Novalis is delighted to announce the opening of a new space 197 Hollywood Road. 

The inaugural exhibition will feature works from the Meta Memphis collections shown alongside Italian art, blurring the lines between art and design. 1989 saw the launch of the Meta Memphis collection, an innovative experiment that involved no longer designers, but internationally renowned artists engaged in the design of objects and furniture. Inspired by the Greek word metamorphosis (transformation), the collection rethinks the ways and archetypes of living sedimented in the collective memory through conceptual reappraisals and unusual formal, material, and functional associations. Alighiero Boetti handwrites the hours on the Orogio wall clock in italics, making it illegible. Michelangelo Pistoletto hones down a piece of furniture to its outline, to the point of making it unusable. Franz West creates poetic and unstable pieces using recycled metal materials: the iron rod chair or the stiffened chain lamp.Together. they transcend the boundaries of art and design, melding them into one.

Artist: Francesco Polenghi, Massimo Listri, Ettore Sottsass, Roger Selden, Alighiero Boetti, Bill Woodrow, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Lawrence Weiner, Franz West

Gallery address: Address: 197 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan

Novalis Contemporary Art Design is pleased to present Present Tradition, an exhibition jointly presented with Art Next, in partnership with the Italian Cultural Institute. 

The collaboration came about to see what new conversations and inspirations would be sparked through a cultural exchange between Italian artist Alessandro Cardinale and Hong Kong artist Angel Hui Hoi Kiu. The two artists have been put in dialogue with each other on tradition, especially when tradition is becoming more and more important in navigating the complex identities in present times. 

Gallery address: G/F 5 Sau Wa Fong, Wan Chai 

The exhibition, organised by the Italian Cultural Institute, features the results of a meticulous research project by three leading young Italian designers, and students from three Hong Kong universities: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Design Institute, and Hong Kong Baptist University. It will also include an Italian design retrospective, where we will be lending historic landmark pieces from our Memphis Group designers.

Venue address: Pao Galleries, 5/F, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Wan Chai

Tazio Secchiaroli (Rome 1925-1998) photographer, starts out as a messenger and factotum at the International News Service agency in Rome, and then becomes a photographer at Porry Pastorel’s V.E.D.O.; in 1955 he sets up his own photojournalism agency: Roma’s Press Photo. Between 1955 and 1960 he is an assault photographer and takes the most iconic pictures of the period of the dolce vita. Thanks to his scoops he meets Fellini and collaborates with him during the filming of La Dolce Vita. In 1962 he leaves Roma’s Press Photo, becomes a freelance still photographer on movie sets. He is always present on the sets of Federico Fellini and Sophia Loren, whose personal photographer he becomes from 1964 onwards, and he portrays the world of cinema behind the screen. For over 30 years he works for major film production companies. In the mid-eighties he retires from professional life; he dies on a summer night in 1998 in his home in Rome. Several exhibitions and books have been produced all over the world with his photographs.

Gallery address: G/F, 5 Sau Wa Fong, Wan Chai

The global issue of privacy in the digital age is the central theme of ‘Nosy’, a multi-media project that includes photographs, sculptural objects, installations and a limited edition of unique artist books. The project mimics the conflict between the seductive power of technology, expressed through the playful and attractive appearance of the artworks, and its dark “nosy” side, revealed by the repetitive and uncanny presence of human noses.

 The exhibition is co-presented in partnership with the Italian Cultural Institute of Hong Kong as part of its annual ITALIA MIA Festival, which celebrates the best Italian cultural events in Hong Kong taking place citywide.

The exhibition also extends beyond the gallery space with the ad hoc placement of 200 sculptural noses in public spaces around town which will be revealed in stages throughout November. Post sightings on Instagram using #NosyInTheWild and tagging @thatsval and @novaliscontemporaryartdesign for two chances to win a limited edition print photo signed by the artist, which will be announced on 6 December.

Gallery address: G/F, 5 Sau Wa Fong, Wan Chai