WHO
Liu Xiaohui

WHAT
This is the Chinese artist’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, showcasing 20 sets of oil and tempera paintings. Flowers and plants featured include lilies, red and white hibiscus, hydrangea, and roses, and many of the works were created during the artist’s residency at the gallery last year. They combine the artist’s interest in flowers, his fascination with the human body in action; a focus on the solitary female figure, and an experience of identifying with the external world triggered by the environment of Hong Kong.

WHY
As early as 10 years ago, Liu pondered the themes of flowers and nature with a number of depictions of the Chinese rose on paper. Regarding flowers as a symbol for natural and uncontrived, the artist examines the individual plants, portraying in different scales the serene yet vivacious natural beings through contrasting colours and orderly compositions.