Today, books and other print publications are mostly printed by computerised typesetting or offset printing. For a long time though, two different and traditional printing methods dominated: movable type and lithography. At one time there were 200 print shops in Central and Sheung Wan alone, and more than 1,500 across Hong Kong, mostly run as very small or even one-man enterprises.

Alicja Kwade uses everyday objects and natural materials in her sculptures and public installations to explore reality and the subjectivity of time and space.
Among the works on show in her solo institutional exhibition in Hong Kong, this site-specific installation “Waiting Pavilions” was commissioned by Tai Kwun to be shown in the Prison Yard. It reflects the passage of time in the setting of a former prison. The exhibition, “Pretopia” includes nine works laid out in a sculptural environment in Tai Kwun’s F Hall.

Alex Woods is a saxophonist, composer and arranger from the United Kingdom. He came to Hong Kong in the summer of 2017 to design a youth music programme for over 5,000 students. Having toured in Europe and performed in venues and festivals in Brazil, USA, Asia and Russia, since 2023 Woods has based himself in Hong Kong.

For those familiar with local art and artists, the paintings of Chu Hing-wah, depicting Hong Kong’s everyday life and community are easily recognised and highly relatable. The Works has featured Chu and his works several times, and this week we have a special reason for doing so: this year he celebrates his 90th birthday, and an exhibition is currently marking the occasion.

On show at Soluna Fine Art, “Re:Connect” is a group exhibition that acts as a retrospective of the gallery’s exhibitions over the last seven years, reflecting its multicultural aesthetics, and its roots in South Korea. It includes the works of eight artists who have previously exhibited here as well as pieces by two ceramic artists shown in the gallery for the first time.

Formed in 2021 in Lamma, the all-female group The Sirens plays a variety of music, from traditional folk to modern classics. The members say they want their harmonies to evoke a sense of mystery and a moody atmosphere, reminiscent of their mythological namesakes that lured sailors during their long sea voyages. The Sirens are with us right now.

We have a doctor in the house later, or rather in the studio, but don’t worry, no one here is going through a medical emergency. Ryan Cheung is not only a doctor but also a singer-songwriter. He took a six-month sabbatical to pursue his love for music. He’ll be here to tell us more about his journey. Like Ryan, Packy Lai also decided to move away from her everyday job, which was in marketing, to spend time on the art that interested her. Unlike Ryan she decided to make the move permanent, and to turn her hobby, calligraphy, into her profession.

At the Hong Kong Palace Museum, around 150 treasures from the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Palace of Versailles in France have been on show together in one exhibition for the first time. The exhibition highlights the cultural encounters between China and France in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Objects on show include royal portraits, porcelains, glassware, enamelware, textiles, books and scientific instruments.

According to the Chinese Lunar calendar, this is the Year of the Wood Snake. In Chinese literature and mythology, the snake is an ambiguous symbol. On the one hand, it’s associated with darkness, deceit, maliciousness and fear. On the other, it’s thought of as a little dragon, symbolising good luck, rebirth, wisdom and agility. To celebrate the new year, the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden is currently presenting an exhibition and educational programme to provide visitors with everything they might want to know about snakes.

On show at the Axel Vervoordt Gallery “Cosmology”, features Chiyu Uemae's works completed between the 1950s and the 2000s. The centrepiece, "Untitled", highlights his ability to transform humble and everyday objects into the abstract. It also echoes the group’s 1956 manifesto: “Gutai Art imparts life to matter; the human spirit and matter shake hands with each other while keeping their distance.”

Last April, pianist Niu Niu and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jaap van Zweden, released a live recording of Tchaikovsky’s much-loved Piano Concerto No. 1 and his Symphony No. 6. Niu Niu returned to Hong Kong last week to complete the piano concerto, cycle, performing Tchaikovsky’s Second and Third piano concertos.
He also came back to our studio to tell us more about the concert and his other plans for 2025.

Last year was celebrated as the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Impressionist movement. To mark the occasion, a selection of masterpieces from the Musee de l’Orangerie and the Musee d’Orsay tracing the life and work of Paul Cezanne and Auguste Renoir have been brought together for a touring exhibition. It’s currently on show in Hong Kong.

Aftertime” at White Cube Gallery is London-based painter Michele Fletcher’s first Hong Kong exhibition. In her works, vivid and layered ribbon-like swirls of paint instantly bring to mind lush vegetation. Fletcher completes each painting in a single session, often requiring considerable physical endurance, sometimes over as long as twelve hours, applying layers of paint on top of previous still wet layers. Texture and depth are created by the scraping, dragging and dripping of the paint across the surface.

Pianist Chiyan Wong’s musical repertoire ranges from the early Baroque to the 21st century. For his debut album, “Liszt Transfigured”, he edited and performed Franz Liszt's extremely challenging transcriptions of well-known opera melodies. His second album focused on Ferruccio Busoni’s edited and abridged 1914 version of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. His latest album, and his first digital album “Swing!”, in collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra, features a selection of jazz-influenced music by Alexander Tsfasman and Maurice Ravel. Chiyan’s with us right now to tell us more.

Kung Hey Fat Choy! We’re all hoping the new year will bring an abundance of good things, and in today’s show we have an abundance of music, and a little comedy, to celebrate the Year of the Snake. Dizi player Jessica Fung previously appeared on The Works with her Chinese ensemble TroVessional, but she’s venturing onto new ground with a new lineup this year. A little later she’ll be joining us to tell us more. But first, we get things off to a glorious start. And “Glorious!” is the name of a new adaptation of the West End play that Leanne Nicholls of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong is presenting during this festival season.

Later on the show, we’ll be getting into the swing of things with some old friends. Bassist Sylvain Gagnon, guitarist Antoine Richard and drummer Tobe Kushiator will be here to tell us about a new album that focuses on “jazz manouche” a genre popularised by the Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and a group of fellow musicians in Paris from the 1930s to the 1950s. In jazz manouche, the guitarist uses a form of strumming known as “the pump” to add a swinging percussion. In music in general, percussion can be provided by a range of hitting, crashing, shaking, and scraping movements. For many, it remains the simplest and most accessible form of music-making.

Ruth Asawa once said that her primary concerns in life were art and art education: “I have devoted most of my life to the study and practice of art. I have made doing it part of my life…. Doing is living.” “Doing Is Living”, at the David Zwirner gallery until February 22nd, is her first solo exhibition in Greater China. It includes several of the abstract multi-lobed looped-wire sculptures for which she’s best known, as well as works on paper.

The qin or guqin is an ancient Chinese plucked seven-string musical instrument, so valued in traditional cultural circles that an old saying goes: “A gentleman does not part with his qin or with poetry without good reason”. Well, later in the show, we may not be parting with a qin, but we will be sharing with you some new music for it as composed by a group of contemporary musicians. Stay with us for that. But first, last year was Hong Kong’s hottest since records began 140 years ago. Rising temperatures and extreme weather caused by climate change are worldwide phenomena, and their effects can be seen in the drought and fierce winds that sparked the recent devastating Los Angeles wildfires. Here in Hong Kong, concerns about the impact of climate change are at the forefront of an ongoing exhibition by a group of local artists.

Currently on show at the University of Hong Kong’s Museum and Art Gallery is an exhibition of works by art historian and visual artist David Clarke. “David Clarke - Colour in Space” features ten giclée prints of his own abstract watercolour paintings, an original watercolour, and a 14-minute video work.

Since cave dwellers first left handprints on cave walls, artists have found ways to represent themselves in art. Since then, self-portraits have appeared in many different forms: in painting, sculpture, photography and other creative media. Currently on show at M+ is an exhibition of works by two prominent photographers for whom self-portraiture becomes a way to reflect on society, celebrity, and identity.

There is a theory that almost all the elements required to make up the human body were created in the furnaces of stars. That theory inspires the title of “The Children of Dust” at Mayao Art Space in Wong Chuk Hang. The exhibition features 31 works by eight artists from China, Israel, Peru, Iran, France, and Singapore.

Singer-songwriter Claudia Ng says her compositions are driven by her love for jazz. Her latest EP is called, “Everything, everywhere”, the Chinese title of which《空空》(kung kung) is inspired by a concept from Buddhist philosophy.

Happy New Year.

Later in this week’s show we’re kicking off the new year by “tripping the light fantastic”. In other words, we’re celebrating the new year with dance, specifically tango and tango music. Nazar Tabachyshyn, accordion player and founder of the local band, Café 852, will be here with pianist Melodie Wong and two dancers. Don’t go away. First though, a trip to the circus, where circus highlights, especially in modern times and now that performing animals have fallen out of favour, can include acrobatics, aerial numbers, juggling, clowning, magic and even theatre. Here in Hong Kong, Tai Kwun has organised a contemporary circus festival during the holiday season since 2018. We went to take a look at their training programme.

Currently showing at Hauser & Wirth Hong Kong is Mark Bradford’s “Exotica”. Bradford is known for his large-scale abstract paintings using paper and graphic materials he has collected. Through video, print, collages, drawing, mixed media and installations, he explores social and political issues within marginalised and vulnerable communities.