Sharon Cheung art began as a late reinvention: Sharon Cheung (張寶華), a veteran Hong Kong journalist, left a decadeslong media career to study fine art and to launch SC Gallery, a choice that reshaped her life and creative priorities.
Born with many interests, Cheung did not treat drawing as a serious pursuit when she was young, yet today she works fully in the art world, a development she says surprised her. Years of curating and organizing exhibitions helped a seed of art grow into a calling.
Through the prolonged impact of the pandemic, Cheung did not pause her artistic pursuit. In 2022 she prepared work for a bachelor of arts graduation show while opening a local platform focused on Hong Kong creators, SC Gallery, in March.
Midcareer, Cheung says it was neither too late nor too early to change direction; instead, she found herself arriving at the surge of local artistic energy. From creator to curator and now gallery owner, her path was not effortless. How did she find the resolve to start anew, and what confidence does she have in Hong Kong’s art scene?
“Restarting my art studies opened another door in my world.”
Cheung says she adapted to change more than most. After years in media and entertainment, she was prompted to reconnect with art while serving as an arts ambassador for a corporate program, where encounters with people and environments drew her back to creative practice.
She recalled the first year of art school as especially gruelling. “The first year was so hard I cannot describe it,” she said. “At this stage in life I thought my comprehension was good, but in that first year I did not understand the language teachers used because I had never been exposed to the theory, and I often felt intimidated in class.”
Trained to value objective reporting, Cheung found art required a reversal. “News trains you to be objective, and art is a 180 degree turn; it is about the artist’s personal feeling,” she said. After three years of study, she says she learned to balance subjective feeling with objective observation, giving her a new way to see the world.
“Hong Kong art is now in a golden moment.”
From outsider to founder of SC Gallery, Cheung has faced skepticism. Yet she says a single, determined decision matters more than a hundred doubters. While many debate the future of art in Hong Kong, she chose to act to find answers.
Asked whether she ever wished she had started earlier, Cheung replied firmly: “I think every stage of my life hit the most golden moment.” For her, timing has not been too late or too early; every involvement felt exactly right.
Looking back, she says the boom years in media and local film prepared her for this moment. “I think art is in a golden time because it can carry more social responsibility; when other media are less effective, art can record society and the spirit of people,” she said.
She added that artworks carry ambiguity that helps them endure even in sensitive times. Art can reflect a place’s spirit, and for Cheung the role of art has expanded beyond aesthetic creation to become a witness to an era.
“The art community has a purity I did not see in my previous circles.”
Leaving the fast pace of news, Cheung said she is still adapting to the slower rhythm of the art world. In media, information arrives in overwhelming waves and demands instant replies. Meeting artists taught her that communication and creation both require time.
Asked what changed most since she moved into the art field, Cheung answered without hesitation: meeting many friends who opened doors in their specialties. Whether ceramics, ink, or oil painting, every creator brought different and interesting experiences.
She said many artists create without expectation of reward and focus on doing the work well, not on counting hours or calculating returns. In a recent show called “There Is Sunshine,” participating artists refined details so that even a single square or a dot of color carried warmth, she said.
“Life requires choices, but I will not stop painting.”
Cheung wears many hats: she runs a company, manages SC Gallery, has lectured at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and operates a YouTube channel that posts nearly daily on literature, art, film, politics, and current affairs. She was preparing the gallery’s next show during our interview.
Despite a packed schedule, Cheung still makes time to paint, using it to relieve stress and channel emotion. She admits she does not give creation as much time as she would like, but she is resolute that she will continue making work.
She described her recent abstract portrait series. Previously she favored bright landscape and floral work, but after three years of art study she has become drawn to sketching distorted faces. Stylistically she references the deformed faces of Francis Bacon and the emotional composition of Edvard Munch to create dramatic pictorial tension.
When she first showed these works to others, someone told her bluntly, “Portraits do not sell.” Cheung said she never created the series with market value in mind. “Portraits can change in many ways; I am not trying to be hyperrealistic, these are deformed faces. Faces carry a lot of signals and codes, and I am very interested in that,” she said. “People said they will not sell, but I wanted to try and see if they would.”
“Opening a gallery gave me something to look forward to for the rest of my life.”
The portrait series will display at the Hong Kong Arts Centre in July before moving to SC Gallery in August. Prior to that, the gallery has staged several themed exhibitions that gather local creative work. Cheung says the gallery aims to tell city stories through the work of Hong Kong artists.
From idea to opening, the gallery moved from concept to reality in just two weeks, after encouragement from Professor Chan Yuk Keung. Cheung said she avoids overthinking because imagined obstacles can deter action. “If you keep working through problems as they appear, life is about solving problems,” she said.
With decisive action, SC Gallery opened in March. “When I decided to do it, I felt life had a way forward and I could see daylight; finally there was something to look forward to for my later years,” she said. The challenge gives her energy and a long road to walk.
SC Gallery bases itself in Hong Kong and works with local artists whose subjects and themes revolve around the city. Cheung said she does not want works to be merely decorative; she hopes they will carry the weight of a generation and record Hong Kong life and feeling.
“This is the moment for Hong Kong artists to break through.”
By “weight of a generation,” Cheung means the connection between a work and its city. As times change dramatically, cultural output gains creative energy, and she believes Hong Kong artists have more space to emerge now than before.
Cheung has confidence in the skills and creativity of Hong Kong artists, and she sees concept and thinking as more important than technical showmanship. “If you want to go far, it matters more how you think, how worldly you are, and how clever your perspective is,” she said.
SC Gallery aims to provide a platform many artists lack, taking the initiative to promote local work. Cheung hopes to continue using artists’ creations to tell the stories of Hong Kong.
Cheung said she is deeply rooted in this small city and not ready to let go. “The person you see today is shaped by this place’s soil and culture; leaving Hong Kong would make every other place feel foreign,” she said. She also hinted at many plans in the works for the future.
Time is long, she said, and finding something to look forward to for the rest of your life is rare. She hopes to continue creating and, through the gallery, help build a bright era for Hong Kong art.
Executive Producer: Angus Mok
Editor: Ruby Yiu
Videography: Andy Lee, Joyce Che
Photography: Vicky Wai, Andy Lee
Video Editor: Andy Lee
Designer: Edwina Chan
Location: SC Gallery
Special thanks: Sharon Cheung
Artworks: Chan Wai Lap, Frank Tang, Ho Sin Tung, Lau Yin Yeung, Tobe Kan, Yau Kwok Keung
