For the first time, the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Guangdong Museum of Art have joined forces to bring an original Hong Kong-curated exhibition to Guangzhou’s vibrant cultural landmark, the Baietan Greater Bay Area Art Center. Adopting a distinctly contemporary Hong Kong perspective, the exhibition rediscovers the stories behind Chinese characters from multiple dimensions, encompassing fine art, design, everyday living and even popular culture. The curatorial approach breaks away from tradition, reinterpreting Chinese culture in an engaging and creative contemporary language. This approach conveys Hong Kong’s unique interpretive perspective as a crossroads of East and West to audiences in the Greater Bay Area.

Internationally renowned Chinese designer Freeman Lau has been invited as the Guest Curator. Infused with his aesthetic sensibilities and design thinking, the exhibition deciphers the visual codes behind the structure and forms of Chinese characterslayer by layer through his unique perspective. It opens a cross-disciplinary gateway where calligraphy, design and contemporary art converge.

Chinese characters have been central to the work of literati and artisans. The exhibition meticulously traces their fascinating evolution through calligraphy, painting, carving, folk crafts, street signage and other everyday settings. By presenting their extensive application, the exhibition demonstrates how Chinese characters transformed from daily communication tools into sources of artistic inspiration that touch the soul, celebrating their amazing adaptability and enduring cultural brilliance.

This large-scale exhibition has brought together valuable resources from the HKMoA collection, private collectors and institutions, featuring nearly 90 sets of artworks in various media. The works include calligraphy, paintings, carvings, contemporary installations and digital art, offering the audience a comprehensive experience to appreciate the art of calligraphy and Chinese characters through artworks spanning various eras and media. Highlighted exhibits include Three palindromes by Aisin-Gioro Puru (attri.), Couplet in square word calligraphy by Xu Bing, Commemorating my mentor by Kan Tai-keung and Untitled by Wei Ligang.

The exhibition incorporates new multimedia technologies that transform static Chinese characters into dynamic works of art, infusing traditional elements with contemporary touches and fuelling the audience’s endless imagination about Chinese characters.