In July, as the sweltering heat of Hong Kong becomes nearly unbearable, art spaces transform into the city’s most comfortable summer escapes. A series of distinctive exhibitions take place throughout the month, featuring both international artists making their debut and rare cultural treasures; there’s an exploration of profound themes concerning the body and existence, as well as a journey through aesthetics that span over a thousand years.
This summer, let’s embrace the comfort and refreshment of art amid light, color, and lines. It’s time to reconnect with ourselves through sensory experiences and encounter echoes of souls that transcend time.
1. Central Arts Club
Joan Cornellà Hong Kong Solo Exhibition 2025
Renowned for his unique black humor, Spanish artist Joan Cornellà consistently reflects contemporary issues and human behavior through his satirical style, garnering significant attention and affection. This summer, he returns to Hong Kong for a personal exhibition at the Central Fringe Club, where he will showcase over 100 paper works for the first time in the city!
The exhibition will showcase classic paper works by Joan Cornellà, and will also introduce new limited edition models and prints. Each piece acts as a mirror reflecting society, revealing the absurdity and darkness within human nature through seemingly naive strokes, providing the audience with a delightful yet profound visual experience.
Joan Cornellà Personal Exhibition in Hong Kong 2025
Date: July 11, 2025 – July 27, 2025
Time: 12:00 – 20:00 (On the last day, July 27, open until 17:00)
Address: Fringe Club | 2 Lower Albert Road, Central
Ticket Price: HKD 50 (Purchase tickets through Piao Fei online)
2. 13a New Street Art Gallery
Lingmuki Lin Ling’s first solo exhibition Distance to Origin
The first solo exhibition of young artist Lingmuki Distance to Origin invites you to experience the enchanting charm of the harmonious blend between the city and nature, set against the magnificent natural landscapes of Hong Kong. It’s a chance to indulge in a moment of soul-refreshing relaxation as Lingmuki weaves together a unique visual language and introspective emotions, encouraging the audience to embark on a profound dialogue with self and roots.
Inspired by the literary works of Bei Dao, If we consider leaving and returning as two ends of a road, the further we go, the closer we often get to our childhood. This initial drive propels me to the ends of the earth. extends into Traveling far is like reminiscing., centering around poetic themes that exhibit Lingmuki’s profound interpretation of journeys and memories. The works weave together dynamic lines and abstract imagery, dividing into Oil Painting Landscape Series and Little Muki Series. While the two may seem distinctly different in theme and style, they both symbolize the traces of life’s retrospection, immersing viewers in a dreamy scene. As a first exhibition, this series not only showcases the experimental nature of her early works but also pays homage to cultural roots, inviting the public to experience the resonance between art and the spirit.
Date: July 5 – 25, 2025
Time: Wednesday to Sunday | 12:00 – 7:00 PM
Address: 13A New Street Art Gallery | G/F, 13 New Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
3. M+
Guangdong Modern: Art and Visual Culture from the 1900s to the 1970sSpecial Exhibition
The special exhibition is like a cultural time machine that will take the audience back through a century of artistic transformation in Guangdong, showcasing a vibrant blend of tradition and modernity. With a unique perspective, it breathes new life into this historical journey.
The exhibition highlights the art and visual culture of Guangdong from 1900 to the 1970s, showcasing the evolution from traditional painting to modern design. It features a vibrant array of posters, photography, and installation art, creating a vivid historical narrative that tells the modern stories of Guangdong. Additionally, there’s an engaging interactive experience—a participatory performance and installation conceived by Dai Guangyu, where over two hundred artists and art students collaboratively recreate a massive landscape painting by Fu Baoshi and the Guangdong painter Guan Shanyue from 1959. Each participant reinterprets distinct sections of the original work, piecing them back together to form a new creation that resonates with the original while embodying contemporary aesthetics. This project stands as a testament to the national rise of Guangdong art in the 20th century and will be on display in the Focus Space on the second floor from now until August 10, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the artistic pulse of that vibrant era.
Date: June 28, 2025 – October 5, 2025 (Sunday)
Address: M+ Ground Floor Atrium Exhibition Hall, Second Floor Focus Space
4. WKM Gallery
Freddy Carrasco: Return to Nothing
From the bustling chaos of the city to a return to inner tranquility, Canadian artist Freddy Carrasco, who has Dominican heritage, presents his first exhibition in Hong Kong Return to Nothing. This showcase stems from his four-month residency at SIDE SPACE in Hong Kong, a journey of spiritual exploration through painting, sculpture, installation, and spatial design, revealing new works created during his time in the city. Reflecting on his six years in Tokyo and his spiritual journey in Hong Kong, Freddy Carrasco interrogates the commonalities of the human experience through his art, rooted in reflections on the city, culture, and religion, and delicately touching on humanity’s yearning for connection and transcendence.
The exhibition traverses connected spaces within the gallery, showcasing a journey from internal conflict to transcendence. The opening’s black and red tones, along with the caged patterns, create a sense of oppression, carrying the somber atmosphere of the 2024 The Father black monolith. Works like Leave Nothing, honoring the gradually disappearing bamboo scaffolding with charred wood and linen, metaphorically address the transformations and losses of the city; abstract paintings and charred wood sculptures symbolize self-purification, gradually evolving into forms that spread their wings, integrating Christian and Buddhist imagery. The concluding piece, Mother, with its soft whites and blurred reds interwoven, represents maternal love and enlightenment, as red shifts from power to warmth, guiding viewers into a new spiritual phase, inviting everyone to embark on a deep inner dialogue. This is not only Carrasco’s redemption of personal soul but also a profound meditation on the cycles of life and rebirth.
Date: July 5, 2025 – August 2, 2025
Address: WKM Gallery ｜20/F, Keda Design Center, 62 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang
5. St. Margaret’s Church A Century of Humanity Musical Theater
The St. Margaret’s Church Centenary Musical Theatre A Century of Humanity, led by Lau Sung-yan, brings together contributions from priests, nuns, and the new generation of parishioners. It’s like a soul journey through time, commemorating a century of faith and community stories since the church was established on January 25, 1925.
A Century of Humanity With enchanting melodies and theatrical performances, this event weaves together a century of history—from the hardships of early missionaries to the harmonious coexistence of today’s community. The stage may recreate scenes from the past, paired with stunning sound and lighting effects, immersing the audience in the interplay of faith and humanity. At the heart of the celebration, this performance is not only an artistic feast but also a collective ritual of reflection and gratitude, bound to resonate with the hearts of every viewer.
St. Margaret’s Church 100th Anniversary Presents A Century of Humanity Musical Theater
Date: July 17 and 18, 2025 (Thursday and Friday)
Location: Hong Kong City Hall Lower Block, Music Hall
Time: 7:30 PM – 105 minutes (No intermission)
Ticket Prices: $480, $380, $280, $180 | Full-time students and seniors (65 and above) enjoy a half-price discount
(Tickets are now on sale at art-mate https://www.art-mate.net/doc/84051)
6. HAUSER & WIRTH
All-encompassing Experience
Curated by Hong Kong curator Li Anqi, All things embodied. brings together the works of nine artists closely connected to Asian culture.
The exhibition’s special highlights include the debut of Filipino artist Nicole Corson’s Double Door series in Hong Kong, where she transforms the canvas of the human body, turning shipping container doors into profound imprints. Peng Ke’s Starting Again reimagines urban fragments—like autumn leaves trapped in concrete crevices—into vibrant stained glass, infusing a sense of warmth into the cold cityscape that’s often overlooked. The late artist Chen Fushan’s ink-splattered human silhouettes, Ye Shiqiang’s drifting white sails, Balti Karl’s bright point pieces, and Kudo Tetsumi’s cage series miniature theaters all weave together a rich narrative exploring themes of identity, memory, and existence.
Date: July 10, 2025 – August 30, 2025
Time: Tuesday to Saturday | 11 AM to 7 PM
Address: House of Housworth Hong Kong | G/F, 8 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong
7. David Zwirner
Robert Ryman
The late American art master Robert Ryman’s works make their debut in the Greater China region in the form of a solo exhibition. Renowned for his paintings created with white paint and its various transformations, this Mini Retrospective Exhibition includes his representative works from the early 1960s to the early 2000s. The exhibition showcases how Ryman discarded both figurative and abstract imagery, focusing instead on the physical act of paint interacting with the underlying surface. Among the works, the crazy series is characterized by bold, rich brushstrokes, standing in stark contrast to the uniform application seen in later works like The Painting of Mysterious Shadows and Windsor White; while Connection presents Ryman’s unique contemplation on the relationship between artwork and its hanging surface.
Although the exhibition is already halfway through its run, this event that delves deep into the infinite variations of white painting is still absolutely worth keeping an eye on throughout July.
Date: May 28, 2025 – August 1, 2025
Location: David Zwirner | H Queen’s, 5th – 6th Floor, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong
8. Gallery tete
Solo Exhibition by Photographer and Visual Artist Shenhui Wei aida or the beauty of wabi-sabi
Japanese photographer and visual artist Shinmizu Oihara will hold his first overseas solo exhibition at PMQ in Hong Kong aida or the beauty of wabi-sabi. Based in Nagano and Tokyo, Oihara is renowned for his clean and refined aesthetic style. Throughout his commercial career, he has cultivated a keen visual storytelling ability, having worked in the photography department of MUJI, heavily influenced by minimalism.
This exhibition continues his exploration of the fleeting nature of time and light traces from his 2021 exhibit Past Light, further capturing The Beauty of Non-Existence—those subtle breaths, sensations of air, and the aftertaste of sensory experiences, allowing silence itself to become a unique language.
Date: July 6, 2025 – July 27, 2025
Location: Gallery tete | Room S602, 35 Aberdeen Street, PMQ, Central, Hong Kong
9. Shaoxuezhai X The University of Hong Kong Library
Dreamlike Dunhuang: Recreating the Grandeur of DunhuangExhibition
When you mention Dunhuang, the caves naturally come to mind. If you’re eager to witness the beauty of these caves, you can check out the Dreamlike Dunhuang: Recreating the Grandeur of Dunhuang exhibition organized by Shaoxuezhai in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong Library. This marks the first large-scale project where the Dunhuang Academy has teamed up with a higher education institution and a private organization in Hong Kong.
The exhibition features 78 representative pieces of Dunhuang art across six thematic zones, with the standout highlight being a 1:1 accurate replica of Cave 45 from the Dunhuang Mogao Caves. This cave spans about 25 square meters and reaches nearly 5 meters in height, adorned with Tang dynasty wall paintings on all four walls and the ceiling. It includes seven distinct painted sculptures, fully recreating the solemn Buddhist ambiance of the Dunhuang caves. The third floor of the exhibition immerses visitors in the Buddhist art style of Dunhuang through digital art, showcasing 10 unique ceiling patterns of the Mogao Caves illuminated within lightboxes. Guests are invited to lie back and gaze upward in admiration.
Date: June 7, 2025 – September 7, 2025
Location: University of Hong Kong Library | 1st to 3rd Floor, University of Hong Kong Library, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
(Exhibition is free and open to the public)
