10 Feb – 5 Mar 2023
“The true beauty of spring always finds its way to thrive beyond the fences.” —Michael Lau
SPLENDID PARK, Hong Kong artist Michael Lau’s debut institutional exhibition, presents near 40 artworks including paintings and sculptures created from 2011–2022, featuring iconic series in the artist's oeuvre including Gardener, Package Change, First Encounter, Soliloquy, Master, Flower, and Portrait.
In the last two decades, Lau has played a pivotal role in leading the global upsurge of collectible designer toys heralded by Gardener, an avant-garde figurine series created in the 1990s that embody the quintessence of Hong Kong street culture. Never ceasing to document pop culture through his art, Lau has revisited painting in recent years — a medium rooted in the early years of his artistic training — to enrich the visual library of contemporary art, while grounding Gardener, a utopia of youth, friendship, and fantasy, in a contemporary context. Lau’s evolving practice boldly and precisely fuses his formative work, personal life experiences, and positive state of mind. Comprised of scattered yet consistent visual symbols, an aesthetic that hovers between abstraction and figuration, playful and surreal deconstruction, appropriation and juxtapositions of art historical masterpieces, Lau beckons the audiences to a retrospect of his artistic journey starting from Gardener in 1999, through his epiphanies from In the Garden, and eventually reaching the extensive, all-encompassing wonderland: SPLENDID PARK. The exhibition retains Lau’s commitment to community and integrates his reflections on art and today’s world. It’s not only a timely review of Lau’s oeuvre, but also a sincere invitation for audiences to immerse deep into the artist’s creative world.
