Tsang Kin-Wah 曾建華 Hong Kong, b. 1976

Born in Shantou, a port city in southeastern China, Tsang Kin-Wah migrated to Hong Kong at age six. After completing an undergraduate degree in fine art at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2000, he moved to London and received a master’s degree in book arts at the Camberwell College of Arts, London Institute (now the University of the Arts London) in 2003.

In his early works, Tsang combined texts in decorative patterns to create wallpaper that covers the walls, floors, and ceilings of their designated exhibition spaces. On closer inspection, seemingly elegant floral patterns reveal themselves as profane writings by both the artist and other authors. In doing so, Tsang brings to the fore contradictions between image and text, appearance and content.

Such interplays continue to be important in Tsang’s transition from static wall-based art to multimedia video installations. Created after 2009, the latter type of works often creates an immersive environment through digitally rendered, dynamic text and image projections. Their subjects range widely from identity politics and cultural conflicts to current and historical events.

Tsang’s work has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Chinese Arts Centre (now Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art), UK (2008); Mori Art Museum, Japan (2011-12); Thurgau Art Museum, Switzerland (2015); M+ Pavilion, Hong Kong (2016); and Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada (2017-18). Tsang has participated in group exhibitions including the Lyon Biennial, France (2009-10); Memories of the Future, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea (2010-11); Sydney Biennial, Australia (2010); Asian Art Biennial, Taichung, Taiwan (2011-12); Landscape: The Virtual, The Actual, The Possible?, Guangdong Times Museum, Guangzhou, China (2014), and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, USA (2014-15); Chinese Whispers: Recent Art from the Sigg and M+ Sigg Collections, Kunstmuseum Bern and Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland (2016); Tales of Our Time, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA (2016-17); and Overbooked, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong (2020).

In 2015, he represented Hong Kong at the Venice Biennale. Tsang lives and works in Hong Kong.