Art exhibitions and events in Hong Kong have been coming one after another in the past few months. If you have missed them and are craving for some art, do not worry, because one of the exhibitions of Le French May is still taking place in the City University of Hong Kong. The exhibition, titled ‘Cabinets of Curiosities - From the Natural Sciences to the Art of Nature’, showcases 250 exotic animals, plants, minerals and art objects from 10 museums, galleries and private collections all over the world.
The exhibition brings you back to the times of adventure in Europe a few hundred years ago. The numerous exotic, eerie and beautiful artefacts that explorers brought back including animal and plant specimens, minerals and art pieces evoke the curiosity and crave for adventure of people at that time.
‘Cabinets of Curiosities’ were the predecessors of museums, and were actual cabinets or small studies in which rulers and wealthy owners stored both precious religious, royal and valuable items as well as unusual specimens from the natural world.
The exhibition also features many Chinese antiquities, including this blue and white vase from the University of Hong Kong
In 16th to 18th century Europe, when ocean-going expeditions intent on exploring the ‘new’ continents of Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania, artefacts like natural plant and animal specimens, acquired mechanical devices and rare artistic objects were brought back to Europe. Their beauty, strangeness, and rarity invested these objects with great value and their owners displayed them as ‘curios’ in richly decorated cabinets to the delight of their guests.
The exhibition is a collaboration between Le French May and the City University of Hong Kong. It will end in a month so seize the chance to pay a visit there.
Cabinets of Curiosities - From the Natural Sciences to the Art of Nature
Date: 25 May - 19 August 2018
Time: 10am - 7pm (Closed on Mondays)
Venue: CityU Exhibition Gallery, 18/F, Lau Ming Wai Academic Building, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon
Admissions: Free
The City University of Hong Kong
Address: Tat Chee Ave, Kowloon Tong
Enquiries: +852 3442 5228