Chen Yifei, Bridge Reflection (Suzhou), 1987. Modern & Contemporary Art Hong Kong.
One of the great joys of engaging with landscape paintings is how they change the way we see the world around us. Emerging from introspective gallery visits, we see places in a new light, whether they’re scenes we know well or locations we’re visiting for the first time. It’s one of the great transcendent experiences one can have with art — we realize our sense of appreciation isn’t just about the time we spend before a work, but about how artists' different ways of seeing change how we perceive everything.
But before going too far globe-trotting to discover new vantage points revealed by these standout works, be sure to stop by our gallery to experience them face-to-face ahead of the Hong Kong Modern & Contemporary Art auction on 2 June.
Matthew Wong
Matthew Wong, The Recluse, 2017. Modern & Contemporary Art Hong Kong.
What to know:
Painted in 2017 at the midpoint of Matthew Wong’s brief but resonant career, The Recluse activates a deeply introspective, otherworldly landscape. The composition features a lone figure, miniaturized beneath an emerald canopy, amid looming, sublime mountains composed of dense, obsessive pointillist marks. Perhaps serving as a surrogate for the artist himself, this solitary figure charts a quiet course through a vivid terrain that feels both tranquil and immersive. The painting’s remarkable interplay of color and expressive brushwork recalls the masterpieces of Post-Impressionist giants like Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh.
Sunset Peak in Hong Kong. Credit: Lyndon Giffard Images / Alamy
Where to go:
Take a cue from the artist — who spent hours each day on long walks, daydreaming and photographing for inspiration— to get away from your screen and step outside. Climb the dramatic trails of Sunset Peak in Hong Kong to take in the sweeping ridges and bask in an orange glow. When you return from the mountains to the gallery, you will discover that your perception of Wong's work has shifted, revealing hidden depths you didn't notice before.
Chen Yifei
Chen Yifei, Bridge Reflection (Suzhou), 1987. Modern & Contemporary Art Hong Kong.
What to know:
This piece belongs to Chen Yifei’s celebrated Water Town series, which captures a nostalgic, peaceful vision of traditional China through the ancient canal towns of Jiangnan. He masterfully applies Western oil painting techniques and dramatic chiaroscuro to create a luminous, poetic texture on the historic brick and reflecting water. As a result of this unique blend of European realism and deeply traditional Chinese themes, Yifei’s works have become highly sought after by collectors worldwide for their balance of cultural roots, national pride, and global appeal.
Illuminated Zhouzhuang Water Town at night, Jiangsu, China. Credit: Panther Media Global / Alamy
Where to go:
To step directly into Yifei’s vision, visit the historic water canals of Zhouzhuang Water Town in Suzhou. While there, treat your surroundings as a study in contrast — choose a stone bridge or a brick wall and notice how the light and shadows dramatically shift between morning and evening. By observing how the midday sun gives way to twilight chiaroscuro over the water, you will begin to see everyday architecture exactly how Yifei captured it.
Stephen Wong
Stephen Wong, The Star Ferry In The Wave, 2021. Modern & Contemporary Art Hong Kong.
What to know:
Conceived during the travel restrictions of 2021, Stephen Wong’s The Star Ferry in the Wave offers a sophisticated exercise in mapping his imagination. The canvas captures a moment of grand scale-shifting — the artist’s own miniature model of Hong Kong’s iconic Star Ferry navigates the churning, Hokusai-inspired swells that surge directly from the pages of an open book. Rather than mere escapism, the work stages a tension between stationary confinement and imaginary mobility. This conceptual loop came full circle in 2022 when the image was enlarged and wrapped around a public Hong Kong tram — translating the artwork from a private, domestic fantasy into a literal, moving vessel of urban transit.
Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. Credit: robertharing / Alamy
Where to go:
Head down to the bustling waterfront of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong to watch the iconic Star Ferry cross the water. As you stand by the harbour, focus closely on how the light flickers off the shifting currents. Notice how the power of the water, no matter how gentle, constantly moves the vessels in its wake. As your mind wanders, ask what kind of grand scenes you can visualize taking place in these waters, and how you can project your own inner world onto the urban landscape around you.
Shara Hughes
Shara Hughes, Many Layers, 2020. Modern & Contemporary Art Hong Kong.
What to know:
Also executed during the global isolation of 2020, Shara Hughes’s Many Layers exemplifies the artist’s celebrated transition from her early, domestic interiors toward liberating, invented psychological landscapes. Despite its intimate scale, this vibrant canvas radiates an explosive energy that collapses the boundary between representation and pure abstraction. The work’s inventive palette and urgent gestural markings at once call to mind Fauvist colour and Abstract Expressionist spontaneity. Created during a highly coveted, mature period of the artist’s career, following her breakout in the 2017 Whitney Biennial, this piece underscores why Hughes’ work is now securely anchored in permanent institutional collections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to the M Woods Museum in Beijing.
Giant Sequoia Trees, Sequoia National Park, California. Credit: Hemis / Alamy
Where to go:
Travel to the towering, surreal forests of Sequoia National Park, where nature feels larger than life. Once surrounded by the massive trees, look at the landscape with your eyes half-opened. Do new textures and raw shapes emerge that you hadn’t seen when looking at them fully? Try drawing the forest from memory later with your eyes closed, letting your sensibilities dictate the lines rather than strict reality — a practice that mirrors how Hughes constructs her vibrant, psychological worlds.
André Brasilier
André Brasilier, Le Grand Ciel Rose, 1988. Modern & Contemporary Art Hong Kong.
What to know:
Painted during a watershed year of institutional retrospectives for the artist — including his seminal 1988 exhibition at the Musée Picasso in Antibes — André Brasilier’s Le Grand Ciel Rose exemplifies his celebrated status as a painter. In this work, his signature equestrian subjects are stripped of realist detail, serving instead as lyrical surrogates for vitality and an intimate communion with the atmosphere. By bathing the landscape in a wash of vibrant pinks, Brasilier translates the terrain into a deeply rhythmic, dreamlike space. This serene composition beautifully underscores why Brasilier’s poeticism continues to command a deeply dedicated following among major collectors worldwide.
Sunrise in Mongolia. Credit: Imaginechina Limited / Alamy
Where to go:
To experience the vast, undulating expanses that define Brasilier’s worldview, look to the sweeping steppes of Mongolia. At sunrise, when the sky turns an unusually vibrant shade of pink, red, or orange, look across the open landscape to notice how the color completely alters everything around it. Watch the local wildlife moving across the plain, observing how the animals and their elongated shadows fuse into the terrain. You will see firsthand that nothing in nature has a static appearance — what we perceive is born of constantly shifting light.
Daisy Dodd-Noble
Daisy Dodd-Noble, Untitled, 2023. Modern & Contemporary Art Hong Kong.
What to know:
Daisy Dodd-Noble’s Untitled depicts an idyllic landscape where the imaginary co-mingles with reality. Marking a departure from the artist’s earlier, hyper-surrealistic approach, this work represents a mature refinement of her practice. Rather than anthropomorphizing nature, she engages in a more informed taxonomy of native and non-native botanical species — a shift that subtly interrogates the anxieties of a changing climate. Through softened brushwork, she evokes a scene that feels intimate, alien, and deeply inviting all at once.
Hawaii at night. Credit: B. David Cathell / Alamy
Where to go:
This piece was commissioned around the time of the artist’s residency in Hawaii, a landscape famous for its lush, native flora. To see this paradise through the artist’s lens, venture into the island's botanical spaces in complete darkness and observe how the moon’s glow shapes your surroundings. Notice how moonlight creates an atmosphere entirely different from that of streetlights or the setting sun. Look at the water’s edge to see if the shadows pool like liquid. And above all, ask herself what she saw or imagined here that you might have missed.
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