The Works：100 Years of Bauhaus, sculptor Bernar Venet, Lam Tung-pang's "Saan Dung Gei" & in the stud

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus, the renowned school of art and design that has laid the foundation for much art education ever since.
The Bauhaus, which in German means “building house”, was founded in Weimar on 1st April, 1919 by the architect Walter Gropius, Its mission was to introduce design into everyday life by combining crafts, fine arts, architecture, design and technology. To celebrate the anniversary, the Goethe-Institut in Hong Kong is presenting “100 Years of Bauhaus – Rethinking the World”, a series of programmes that includes exhibitions, films, lectures, and workshops.

The early work of French artist Bernar Venet involved coating canvas with tar and using his body to create action paintings. He first visited New York in 1966. While in the US, inspired by the movement that was later to become defined as conceptual art, he started to create work with tubes, reproducing mathematical drawings and making sculptures that explored lines, circles and arcs. Venet visited Hong Kong in March for a solo exhibition at the De Sarthe gallery. While here he also created a new site-specific performance by making paintings with a paint-covered metal bar.

Hong Kong artist, Lam Tung-pang’s works include paintings, site-specific installations, sound and video. He likes to mix traditional iconography and materials, using found objects and images to connect the past with the present, highlight collective memories, Hong Kong’s changing social environment, and its overlapping history and realities. At Blindspot Gallery, the exhibition “Saan Dung Gei”, a Cantonese phrase that means a journey into the mountain cave, showcases a series of works inspired by a journey on the newly-opened high-speed railway last year.

Kelvin Leung is a former student at King’s College, known for, among other things, its harmonica band and quintet. Even before he graduated, Kelvin had already won harmonica awards both regionally and internationally. Cy Leo, whom you may remember appearing on our show last October, has been his teacher for the past eight years. Kelvin has now founded his own group, “RedBricks Harmonica Ensemble”. He’s here with pianist Johnny Pun to tell us more.