(From left) Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Vincent Liu Ming-kwong; Executive Manager, Charities (Sports, Culture and Community Engagement) of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Winnie Yip; Italy’s Ambassador to China Massimo Ambrosetti; Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Raistlin Lau Chun; Director of the Uffizi Galleries Eike Schmidt; Chairman of the Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, Culture and Sports Vincent Cheng Wing-shun; and Hong Kong Museum of Art Museum Director Maria Mok Kar-wing pose for a photo during the opening ceremony of “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Titian and the Venetian Renaissance from the Uffizi” exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art on Nov 2, 2023. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is committed to strengthening the city's position as a center for East-meets-West international cultural exchange, according to Raistlin Lau Chun, Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

Lau made the remarks at the opening ceremony of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Titian and the Venetian Renaissance from the Uffizi exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) on Thursday.  

“We are launching our second collaboration under the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Uffizi in 2019,” he said. 

READ MORE: Drawing inspiration from Venetian masters' paintings

“Showcasing 50 priceless Renaissance paintings, especially works by Titian, this exhibition will offer visitors a unique opportunity to explore and appreciate the Venetian School, which is renowned for its inventive use of colors and sensual portrayal of light.

“We are delighted to collaborate once again with the Uffizi, bringing the beauty of the Italian art to our city,” Lau said.

"As we explore the timeless works of Titian, we celebrate his unparalleled talent as well as the enduring cultural connections between Italy and Hong Kong," Italy’s Consul General in Hong Kong and Macao Carmelo Ficarra told China Daily.

"I wish that the exhibition will create a bridge between our rich cultural heritage and the vibrant culture that Hong Kong represents,” Ficarra added.

Opening to the public on Nov 3, this is the first large-scale exhibition in Hong Kong of Titian and the Venetian School – referring to the city’s art scene from the 14th to 18th century.

This exhibition showcases the world-renowned collection of the Uffizi Galleries in Italy. It includes classic works by Titian, the most significant of the featured artists, and other Venetian master painters, such as Giorgione, Tintoretto, and Veronese.

All 50 exhibits – which are united by their rich use of colors and profound depiction of human emotions – are on display in Hong Kong for the first time, with many having never been exhibited in Asia before.

Eike Schmidt (left), Director of Uffizi Galleries in Italy, Raistlin Lau Chun (second right), Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, and other guests tour the exhibition "The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Titian and the Venetian Renaissance from the Uffizi", at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, Nov 2, 2023. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

Jointly organized by the HKMoA and the Uffizi Galleries, the exhibition is a collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong, supported by the Italian Cultural Institute in Hong Kong as part of their ongoing ITALIA on STAGE cultural program.

The exhibition is solely sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and jointly presented by Hong Kong’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Italian Ministry of Culture.

According to Lau, the LCSD has been collaborating with prestigious museums across the globe to bring world-class exhibitions to Hong Kong in recent years. 

“Many of you may remember the well-received exhibition The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Botticelli and His Times — Masterworks from the Uffizi co-organized by the LCSD and the Uffizi back in 2020,” he said.

“Apart from exhibiting the great pieces of work, we also hope to display the interactive works of the local artists to show creativity,” Lau added.

For this new exhibition, the HKMoA invited artists Leung Chi-wo and Chan Kwan-lok to draw inspiration from the Venetian School. Leung made a new art installation and Chan created ink paintings with meticulous brushwork. 

Through the unique perspectives of these 21st-century Hong Kong artists, an artistic dialogue with the 16th-century Italian Renaissance masters was initiated. 

Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports, and Tourism Raistlin Lau Chun addresses the opening ceremony of the exhibition on Nov 2, 2023. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Leung’s site-specific art installation Tears of Tempo uses chandeliers to allow viewers to explore memories of the past, while Chan was inspired by the Venetian School’s fusion of the divine and the human, using traditional ink techniques to personify elements of the natural world and infuse them with vitality.

Guests at the opening ceremony included Italy’s Ambassador to China Massimo Ambrosetti, Uffizi Galleries Director Eike Schmidt, and the Executive Manager of Charities (Sports, Culture & Community Engagement) of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Winnie Yip.

They were joined by the Chairman of the Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, Culture, and Sports Vincent Cheng Wing-shun, the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Vincent Liu Ming-kwong, and HKMoA Museum Director Maria Mok Kar-wing.

vivienxu@chinadailyapac.com