Hong Kong, April – 10 Chancery Lane Gallery is pleased to present Sea of Silver Sand, a solo exhibition by pioneering Chinese contemporary artist Huang Rui, on view from May 22 to August 16, 2025. This exhibition showcases Huang Rui’s latest works from his ongoing Sea of Silver Sand series, a deeply meditative body of paintings inspired by his long-standing fascination with Zen gardens and the transient beauty of nature. The exhibition will coincide with The French May in Hong Kong, marking a significant moment as the artist will be present to attend the opening.
The Sea of Silver Sand series, conceived over the past five years, finds its origins in an initiatory journey Huang Rui undertook in 2000, when he visited Kyoto’s Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) and its famed Zen rock garden. This experience left an indelible mark on the artist’s spiritual and artistic practice, shaping his continued exploration of nature’s fleeting yet eternal presence.
Since 2019, Huang Rui has expanded this series, moving away from rigid abstraction to embrace a freer, more expressive visual language. His canvases evoke the shifting light, textures, and moods of the Sea of Silver Sand, where subtle shades of blue reflect both the materiality of the landscape and the inner states of the artist’s mind. The interplay of color and form mirrors Huang Rui’s evolving emotional and spiritual connection to this profound space, which he describes as a place of sand and stone, waves and rivers, moonlight and stars—a landscape in constant transformation.
“Stone gardens evoke endless interpretations—they could be the poems of Li Bai and Su Dongpo, or the lines of Shakespeare’s plays,” says Huang Rui. “The Sea of Silver Sand holds a singular structural relationship: the moon and the undisturbed ripples of the sand. It is a dialogue of form. After years of contemplation, I have finally found a way to converse with it through painting.”
Huang Rui’s years in Japan (1984–2001) allowed him to further refine his artistic philosophy, embracing Zen aesthetics and the idea of art as a medium of transcendence. With Sea of Silver Sand, he continues this lifelong dialogue, offering viewers an immersive reflection on time, memory, and the essence of nature.
Huang Rui, a founding member of The Stars Art Group (Xing Xing), one of China's most influential avant-garde movements, has long been at the forefront of artistic and intellectual exploration. This exhibition also serves as a celebration of the recent retrospective group exhibition, "Freedom of Art, The Stars, Beijing, 1979" at Centre Pompidou in Paris (December 4, 2024 – March 10, 2025). Huang Rui's early oil paintings, including The Guitar’s Story and Courtyard Abstraction No.1, are now part of the permanent collection at Centre Pompidou, underscoring his enduring artistic legacy.
ABOUT HUANG RUI
Huang Rui (b. 1952, China, lives in Beijing) stands as one of China's most esteemed artists. His artistic creations are deeply rooted in intellectual observations of history, music, politics, and the world at large. Huang Rui can be described as a philosopher artist, delving into both the past and present to express his ideas through various mediums such as paintings, sculptures, performances, and installations. What sets Huang Rui apart is his ability to distil complex concepts and ideas into simple and accessible forms. Through his artistic endeavours, he strives to communicate a universal understanding that resonates with individuals from diverse backgrounds. His work embodies a golden rule of comprehension, transcending cultural, social, and ideological boundaries. Huang Rui's artistic vision goes beyond aesthetic beauty; it aims to provoke thought, challenge conventional wisdom, and inspire dialogue. His works serve as catalysts for introspection, encouraging viewers to contemplate the complexities of the human experience, the interplay between history and the present, and the dynamics of power and politics. Since the 1970s, Huang Rui has been active at the forefront of Chinese contemporary art as an artist and instigator, who notably co-organised the “Stars Art Exhibition” in 1979 and pioneered contemporary art practice in China.
ABOUT 10 CHANCERY LANE GALLERY
Established in 2001, when Hong Kong’s art scene was burgeoning, Katie de Tilly started 10 Chancery Lane Gallery. Along the back wall of the, then running, Victoria Prison, now the buzzing Tai Kwun Heritage and Cultural site, the little walking lane opened into a gallery specializing in contemporary art from the Asia-Pacific. Over the past 23 years, 10 Chancery Lane has worked with some of the region’s great artists, curators and museums. The gallery’s motto still stands: “We are committed to giving a breath of fresh air to the Hong Kong art scene by bringing works that can expand horizons, open minds and view the world, and life in general, through varying eyes, ideas and souls. Art is not just decoration for our walls but a connection with our deep inner selves and the world around us.”
