The Hong Kong Central Library will display new paintings by French artist Guillaume Bottazzi from May 21 to June 5, alongside photos of the artist’s public commissions.“Wonderland,” which is running as part of the city’s annual Le French May arts festival, presents 23 recent paintings from Bottazzi, including traditional oils on canvas and a series of plaster and glue paintings on fabric. Like Bottazzi’s public murals, these paintings feature amorphous blobs rendered in crisp, bright colors. But they’re simpler than the murals, often consisting of solid white forms on a monochromatic background or featuring only primary colors.In a statement, the organizers of Le French May 2016 said they hope the show will “induce visitors to evolve in an unreal world, a world which will call upon our imagination and our creativity.”Bottazzi’s paintings are accompanied in the show by images of his public artworks. One highlight is a collection of photos of “Hope,” a 900-square-meter mural commissioned by the Miyanomori International Museum of Art in Sapporo, Japan. The artist began painting “Hope” just eight months after the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, and its colorful abstract shapes represent an attempt to make a joyful, hopeful addition to the city.Also featured in the show are images of Bottazzi’s most recent public commission, a series of six large-scale paintings of intersecting shapes installed in the open-air art space at La Défense, one of Paris’s main business districts. Bottazzi is in distinguished company at La Défense, where his paintings are on display alongside works from masters like Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, and Richard Serra.“Guillaume Bottazzi: Wonderland” runs May 21-June 5 at the Hong Kong Central Library.
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