.
While the exhibition was on from January 17 to February 28, visitors could sign up for guided tours and workshops that aimed to foster interest in central and eastern Europe. There was also a corner of the show dedicated to female artists such as Mira Brtka, Geta Brătescu and Anna Hulačová, a group Law could relate to and was passionate about highlighting. “Being a female artist is difficult,” she says. “We’re not celebrated as much and it is easier to be given up on, too. These artists continue to create, and I really admire their passion and strength.”