Central, Christie's | Christie's Hong Kong Announces the Exhibition 'Masters' Eyes: David Hockney and Wu Guanzhong' — Two Artistic Masters Celebrate Cross-Cultural Dialogue Through Landscape, Perspective, and New Visions

Description

On the occasion of Christie's 40th anniversary in Asia, Christie's is delighted to announce the exhibition 'Masters' Eyes: David Hockney and Wu Guanzhong,' a groundbreaking event in Hong Kong that brings together the works of two of the most influential artists of the 20th century. The exhibition will be open to the public from September 22 to 29 at The Henderson, Christie's Asia Pacific Headquarters, coinciding with the autumn Hong Kong 20th and 21st Century Art Auction Preview and Auctions.

 'Masters' Eyes' aims to celebrate the enduring artistic legacy of David Hockney while juxtaposing his masterpieces with those of Wu Guanzhong, a pioneer of modern Chinese art, revealing profound resonances in their artistic explorations and creative methods. The exhibition gathers works spanning decades by these two artistic giants, examining how they used ingenious perspectives and experimental spirit to open new possibilities for landscape painting. Although their creative paths diverged—Wu looked to the West, while Hockney drew inspiration from the East—both shaped richer artistic languages through dialogue with foreign cultures.

 The exhibition focuses on the significant transformation Chinese calligraphy and painting brought to Hockney's artistic style. During his 1981 visit to mainland China and Hong Kong, he was deeply inspired. The multiple perspectives in Chinese scroll paintings profoundly influenced the artist's understanding of space and visual narrative techniques. Also on display are two works by Wang Hui (1632–1717), whose landscape paintings combining different perspectives profoundly altered Hockney's understanding of pictorial space and inspired his exploration of vision and perception.

Hockney's discoveries closely parallel Wu Guanzhong's creative methods. Wu studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1947 to 1950, deeply influenced by European modernist works, particularly those of Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Matisse, which inspired him to uniquely fuse traditional Chinese art with Western modernist concepts.

Both Hockney and Wu challenged the tradition of single-point perspective, the central theme of this exhibition. Throughout his career, Hockney explored various ways of seeing through painting, photography, and digital media, creating works that simultaneously present multiple perspectives. Wu similarly broke through the rigid boundaries of naturalism, choosing to reinterpret the landscape painting tradition through rhythm, abstraction, and spatial expression.

Cristian Albu, Deputy Chairman of Christie's Asia Pacific and Head of 20th and 21st Century Art Auctions and Private Sales, said: 'We are honored to present the works of David Hockney and Wu Guanzhong together for the first time, allowing their distinctive landscape works to engage in dialogue. Although the works of these two artists differ greatly in style and cultural background, their side-by-side display highlights how both explored new ways of presenting visual experiences through multiple perspectives, forging connections across different regions and art histories. We hope this exhibition continues Christie's commitment to promoting cross-cultural and cross-regional artistic exchange.'

Zhang Dingyuan, Deputy Chairman of Christie's Asia Pacific and Chairman of the 20th and 21st Century Art Department, noted: 'Wu Guanzhong is a great pioneer of 20th-century art, blending the modernity of traditional Chinese ink painting with the innovative spirit of Western modernism to create a unique visual language. This exhibition presents his works alongside those of David Hockney, offering viewers a unique opportunity to appreciate Wu's landscape masterpieces from a fresh perspective and witness the resonance of vision between these two artistic giants.'

This exhibition is proudly presented with the generous support of Christie's Art Finance Services.

* Please reserve

All Images credited to CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2026