show not show | design biennale rotterdam

As Art Basel takes over Hong Kong, The Peninsula once again transforms into a hub for contemporary art with its latest Art in Resonance programme. Since launching in 2019, the initiative has championed emerging and mid-career artists, turning the hotel’s spaces into a living gallery. This year, three new commissions bring together history, technology, and craftsmanship, including a special collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).  

“This exhibition represents a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to nurturing artistic creativity and cultural exchange,” says Gareth Roberts, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of The Peninsula’s parent company, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited.

Hong Kong artists Phoebe Hui and Chris Cheung (h0nh1m), along with Shanghai-based Lin Fanglu, present works that reimagine tradition in unexpected ways. Hui’s Lunar Rainbow, a large-scale installation on the hotel’s façade, plays with light and shadow to recreate the rare natural phenomenon of a moonbow. The laser-printed aluminium panels, spanning 56 square metres, reference centuries of lunar imagery, shifting as the day unfolds. Inside, Lin’s She’s Bestowed Love takes over The Lobby in a striking sculptural form, inspired by the Bai textile traditions of Yunnan. The bold red folds celebrate feminine strength, blending contemporary design with heritage craftsmanship. After its time in Hong Kong, the piece will travel to London to be showcased at the V&A.  

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Meanwhile, at The Verandah, Cheung’s The Flow Pavilion creates a quiet moment of reflection. A one-way mirrored tea house, it houses a kinetic sphere that moves across a silk carpet, tracing patterns based on the artist’s recorded brainwaves during meditation. The contrast between high-tech elements and traditional materials makes it both futuristic and deeply personal.  

“By partnering with The Peninsula, we are creating meaningful dialogues between contemporary artistic expression and cultural heritage — sharing powerful creative voices with audiences worldwide,” says Dr Melissa Buron, Director of Collections and Chief Curator of the V&A.

The experience extends beyond the installations. Specially curated desserts, cocktails, and an Afternoon Tea take cues from the works, while a dedicated in-room programme keeps the artistic theme embedded into every part of the stay. For a deeper dive, the hotel offers The Art of Luxury package, including guided tours and behind-the-scenes access to Hong Kong’s creative spaces.  

The Art in Resonance programme runs through May before the works begin their journey to other Peninsula properties. Find out more here.

photography. The Peninsula
words. Gennaro Costanzo

On the geographical playing field of art history, Vienna stands out as a hotbed of artistic innovation. It’s therefore unsurprising that an art fair celebrating creative advancement is being hosted across in the city’s MARX HALLE cultural centre. From March 21 to 23, thousands of contemporary art enthusiasts will attend SPARK Art Fair Vienna. They will be greeted by a variety of solo presentations that will quite literally project artists onto the world stage. For the fair’s fourth edition, artistic directors Jan Gustav Fiedler and Walter Seidl are focusing on both up-and-coming talents and established artists: ‘Our democratic exhibition layout, with equal stand space for everyone, not only promotes equal opportunities, but also gives visitors the opportunity to engage more deeply with the works on display.’ 

The fair is set to be an exciting pedestal for contemporary art. Its global spectrum of creative mediums will range from painting and photography to innovative and interactive mixed-media exhibitions. As you’d expect, its accompanying programme will include a range of inspiring talks from digital advancement to issues concerning the art market. This year’s fair is all about the interplay between tradition and the future, artists and the public, and people and technology. Underscored by the byline: ‘Contemporary Art, Digital Innovation and Creative Diversity’, organisers are pulling no punches when it comes to its selection of exhibiting galleries and practitioners.

In the arena are ninety international galleries from five different continents. Renowned names such as Nächst St. Stephan, Krinzinger, Lombardi-Kargl (Vienna), Konrad Fischer (Berlin/Düsseldorf), Dirimart (Istanbul), 1 Mira Madrid (Madrid) and Fonti (Naples) will be among those in attendance. Their artists range from established greats such as Lois Weinberger, to feminist pioneer Sanja Iveković, and Gregor Schneider, winner of the Golden Lion at the 49th Art Biennale in Venice. Up-and-coming talents such as Vera Klimentyeva, Lunita-July Dorn and Laura Killer will also make an appearance.

As part of SPARK Art Fair’s commitment to digital innovation, the fair will host the Smartphone Orchestra. A unique immersive experience that transforms participants’ smartphones into a unified musical instrument. Organisers have taken this one step further by also partnering with BMW Group Niederlassung Wien for the second time. Bridging the borderlands between art and mobility, the Group will unveil its legendary Art Car, a dynamic contemporary automobile conceived in collaboration with pioneering artists. This synergy between movement and creativity, will sit alongside a series of exclusive events at the MAK. Welcoming new perspectives on the evolving relationship between design, and artistic experimentation.

To round off the event’s scintillating program, organisers have taken over the historic? Viennese Globe Theatre for its production of live performances, video art and talks by discussion panels. Artists, curators and art experts from all over the world will debate topical issues in contemporary art, such as the increasing importance of artificial intelligence in the art world. All talks at the Globe Theatre are free of charge, enabling a much wider audience to enjoy these lively debates and presentations.

SPARK Art Fair Vienna is running from March 21 to 23. You can learn more about the event and purchase tickets here.

words. Raegan Rubin

For its 2025 artist collaboration, Ruinart partners with Julian Charrière, a Franco-Swiss artist whose work explores the intersections of time, geology, and human impact. Known for blending scientific research with poetic storytelling, Charrière challenges how we perceive nature — not as something separate from us, but as a force constantly shaped by human history and intervention. Conversations with Nature brings this perspective to Ruinart’s terroir, transforming the Champagne house’s deep connection to the land into an artistic dialogue that spans millennia.  

Ruinart’s selection of Charrière is a natural fit. The Maison has long been at the forefront of sustainability in winemaking, from regenerative viticulture to eco-designed packaging. Charrière’s work adds another layer, questioning how human activity reshapes the environment and what it means to engage with nature in a time of ecological urgency. “At the heart of my work lies the notion of encounter — an intimate dialogue with place, biome, and environment. These moments are not mere observations but exchanges, where landscape and presence intertwine, shaping one another in a quiet, reciprocal conversation,” he explains.  

Champagne’s limestone-rich soil holds traces of an ancient sea that once covered much of Europe. Forty-five million years ago, the region was submerged under the Lutetian Sea, a vast marine world whose fossilised remains still shape the land. The chalk pits (crayères) beneath Ruinart’s vineyards are ghostly echoes of this past, a reminder that landscapes are never static — they carry the memory of deep geological time.  

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Charrière pays tribute to this lost ocean while reflecting on the fragile state of today’s marine ecosystems. His Conversations with Nature series includes a collection of photo lithographs capturing coral reefs — luminous, living structures that mirror the prehistoric marine forests that once thrived beneath Champagne. Using a 19th-century lithographic process, Charrière reimagines these corals through pigments sourced from locally collected limestone and crushed corals. The muted, pale tones evoke the fading vitality of these ecosystems, suggesting both the resilience of nature and its vulnerability in the face of environmental change.  

Beyond these prints, Charrière transforms Ruinart’s crayères into an immersive installation. At 4 Rue des Crayères, a subterranean vault becomes an echo chamber where the memory of the Lutetian Sea collides with the imperilled frequencies of today’s coral reefs. 

Unlike a traditional gallery exhibition, Conversations with Nature is designed as a multi-sensory experience. Through large-scale installations, geological textures, and soundscapes, Charrière invites viewers to engage with Champagne’s terroir in a way that goes beyond observation. The collaboration reinforces Ruinart’s vision of Champagne as a product of time, landscape, and human ingenuity.  

Charrière’s artworks will debut at Art Basel Hong Kong from 28–30 March, before traveling to Miart, Berlin Gallery Weekend, Art Basel Basel, Frieze Seoul, and Art Basel Paris. The installation at 4 Rue des Crayères will open in June 2025, offering an ongoing meditation on the deep time embedded in the landscape of Champagne.

Learn more here.

photography. Alice Jacquemin, Gregoire Machavoine, Raul Cabrera
words. Gennaro Costanzo