"FUSION FINAL" ExhibitionArkad Foundation, Seravezza, Italy
From 11 to 27 April 2025, the exhibition Fusion Final, the culmination of the Fusion project launched by the Arkad Foundation in Seravezza, Italy in 2021, would be held in Hong Kong Arts Centre.
The exhibition presents 36 sculptures created during the three phases of the project by ten artists, five from Hong Kong and five from different countries working in Italy.
They worked in pairs, consisting of one artist in Italy and one in Hong Kong:
- Danny Lee with Francesca Bernardini
- Margaret Chu with Aurélien Boussin
- Yuen Leung Ho with Jacob Cartwright
- Violet Shum with Flavia Robalo
- Yaman Chau with Lorenzo Vignoli.
During the first two phases of the project, collaboration took place remotely due to the pandemic restrictions in place at the time.
In Italy artists used the precious white marble of the Apuan Alps, in Hong Kong the wood of various essences. These materials, as different as they are, are symbolic of their respective territories, telling of their nature and culture. Their union in the works of art created represents an ideal fusion of two distant worlds.
In December 2021, the exhibition Fusion 1 opened simultaneously at the Visual Art Centre in Hong Kong and at the Arkad Foundation in Seravezza, with each venue hosting five of the ten sculptures created in this first phase.
For the second phase, 20 new small-scale sculptures were created, and in the spring and summer of 2023, the exhibition Fusion 2 showcased at the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre all the works created to date.
In the summer 2024, the Fusion 3 symposium was held at Arkad's headquarters: the five Hong Kong artists joined their colleagues in Italy and finally worked side by side, sharing every stage of the artistic process, from conception to the working of marble and wood.
The Fusion Final exhibition brings together all the works from Fusion, along with a personal sculpture from each artist. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about each of their artistic identities and discover the fruits of this unique and unprecedented experiment in artistic collaboration.
"This exhibition is not only about the finished works of art, but also about the process of experimentation, communication, mutual respect and understanding through the universal language of art", say Cynthia Sah and Nicolas Bertoux, founders of Arkad and curators of Fusion.
