Whispers of the Unseen: In Resonance
April 23 – May 9, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, April 23, 6-8pm
We are pleased to present Whispers of the Unseen: In Resonance. The exhibition features the work of three Macau-born artists—Wong Weng Cheong, Rusty Fox, and Heidi Lau. Though their practices span printmaking, photography, and ceramic sculpture, they share a quiet sensibility that whispers rather than declares. Belonging to the same generation and shaped by similar cultural landscapes, their artistic languages diverge, yet the spiritual undercurrents of their works resonate within a shared field.
Wong Weng Cheong, widely recognized for his large-scale digital installations, is represented here by an earlier body of traditional copperplate etchings. These works possess a markedly introspective tone, unfolding like a series of epistolary poems addressed to his younger self. Originally conceived digitally and later translated onto copper plates, the images allow ephemeral electronic forms to acquire the tactile gravity of the etching process. Within these compositions, time and space appear suspended; elongated figures evoke a liminal, dreamlike atmosphere. This series serves both as a projection of the artist’s psychological boundaries and as the conceptual point of departure for the installation he later presented at the Macau Pavilion of the 2024 Venice Biennale.
Similarly rendered in monochrome, Rusty Fox’s photographs turn away from interior psychological spaces and instead attend to overlooked scenes within the urban landscape. Moving through the city like a nocturnal flâneur, Fox centers his compositions on trees, constructing images that recall the uncanny atmosphere of classical Chinese zhiguai tales. Twisted trunks assume anthropomorphic qualities, as if reclaiming the city after nightfall. In his work, the documentary authority of photography subtly shifts. Through deliberate framing and selection, perception is quietly reoriented, allowing multiple layers of reality to unfold: the physical world reshapes the senses, the senses reshape our imagination of familiar spaces, and imagination itself may constitute another form of truth.
While these prints and photographs explore the tensions and distortions of perception on a two-dimensional plane, Heidi Lau condenses memory, myth, and interiority into three-dimensional form. Working primarily with clay, Lau draws upon the elemental properties of the material to explore the expression of indistinct memories, mythologies, and visual experiences. The deformation of clay and the merging of glazes allow emotional memory to settle into matter, resulting in forms that hover between abstraction and figuration. By infusing a historically laden medium with her own embodied experience, Lau transforms ceramics into a distinctly contemporary visual syntax. Resonance does not imply similarity; rather, it describes how different frequencies respond to one another. Across their varied media, the works of these three artists reveal collisions between embodied experience and urban memory. Together, they illuminate layers that are often overlooked, concealed, or forgotten, while their quiet murmurs continue to reverberate.
To learn more, click here.
RESENT ASIA WEEK NEW YORK EXHIBITION
For Asia Week New York, we are pleased to present two solo presentations by artists Fu Xiaotong and Wang Tiande. Both artists are inspired by the Chinese landscape painting tradition, taking nature as their primary theme. Moreover, both are pioneers in material manipulation, pushing the boundaries of traditional Chinese ink and Xuan paper in contemporary art practice.
Fu Xiaotong: NUN-7
Wang Tiande: Beyond Reach
March 12 – April 18, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 12, 6-8pm
Artists Conversation on Material Culture with Einor Cervone, Saturday, March 21, 2-4pm
Special AWNY Hours: March 19-22 & 24-27, 10am-5pm
Fu Xiaotong: NUN-7
Based in Berlin, Fu Xiaotong is known for her intricate paper pinhole creations of “traditional” landscape compositions. In 2000, she graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, and in 2013, obtained a Master’s degree in Experimental Art from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.
The title NUN has been used by Fu Xiaotong since 2020, with this exhibition marking the seventh iteration of the ongoing series. NUN (or Nu) refers to a chaotic life-force in ancient Egyptian mythology, known as the “Great Earth Mother”. Often considered the oldest god, NUN is the personification of the boundless primeval waters of chaos, representing the primordial abyss from which all life and existence emerged. In both her paper works and sculptures, Fu consistently engages with the void—the spaces created by the armature of her sculpture, the holes created with each pinprick. She sees these empty areas as conduits to her subconscious, likening her practice to a form of meditation.
We will be showing a selection of recent works by the artist in which she interprets the natural world from two contrasting perspectives: from afar, in her serene, distant mountain and water-scapes, and on a microcosmic level, in her investigation of plant cells and organic tissue. In some pieces, forms appear densely aggregated, resembling cellular structures; in others, the dispersion and branching of pinholes evoke patterns of growth, division, or migration found in living systems.
137,320 Pinpricks and 145,978 Pinpricks adopt silhouettes reminiscent of church doors or arched entrances. According to the artist, these architectural forms do not function as stable religious symbols; instead, they suggest transitional spaces—thresholds between interior and exterior, matter and spirit. Here, form becomes a vessel for transformation rather than a carrier of fixed meaning.
Within Fu Xiaotong’s practice, pinpricking signifies both destruction and generation. As the paper is repeatedly perforated, it loses its original integrity while simultaneously acquiring new thickness, density, and rhythm. Light passing through the pinholes allows the works to shift according to viewing distance, angle, and time, evoking a slow, continuously evolving system.
To learn more, click here.
Wang Tiande: Beyond Reach
Wang Tiande is an innovative avant-garde ink artist known for his creative use of incense sticks as a form of brush. Born in Shanghai in 1960, he holds both a Master’s degree in Chinese Painting and a Ph.D. in Calligraphy from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. Well-versed in traditional Chinese art and culture, Wang searches for new possibilities in the realm of ink art. His most groundbreaking practice replaces brushes with incense sticks, burning into layered rice paper and ink. This unique approach reimagines traditional landscapes and calligraphy, conveying the ephemeral nature of art.
We are excited to present a selection of the artist’s latest works, which fuse his technique of burning incense into Xuan paper with his more recent practice of attaching older traditional artworks directly onto his compositions. This practice began several years ago—while viewing Ming-dynasty paintings in a friend’s collection, Wang considered the potential to combine authentic historical paintings and calligraphy with his own burned and painted works. An avid collector of older artwork, he began layering and attaching pieces from his collection to his own creations. The resulting works occupy a hybrid state, part historical ‘ready-made’ and part contemporary painting, presented as artifacts in pristine, black shadow-box frames.
Two large scale works anchor the exhibition; Clear and Distant Amid the Dense Forest is presented in a long, horizontal scroll. The piece is formatted from left to right, beginning with an ink rubbing on the left edge of the painting. As the viewer travels across the piece, depictions of jagged mountains recede slowly into clouds and mist. In contrast, Sheshan Resting Over Water is a tall, vertical work—not unlike the paintings of the Song Dynasty. The piece leads the eye upstream, following the mountains to a faded blue sky.
Wang’s work is ultimately rooted in addition and subtraction, blending the old and the new to create a sense of balance. He continues to experiment with historical Chinese painting, piloting a novel approach to this long-standing tradition.
To learn more, click here.
RECENT ART FAIR
Dallas Art Fair
April 16–19, 2026
VIP Preview + Benefit: Thursday, April 16, 5-9pm
Fair Hours: April 17-18, 11am-7pm; April 19, 11am-5pm
Booth #C11
Fashion Industry Gallery, 1807 Ross Avenue Dallas, TX
We are proud to celebrate our 45th anniversary this year. From the start, the gallery’s mission has been to introduce global audiences to Chinese diaspora artists. For the Dallas Art Fair, we are excited to showcase a selection of artists who represent a diverse cross-section of diasporic artists from around the globe.
In Booth C11, we will be presenting the work of 10 artists: Chinyee, Julie Chang, Fu Xiaotong, Summer Lee, Justin Lim, Leah Ying Lin, Anna Song, Xin Song, Jia Sung, and Kelly Wang. Spanning two generations, this group of artists highlights the rich, ongoing history of Asian diasporic art. Recent institutional interest in their work, both in the U.S. and Europe, is a testament not only to the individual artists’ work, but also to the cultural importance of their collective voices in the contemporary art world.
To learn more about the fair, click here.
About the Gallery
Alisan Fine Arts, a stalwart of the Hong Kong art scene since its establishment in 1981, is excited to have opened our new gallery location in New York City’s Upper East Side on November 30th, 2023. Known for its dedication to Chinese diaspora artists and contemporary Chinese ink art, we continue our legacy of bridging East and West with this exciting expansion and bringing a piece of Hong Kong’s art history to a new audience while continuing to honor the artists that have shaped our legacy.
As we open our first location in the US, the gallery is committed to working with Chinese American and other Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) artists, continuing our mission of promoting cross-cultural dialogue and fostering a global appreciation for diverse artistic expressions. The gallery’s New York venture provides a unique platform for showcasing the richness of Chinese diaspora artistry, with a special focus on artists who have made significant contributions to both their heritage culture and the American art scene.
The New York City location aims to bring these conversations to a broader audience and create a space where Asian art can further dialogue with international trends and movements. The gallery will be headed up by Daniel Chen, previously the director of Chambers Fine Art. “I am thrilled to be a part of this new chapter for Alisan Fine Arts,” says Chen. “This is a gallery that has been at the forefront of Asian art for over 40 years, and it’s exciting to be able to broaden its legacy here in the center of the contemporary art world.”
Co-founded in the 1980s by Alice King, Alisan Fine Arts is one of the first professionally run galleries in Hong Kong and has been a pioneer in the field of Chinese contemporary art and new ink art, in particular, focusing on promoting mainland Chinese artists as well as established Hong Kong and Chinese diaspora artists.
We currently manage three premises, one in the upper east side of New York City, one in Hong Kong’s central business district and one in Aberdeen, Hong Kong’s southside.