HONG KONG, May 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — With a vision to sustain the momentum of the Hong Kong Arts Month, K11 MUSEA launched the first ever Art Karnival, an inclusive celebration for everyone in Hong Kong to appreciate art. A highlight of the carnival is Asia’s first showcase of Rose II, an 8.5-metre steel rose rising from Tsim Sha Tsui Harbourfront by renowned German contemporary artist Isa Genzken. Just a few steps away is a world of art that evokes a sense of humour and surprise with ‘Rose’s Allure’, an interactive artistic activation.

Starting from 14 May, K11 MUSEA celebrates the city’s annual art festival with a multitude of exhibitions, art tours and workshops whilst exploring the world of gourmet and design through an artistic lens.

K11 MUSEA’s Art Karnival welcomes the first-in-Asia showcase of Rose II, the landmark work by German female artist Isa Genzken that seamlessly integrates cityscape, nature and culture. A celebration of the beauty of art in the heart of the city, Rose II is a 8.5 metre monumental long-stemmed rose that seemingly rises from the promenade of Victoria Dockside, standing in full bloom amongst the iconic architecture of Hong Kong’s skyline in June.

Having debuted in New York in 2010 at the Museum of Modern Art, the steel, aluminium and lacquer Rose II is a spectacular public sculpture whose superhuman size, exaggerated proportions and inorganic materials are in perfect harmony with the striking architecture and soaring skyscrapers of cities. With its larger-than-life scale, the piece turns what is normally a personal act of giving a rose into a gesture for the whole community. As a final touch, the rose’s vibrant red colour conveys a sense of energy, strength, passion and warmth that also resonates with the city and K11 MUSEA, the Silicon Valley of Culture of Hong Kong.

Detail of Isa Genzken, Rose II, 2007 at MoMA, The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, New York | Gift of Alfred H. Barr, Jr., and gift of the Advisory Committee (both by exchange) | Photo by Santi Visalli/Getty Images©️Isa Genzken / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn | Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner and Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne

A few steps away is the interactive ‘Rose’s Allure’ artistic activation – a giant nose sculpture inspired by classical Greek relics and pluck a fresh smelling rose from its nose.  Upon spending designated amount at K11 MUSEA, the public can redeem a rosy surprise and visit the ‘Rose’s Allure’ Activation to pluck their own rose.

Co-presented by K11 Art Foundation and the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, Calligraphy Rhapsody – Retrospective Exhibition of Georges Mathieu presents the major pictorial evolutions of Mathieu’s oeuvre to the public with significant oil paintings by the French painter spanning the 1950s to 1990s, including the six-metre-wide canvases that Mathieu specially created for his Grand Palais Retrospective in 1978. Marking the artist’s centenary in 2021, this exhibition celebrates Mathieu’s fierce and poetic expressivity as well as his bold visionary spirit while introducing this French pioneer of free abstraction to a new audience.

Located within the same venue as Calligraphy Rhapsody – Retrospective Exhibition of Georges Mathieu also includes the highly anticipated launch of Chinese Art: The Impossible Collection by Adrian Cheng and French businessman and collector John Dodelande. This is the first monograph to look at present-day Chinese art and society in this way. The oversized volume is part of Assouline’s Ultimate Collection and is an homage to the art of luxury bookmaking.  

In a world-first launch at K11 MUSEA MUSE EDITION, Gufram, the Italian artisanal entity internationally known for pushing the boundaries of industrial design with radical design, colours and shapes in playful products with a Pop soul, introduces the limited BROKEN SERIES PINK EDITION, designed by Gufram and Snarkitecture, the New York design practice. Composed of the Broken Mirror, Broken Square Mirror and Broken Bench, BROKEN SERIES PINK EDITION  peers into an alternate dimension where alienating optical effects play with the “short-circuit” between seemingly hard appearances and the actual softness of materials.

To experience a fun filled artful journey during K11 MUSEA Art Karnival, the public can book online for a complementary guided Art Karnival tour here.

Event photos can be downloaded at the link below:

https://nwdrive.nwd.com.hk:443/link/5FF7760A0B7DA113EC0073F86043A42A 
Password: C6sJ

ABOUT K11 MUSEA

Hong Kong’s Silicon Valley of Culture, K11 MUSEA, is the latest cultural-retail destination in Victoria Dockside located on the harbourfront of Tsim Sha Tsui. Inspired by ‘A Muse by the Sea’, K11 MUSEA is designed to enrich new consumers’ daily lives through the power of creativity, culture and innovation. A destination 10 years in the making, K11 MUSEA opened its doors in August 2019 to usher in a new era of cultural retail which speaks to the growing consumer demand for immersive consumer experiences in art, culture, nature and commerce.

K11 Group was founded by New World Development CEO Dr. Adrian Cheng in 2008 with a social mission to incubate creative talent and promote cultural dialogue. In creating K11 MUSEA – K11 Group’s most ambitious project to date – Cheng’s vision is to reinvigorate Hong Kong’s waterfront with 100 Creative Powers and make K11 MUSEA the Silicon Valley of Culture that will inspire global millennials, and facilitate a broader discussion on the interconnectedness of creativity, culture and innovation.

In the coming 5 years, K11 Group will have gained a footprint of 40 projects (total GFA 2.8 million sq.m.) in 10 cities across Greater China.

ABOUT K11 ART FOUNDATION

Founded by Adrian Cheng in 2010, K11 Art Foundation (KAF) is a non-profit organisation in Hong Kong dedicated to fostering the development of Chinese contemporary art. In pursuing our mission, we are committed to supporting artists through KAF’s exhibitions, artist residencies, and educational programmes. We also actively establish partnerships with leading art and cultural institutions around the world, collaborating with curators and other industry specialists to create impactful cross-cultural exchange and contribute to the expanding global contemporary art discourse.

Over the years, KAF has collaborated with the Royal Academy of Arts, Serpentine Galleries, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; Centre Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo, and Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris; Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Figueres; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, and MoMA PS1, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; and Videotage, British Council Hong Kong, Design Trust, and Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong, among others.