A Hong Kong/New York Collective
Curated by Tomato Grey Collective
May 7 – June 6, 2010
Opening Reception May 7, 6 – 9pm

White Box in collaboration with multimedia artist collective Tomato Grey presents 18° of Acclimation the first ever exhibition of Hong Kong artists in New York City. The visibility of Hong Kong artists in North America remains relatively low in comparison to artists of the other Chinese diasporas. Yet, the creative voices of this former British colony are indispensable parts to a holistic understanding of contemporary Chinese art and contemporary Asian art in general. 18° of Acclimation showcases artistic outputs by a group of up-and-coming Hong Kong artists who are either currently residing in New York, or have previously worked in New York and possess an affinity with the city. Instead of relying on a pre-fabricated curatorial rhetoric that is driven by a desire to locate an identity forcefully, this exhibition simply makes visible the diverse artistic interests of China’s most affluent and Westernized metropolis.

A wide range of media will be covered in this exhibition, from sound installation, painting and photography, to video and conceptual art. Tomato Grey artists include Bing Lee, New York based site-specific installation artist and the co-founder of Godzilla-Asian American Art Network, whose mural can be seen at MTA Canal station; Samson Young, music composer and media artist; Kaho Yu, photographer & video artist; Pak Sheung Chuen, conceptual artist representing Hong Kong at the Venice Biennale 2009; Annysa Ng, visual artist; Teresa Kwong, director of Hong Kong Independent Short Film and Video Awards (IFVA) and previous ACC New York residency grantee. A film program entitled “Women and Postcolonial Hong Kong,” curated by Teresa Kwong, will be screened throughout the exhibition.

18 ° of Acclimation opens on Friday, May 7 at 6 pm and runs through June 6. A panel discussion with participating artists and moderated by Alexandra Chang will take place on May 4 from 6 – 8 pm, at the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University (the 7th Floor Gallery, 41-51 E. 11th Street between Broadway and University Place)

ABOUT TOMATO GREY

Tomato Grey is a New York-based Hong Kong-artist collective comprised of artists across disciplines. Tomato Grey is devoted to:
– The promotion of Hong Kong Art in New York City.
– The fostering of cultural exchange and mutual appreciation between practitioners of arts in Hong Kong and in New York.
– The raising of awareness of the many facets of Hong Kong’s creative activities, which is achieved through regular exhibitions, performances, public lectures and other cultural activities.

A tomato is neither a fruit nor a vegetable, while grey is an achromatic color. We take ‘Tomato Grey’ to signify a state of constant flux, a gesture towards embracing, rather than rejecting, this state of constant drift. As a collective of artists from Hong Kong – a city of perpetual cultural motion – we do not believe in the act of disambiguation as a cultural strategy and artistic goal, as it leads to a forged singularity of origin. Rather, only by acknowledging the full extent of our multi-cultural, multi-national and multi-faceted heritage will a genuine geographically relevant artistic voice emerge. For more information visit www.tomatogrey.org

This exhibition, exhibition-related programming, and catalogue have been made possible in part through the generous support of the following:

Hong Kong Arts Development Council fully supports freedom of artistic expression. The views and opinions expressed in this project do not represent the stand of the Council.

Acknowledgement: the Arts Development Fund of the Home Affairs Bureau, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Tomato Grey is made possible in part with public funds from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council:.