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Henry Steiner: The Art of Graphic Communication at M+


  • Hong Kong Hong Kong (map)

Presented as part of a new series of focused monographic exhibitions on historically important figures and moments, Henry Steiner: The Art of Graphic Communication features the work of the father of graphic design in Hong Kong. The exhibition celebrates Henry Steiner's (b. 1934) influential graphic language with a selection of some of his most iconic projects tracing the city’s development from the 1960s onwards.

Born in Austria in 1934, Henry Steiner immigrated to the United States where he trained at Yale University under the renowned American graphic designer Paul Rand, learning the art of storytelling through images. After moving to Hong Kong in 1961, he found the city vibrant with a complex culture, a place on the cusp of transformation into an international centre for manufacturing, trade, finance, leisure, and tourism. Organised into two sections, this exhibition will first trace Steiner’s early years and influences that underpin his distinctive style. It will then take visitors through Steiner’s definitive designs, from large infrastructural and industry projects that marked the development of the city to those reflecting Hong Kong’s growth as a destination for travel and leisure. By showing Steiner’s practice through Hong Kong’s flourishing decades, the exhibition elaborates the significance of graphic design in Hong Kong’s distinctive visual culture.