Opening of Asia Society Hong Kong Center
By Julia Tanski-Gilbert
Live surveillance cameras encircle the head of a late 2nd to 3rd century Ghandharan Buddha sculpture in MICHAEL JOO’s Bodhi Obfuscatus (Space-Baby), 2005 Courtesy Asia Society Hong Kong Center.
A new kind of energy is emanating from Justice Drive in Hong Kong. The Asia Society’s Hong Kong Centre and its inaugural exhibition are a neatly orchestrated project, which opened to the public on the 10th of February. The exhibition, “Transforming Minds – Buddhism in Art,” presents ancient and contemporary Asian art in an eloquent dialogue. After ten years of preparation, the final result has been as well conceived as it is executed. The building is a convincing mix of Hong Kong’s colonial past and its present ambitions, epitomizing the broader ideas of the Asia Society—to promote past and present Asian art within a global context.
