Amelia Johnson Contemporary

Tucked away on Shin Hing Street, Amelia Johnson Contemporary features a minimal white interior replete with contemporary artworks sourced locally and internationally, primarily by emerging young artists.
The lighting is as minimal as the interior; I actually prefer this method of showcasing artwork as it takes away the clutter surrounding the artwork and makes me focus on the artwork solely.
During this time, I came across a wonderful Australian photographic artist, Marian Drew, who is having her work exhibited from July 2 until the end of August. I discovered that she is a major contemporary art figure in Australia, having been included the world-​renowned Australian National Gallery. She has been toiling away for more than 20 (twenty!) years, and her current exhibition at the gallery entitled «Fresh» mixes still life photography of fruits, porcelain and birds, mounted on a table with different covers and textures with various landscapes as its backdrop.
As an art lover, it is very refreshing to see mixed-​media art as it gets me out of my art comfort zone. Past exhibitions at Amelia Johnson Contemporary included Lalla Essaydi, a painter/​photographer who explored the female Arab identity in her exhibition entitled «Hidden in Plain Sight». I admired her use of chromogenic color prints on aluminum, especially Les Femmes du Maroc Harem Women Writing, which was shot on large format film if I’m not mistaken.
The most recent local exhibition was curated by Tang Kwok Hin, who featured four artists from both sides of the art spectrum — the emerging and the established. It explores the political relationship between China and Hong Kong. My favorite piece was from Annie Wan, who stuck wheat grass onto raw clay, entitled «Irrigation».
If you’re around the Sheung Wan area, you’re already spoilt for choice when it comes to galleries. But if you’re looking for contemporary art that features emerging local and international artists, I highly recommend Amelia Johnson Contemporary.