Tang Contemporary Art is pleased to announce the opening of the international group exhibition "Ritual, Trauma, and Allegory" on March 25, 2025, in Hong Kong Central HQueen’s Space. The exhibition will feature the remarkable paintings of eight artists: Anouk Lamm Anouk, Jonas Burgert, Jigger Cruz, Guillermo Lorca, Leng Guangmin, Edgar Plans, Rodel Tapaya, and Woo Kukwon.
Contemporary painting is continuously experiencing a revolutionary grammar of violence on both physical and metaphorical levels amidst globalization and technological upheaval—ranging from the material tearing of the canvas to the deconstruction of cultural symbols, and the fragmented reassembly of identity narratives. This revolution is not merely an aesthetic stance; it is a cognitive guerrilla initiated by artists in the fault lines of civilization.
This group exhibition selects eight artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, revealing how painting can achieve rebirth through "destructive rituals," "archaeology of trauma," and "allegorical resistance." By focusing on their radical explorations of the materiality of painting, cultural identity, and existential dilemmas, we witness not only the reflexive experiments of the painting medium but also the poetic stitching of the wounds of civilization.
EXHIBITING WORKS
 Anouk Lamm AnoukI Miss the Place Where I Am From N°3 Oil on canvas 400 x 300 cm（200 x 150 cm x 2) 2023 |  Anouk Lamm AnoukMädchen k¼mmert Sich/Gir! N°4 Oil on canvas 140 x120 cm 2023 |  Jonas BurgertStandstark Still Oil on canvas 240 x 180 cm 2024 |
|---|---|---|
 Jonas BurgertTiert Oil on canvas 240 x 180 cm 2024 |  Jigger CruzShaping Browns from the Rocks and a Tree Oil on canvas 158 x 132 x 9 cm 2024 |  Guillermo LorcaThe Transformation Oil on canvas 130 x 175 cm 2024 |
 Guillermo LorcaThe Encounter Oil on canvas 210 x 229 cm 2018-2019 |  Leng GuangminForm of Bones Mixed media on canvas 200 x 150 cm 2025 |  Edgar PlansGhost Girl Mixed media on canvas 100 x 80 cm 2024 |
 Edgar PlansWater Monopolizers Mixed media on canvas 162 x 146 cm 2024 |  Rodel TapayaOld Man Named Abra Acrylic on canvas 244 x 335 cm 2025 |  Xu HongxiangThe Giant Snowball Acrylic and oil on linen 200 × 150 cm 2025 |
 Xu HongxiangWait Acrylic and oil on linen 150 × 200 cm 2024 |  Woo KukwonSea of Gailee Oil on canvas 181.3 x 277.3 cm 2025 |
Artists
Anouk Lamm Anouk
b. 1992, Vienna, Austria
Anouk Lamm Anouk’s artistic practice spans painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, and writing. Their manifesto claims: “No Age, No Gender, No Origin”, or as they say: “I am no one I am nothing” which could be a reference to their embedment in Zen Buddhism. Anouk identifies as trans-non-binary and by virtue of this and living as a Person with autism, it is crucial to them to rid themselves of the external attributions and labels that come from normative society in order both to see and encounter others without the violence of classification and anticipation, to be truly open.
The starting point of their paintings is from raw linen, the canvas itself is crucial. The unprimed frontside of the linen is a living part of their works and becomes a connecting visual element across several series. Their colour palette is strictly limited, most often to earthy colours, hues of black and off-white are also present; reduction is key. Anouk works both in series and independently of series – some paintings are solely abstract, while others are predominantly figurative – all of which is connected by unique handwriting and gestural strokes. Text or text fragments are also part of their practices. The texts are intentionally unobtrusive, sometimes they require viewers to look for them. These give a hint or raise questions.
In their work, Anouk returns to certain motifs, beings, and rhythms, which they unite together into a singular, holistic cosmos, with the aim of conjuring peaceful spaces for contemplation with a strong undercurrent of desire. This can be seen in their mostly figurative representations in the “Lesbian Jazz” series, which features abstract symbols and motifs embedded next to naked bodies. The bodies on the canvas are often female or non-binary, sometimes sexless, and always anonymous. Faces or facial expressions are rare and usually left out, because “Lesbian Jazz” portrays above all identity, a lifestyle, a community, and not individualised portraits. Their artistic practice emerges from the urgent need for queer visibility in a world rife with discrimination, and their paintings explore the visual languages of fluid identity and body as they are coded and re-coded within society.
Jonas Burgert
b. 1969, Berlin, Germany
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
Jonas Burgert graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Berlin, in 1996 and consecutively studied for a postgraduate title (Meisterschueler) under Professor Dieter Hacker in Berlin. Jonas Burgert paints a stage every time that he lifts his brush: with every stroke, with every composition. His works depict the inexhaustible theatre play that Burgert considers to be the meaning of human existence: man’s need to make sense of his purpose in life. It is a quest that seems inconclusive, but which opens doors to every sphere of reasoning, imagination and desire. Oversized canvases are crowded with fantastical costumed figures intertwined with organic forms of various proportions, illustrated with bold colors, draping a trace of unspoken emotions among viewers.
Since 1998, his work has been on view in numerous group shows around the world, including “Geschichtenerzaehler”, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, 2003, and “Triumph of Painting Part VI” , London’s Saatchi Gallery, 2006. Since 2006 Burgert’s work has been on view in solo exhibitions around the world. Selected Solo Exhibitions include “sinnwild,” Tang Contemporary Art, Seoul, (South Korea, 2024); “Stirn sticht”, DSC Gallery, Prague, (Czech Republic, 2023); “ein Dorn weich: Recent Drawings”, Stephen Ongpin Fine Art, London (UK, 2022); “raub und bleib”, Produzentengalerie, Hamburg (Germany, 2022); “blüht und lügt” , Long Museum West Bund, Shanghai (China, 2021); “Blindstich” , Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing (China, 2020); “Sinn frisst”, Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck (Germany, 2020); “Ein Klang Lang”, Tang Contemporary Art (Hong Kong SAR, China, 2019), etc. Selected group exhibitions include “Spring Exhibition,” Galerie Thomas, Munich, (Germany, 2024); “Golden: 28th Anniversary Exhibition,” Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing, (China, 2024); Tokyo Gendai, Tang Contemporary Art, Tokyo, (Japan, 2024); “Tokyo Gendai,” PACIFICO Yokohama, Yokohama, (Japan, 2023); “Art Busan,” BEXCO Exhibition Center, Busan, (Korea, 2023) ; “Art Basel,” The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Hong Kong, (China, 2023); “Unpack Reveal Unleash,” Tang Contemporary Art, Seoul, (South Korea, 2023) ;“FLOWER”, Choi&Choi Gallery, Seoul (Korea, 2022); “German Painting Now”, Telegraph Gallery, Olomouc (Czechia, 2021); “Szene Berlin”, Hall Art Foundation (Germany, 2020); “Kirchner · Richter · Burgert, me Collectors Room Berlin”, Olbricht Foundation (Germany, 2019); “Where is the Madness You Promised Me”, Hudson Valley MOCA, New York (USA, 2019), etc.
Public collections include Long Museum, Shanghai; Burger Collection, Hong Kong; Denver Art Museum, US; Rubell Family Art Collection, US and Taguchi Art Collection, Japan.
Jigger Cruz
b. 1984, Phillipines
Jigger Cruz graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Far Eastern University, Manila and also trained at the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde before pursuing a full-time career as a painter. He currently resides and works in Manila, Philippines. Cruz’s art practice is characterized by his idea to play with defacement and vandalization, making use of oil colour, spray paint and rough interventions directly on the canvases, which is sometimes burned and, in some cases, even to cut. Each artwork is created by the artist from a canvas previously painted, where he copied the Flemish and Post-Renaissance masters. Apparent and without a logical scheme, Cruz casually employs impasto, applying layer by layer the dense oil colour, he not only hides, but also mystifies the classical backdrop. In this way the artist explores, through his artworks, the deep relationship between the canvas and its meaning, past and present, figuration and abstraction. The figures of the classical paintings that transpire below, remind the viewer of the painstaking pictorial activity and the artistic historical baggage of the contemporary painter.
The artist has been listed in international auction houses around the world, and has exhibited in both solo and group shows locally and internationally, from the Philippines to Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria, and the United States. Recent selected exhibitions include “Resembling Utopia,” Tang Contemporary Art (HK, 2023); “Paradigmal Traps,” Tang Contemporary Art, Bangkok (Thailand, 2021); “In the Landscape of Narratives and False Monuments,” Artinformal Gallery, Manila (Philippines, 2021); “Picture Towards the Other Side,” Albertz Benda Gallery, New York (US, 2018), etc. His work can also be found in multiple public collections, including: The Dikeou Collection, Denver, CO, USA; Guggenheim Museum, NY, USA; Saatchi Collection, London, UK; and Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK.
Guillermo Lorca
b. 1984, Santiago, Chile
Guillermo Lorca’s artworks infuse Baroque and Renaissance influences with touches of Surrealism, fantasy, and paranoia to craft scenes depicting both seductive luxury and raw violence. Lorca’s compositions are meticulously planned and highly theatrical in nature; they often depict innocent figures in the midst of impending doom, bloodied animal carcasses, smoke-filled skies, and snarling fights.
Lorca’s works aim to reenact the phenomenon created by classic fairy tales—a narrative that transcends time and a vessel for elements of the human soul to be communicated through generations of storytelling. He has said, “I think that although painting cannot replicate that phenomenon exactly, my idea was to find something that had a bit of that spirit, and I found it in a realistic painting. It evokes and holds its own narrative and it tries to appeal to the most basic human feelings.” Lorca does not work haphazardly—each painting elaborately is planned from its conception to its final form.
His solo exhibitions include “The Shine in the Other Room,” Tang Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea(2024); “The Splendor of the Night,” MOCO Museum, Barcelona, Spain (2022-2023); Solo exhibition at Asprey, London, UK (2019); “The meeting,” El Tranque Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile (2019); “Nocturnal Animals,” GAM Cultural Center, Santiago, Chile (2018); “Eternal life,” National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago, Chile (2014); “Casita de dulce”, Hilario Galguera Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico (2012); “Paintings in latency,” CCU Art Gallery, Santiago, Chile (2010); “Diebushka,” Matthei Gallery, Santiago, Chile (2007).
Leng Guangmin
b. 1986, Qingzhou, Shandong Province, China
Leng Guangmin was born in Qingzhou, Shandong, in 1986. During studies in the department of oil paintings at Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Leng spontaneously explored his path to break the traditional paradigm of oil painting creation and became one of the most significant painting artists of the 80s generation. In contrast to accumulated paints and strokes, he chose to open a brand-new physical space in the image with the movement of slicing. Slicing is not only his creative method but also his attitude toward art, which is keen, determined, and resolute. With relatively consistent painting skills, the artist keeps dissecting materials and images guided by some clues but has no clear themes. The ubiquitous tension formed by confrontations, the opposing but complementary colors, the level and scraped materials, the hard-edged and gradient textures, and the conformal and negative structures are the incomparable attractions of his paintings. They enable the artist to refine the inner order behind the numerous and complicated objects, which can be manifested with images only in a highly abstract and endlessly changing state. His critical solo exhibitions include: "Shell, like the wings of a cicada", MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY, Tokyo, Japan, 2023; Personal Project at West Bund Art & Design Fair, Shanghai, China, 2019; "Ripples", MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY, Tokyo, Japan, 2018;Leng Guangmin: Perfect Destruction, Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China, 2017; Leng Guangmin: Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China, 2014; Hive · Becoming II, See the Appearance: The Solo Exhibition of Leng Guangmin, Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China, 2013 and so on.
Edgar Plans
b. 1977, Madrid, Spain
Lives and works in Gijón, Spain
Artist's Statement:
One of the few things that I can say with 100% certainty is that I was born in Madrid in 1977. If I am asked when I started to paint or indeed why, well that’s something I can’t define so easily. I can say how and where, using pencils and crayons on every wall within reach, outside the house in Majadahonda, on the nursery walls and the pavements. The when is the most difficult, since creativity and the arts were always present and encouraged at home, my earliest memory is the sound of the my father’s typewriter (Juan Jose Plans, 1943-2014). In his office there was a low table with four chairs, and there I would sit drawing with my brothers while my father would write.
I never faced any restrictions, only encouragement for my need to draw and paint. In fact when we moved to Gijón in 1985 I was put into a class…not because I wanted to but because my sister wanted to go and “useful” to have us at the same class. However I have never wanted to draw what other people would suggest. I liked to draw comic strips, short stories, not still-lives of bowls of fruit, nor charcoal sketches of plaster- of- paris figures….so I didn’t go much.
It wasn’t until I was 15 when I decided to learn more. I don’t know why but I felt I needed to learn more disciplines and techniques. In the studio of José María Ramos I learnt to express what I wanted via painting and drawing.
After two years in the workshop I realised that I wanted to not have anyone looking over my shoulder to correct and guide me through my faults, and needed to work alone and find my own ways.
I rented a room in an art studio – previously an apartment belonging to Nicanor Piñole, an important Asturian artist – and in that attic I began my own path.
Currently I have my own studio where I continue to look for my own path, between my faults and truths.
I've always liked street art. Urban art. It is an art that I see very free, just like when children create. And I have wanted to transform it to translate into my paintings. Currently I am internationally recognized for my characters, the Animal Heroes and my marked colorful, expressive and lively style.
The Animal Heroes arise from my intention to create pictures of denunciation in favor of the environment, to denounce the human actions that contaminate, destroy and poke the planet. In turn these heroes have simple powers that today's society is losing as they are solidarity, companionship, respect... and these animals through art and their actions want to reintroduce people.
Rodel Tapaya
b.1980, Montalban, Philippines
At the heart of Rodel Tapaya’s work is his ongoing amalgamation of folk narrative and contemporary reality within the framework of memory and history. Utilizing a range of media - from large acrylic on canvasses to the exploration of under-glass painting, traditional crafts, diorama, and drawing - Tapaya filters his observations of the world through indigenous folktales and pre-colonial historical research, creating whimsical montages of his characters.
Rodel Tapaya was awarded the coveted Top Prize in the Nokia Art Awards, which allowed him to pursue intensive drawing and painting courses at Parsons School of Design in New York and the University of Helsinki in Finland. In 2011, he won a landmark achievement for a Filipino artist by winning the Signature Art Prize given by the Asia-Pacific Breweries Foundation and the Singapore Art Museum. He was also among the Thirteen Artists Awardee of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 2012. His works are held in the following museum and institutional collections: Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Australia, Tokyo Mori Art Museum, Singapore Art Museum, Philippines Bencab Museum, Philippines Ateneo Art Gallery, Philippines Pinto Art Museum, Central Bank of the Philippines.
Selected solo exhibitions include “Random Numbers,” Tang Contemporary Art (Hong Kong, 2021); “Myths and Truths,” Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing (China, 2018); “Urban Labyrinth,” Ayala Museum, Manila (Philippines, 2018); “Rodel Tapaya: New Art from the Philippines,” National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (Australia, 2017); “Rodel Tapaya,” Galerie der Stadt Sindelfingen (Germany, 2016). Recent group exhibitions include “Art Basel,” The Hong Kong convention and exhibition Center (Hong Kong, 2023); “Art SG,” Marina Bay Sands (Singapore, 2023); “Taipei Dangdai,” Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Taipei (Taiwan, 2023); “Oska Gutheil &Rodel Tapaya Duo Exhibition: A Tale of Two Cities”, Tang Contemporary Art (Hong Kong, 2023); “Fragment with Dusty Light,” Tang Contemporary Art, Seoul (Korea, 2022); “Memory, Playfulness, and Stream of Consciousness,” Tang Contemporary Art (Hong Kong SAR, China, 2022); “Falling,” Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing (China, 2022); “Heavenly Bodies in the South, He Xiangning Art Museum,” Shenzhen (China, 2020); “Far Away So Close!” ARNDT Agency, Berlin (Germany, 2019), etc.
Woo Kukwon
b. 1976, Korea
Currently lives and works in Seoul. His work focuses on the gap between reality and fantasy, working mainly with oil paints as well as drawings on paper and installations.
Woo was exposed to the heavy subject of life and death at a far too early age, pushing him to hide away from reality and into the fantasy-filled story world. After growing up, he discovered the cruelty hidden behind seemingly beautiful fairy tales, making him re-interpret the world from a new perspective driving him to investigate philosophy and religion. In the same vein, the Three “B” (Beautiful, Baby, Best) always coexist with the death motif in his works. The equivocal co-existence of reality and fantasy called upon the artist to seek truth in fairy tales, humour in philosophy and freedom in the bible.
Woo's early works mainly consisted of roughly scratched paintings, expressing the raw dangers of a wandering ego. His more recent works evolved into a more stable form expressed through the build-up of thick layers of paint into a rich material. Woo Kukwon's work combines cruel fairy tale scenes and roughly scribbled famous words with his natural gift of colour, creating a unique genre that mixes Pop Art and Figurative Art.
Woo is a promising artist who was selected as one of the 20 artists for the 32nd JoongAng Fine Arts Prize, which is one of Korea's most important awards. He has held numerous solo exhibitions since 2009. His art piece has been collected at Culture Convenience Club, a Japanese company that operates Tsutaya, a nationwide bookstore in Japan. Furthermore, his paintings have been collected at various museums in Korea, such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul National University Museum of Art, etc.
Selected Solo Exhibitions include "Woo Kukwon Solo Show", Lee Eugean Gallery,2014; "REDEEMED", Gallery BK, 2017, "Querencia", PYO Gallery,2018; "Art Plage", Lotte Gallery, 2018; "Third Time Lucky", Gallery BK, 2018; "JEREMIAH WAS A BULLFROG", Lotte Gallery, 2020 etc. Selected Group Exhibitions include "Moa Invite", Seoul National University Art Museum; "Korea Tomorrow", Seoul Arts Center, 2013 and "Story Shower", Kolon Space K Museum, 2015 etc.
Xu Hongxiang
b. 1984, Hunan, China
Lives and works in Beijing, China
Xu Hongxiang graduated from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree, graduated from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2011 with a master's degree, and now lives and works in Beijing.
Xu Hongxiang’s artistic practice often revolves around painting. Project-based painting series with narrative contents and oil paintings centered on landscapes are the two parallel creative approaches that punctuate his career. "Image", "body", and "the relationship between painting and reality" are the overarching themes he has been trying to explore in his multi-media painting projects throughout the years. The traits of his highly stylized painting, which included a signature saturated palette, are the fragments that reflect such themes.
Xu Hongxiang’s selected solo exhibitions and projects includes: "Xu Hongxiang: Wander" (Aurora Museum, Shanghai, 2024), "Xu Hongxiang: Ancient Posts" (Xie Zilong Photography Museum, Changsha, 2023), "Xu Hongxiang: Displaced Images" (Triumph Gallery, Beijing, 2022), "Xu Hongxiang: An Exuberant View" (Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan, 2021), "Xu Hongxiang: One Night While Hunting for Faeries" (Loft8 Galerie, Vienna, 2019), "Not Dark Yet - Xu Hongxiang Solo Exhibition" (Triumph Gallery, Beijing, 2018), "Shuffling the Cards" (Parallel Vienna, Vienna, 2018), "Li Qiang" (Changsha, 2016), "In the Field" (Changsha, 2016), "Xu Hongxiang Solo Exhibition" (SZ Art Center, Beijing, 2014). Selected group exhibitions includes: "Follow the Rabbit - Talking stock of a collection and its reception through contemporary Chinese art" (Museum Liaunig, Austria, 2023), "History and Reality: Contemporary Art of China" (Bulgarian National Museum of Art, Sofia, 2018), "Visual Questions" (Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangdong, 2017), "Oriental Story" (National Art Museum of China, Beijing, 2017), "Centripetal Force" (SCA Galleries, Sydney, 2017), "In Silence - China Contemporary Art" (Sydney Town Hall, Sydney, 2014).