Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery is delighted to present A Ride in Fantasies, as part of the associated project of the French May Arts Festival. This group exhibition brings together seven modern and contemporary artists working across sculpture, painting, and collage to reinterpret the classic motif of horse through diverse cultural perspectives.
Evolving across cultures and eras, the horse embodies the meanings of eternity, freedom, and spirituality, reflecting enduring questions about human existence. Just as Pegasus struck Mount Helicon to release the spring of inspiration in Greek mythology, contemporary artists move beyond mere representation of the horse's physical dynamism to explore its spiritual depth.
France-based Chinese sculptor Guo Cheng Dong synthesizes Western modernism, traditional Chinese jade carving, and realist sculptural practice. Moving between figuration and abstraction, he refines and transforms the equine form to evoke the unyielding "courier spirit" — an emblem of forward momentum and cultural memory — channelling his reflections on identity, migration, and self-projection.
Referencing the horse as a symbol of ambition and vitality, Chinese artist Xue Song deconstructs and reconstructs the cultural imagery of the horse using fire and collage. Reborn from ashes, the horse is a central motif of his "Local Pop" series. Juxtaposing past and present, East and West, he reveals the layered inner world of contemporary Chinese experience within the context of globalisation. Zhang Gong appropriates Renaissance masterpieces, replacing their heroic narratives with playful cartoon imagery. Egyptian artist Ibrahim Khatab layers found materials and pigment until the horse, revered as sacred within Arab culture, emerges from dense, swirling colour. Each of the three artists reimagines the horse as a cultural and historical symbol in their unique way.
Chinese-American artist Walasse Ting, once part of the CoBrA movement during his years in Paris, merged the spontaneity of Eastern ink painting with Abstract Expressionism. His vivid blue horse radiates brilliance and lightness, elevating the motif into a joyful celebration of life.
Korean artist Park Sung-Tae constructs equine forms using aluminium and stainless-steel mesh. As light passes through the grid, the physical form and its shadow create an interplay of presence and absence. Song Hyeong-Noh places the horse in intimate, dreamlike scenes where childhood memories converge with imagination.