Michael Lau exhibition Splendid Park opened this month at K11 MUSEA (a shopping and cultural complex at Victoria Dockside in Hong Kong), bringing together nearly 40 paintings and sculptures that map the artist’s journey from collectible figures to gallery-scale oil painting, according to K11 MUSEA press materials.
“I am playful by nature, and I keep trying new things.”
Michael Lau exhibition appears as a retrospective of an artist who helped popularize collectible designer toys in the late 1990s, beginning with the Gardener series. According to the exhibition notes, the Gardener project evolved from a comic strip into vinyl and resin figures that helped bring what the show calls “street collectible” culture to a wider audience.
Lau, who began his career designing toys and comics, has spent recent years focusing on oil painting while continuing to produce three dimensional work. “I like to experiment and I get bored easily,” he said in an interview for the exhibition, reflecting on a creative practice that has spanned more than two decades.
“While I create, I hope others will create from me.”
He described the transition into gallery work as unexpected but welcome. “If you can predict it, it is not a surprise,” Lau said. He pointed to a 2015 commission titled Wall of Jordan as a turning point that helped him gain traction on the traditional art stage.
According to Lau, the pandemic years were unusually productive. He told the reporter that lockdowns offered time for reflection and concentrated studio work. The result, he said, is a range of new directions, including a series he calls “Soliloquy,” born from increased self-examination during isolation.
What the Michael Lau exhibition shows
The exhibition, titled “Splendid Park,” gathers nearly 40 works across painting and sculpture, spanning signature series such as Gardener, Package Change, First Encounter, Soliloquy, Master, Flower, and Portrait, K11 MUSEA said in its publicity materials.
One highlight is a six-meter triptych called The Flowery Surprise (2022), which the artist described as a playful reworking of Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th century composition for The Last Supper. Lau mixes blooming flowers, bold text, and street-culture motifs to reframe familiar historical images.
Lau said he has become more receptive to floral subjects in recent years. After studying ikebana, he began a Flower series that gives blossoms faces and personalities, turning still-life motifs into figures with presence.
Blurring boundaries between street culture and galleries
The exhibition design recreates a park setting with green lawns, bird song, fences, and benches so visitors enter what the organizers call a city oasis. Lau said the entrance painting Hundreds Blooming Together encapsulates the show’s theme, inviting audiences to see how street-led work can coexist with formal art practice.
“There is often an assumed barrier between street-oriented creativity and the traditional art world,” Lau said. “This park is an invitation to walk through those boundaries and enjoy art in a relaxed way.” He told the reporter he enjoys working with commercial spaces because shopping centers can let different audiences encounter art side by side.
In the exhibition notes, K11 MUSEA frames “Splendid Park” as a formal introduction of Lau to an institutional art audience, while also preserving the playful energy that defined his earlier collectible work.
On Hong Kong and creative identity
Lau reflected on how Hong Kong shaped his practice. “I am lucky to be from Hong Kong,” he said. “This small, resilient place gave me the nutrients to create boldly. If I had been born elsewhere, I might not have grown like this.”
On trends, Lau said the core of street culture remains the same, even as styles shift. “The root does not change,” he said, citing a lineage from early figure designers to more recent fashion directors who carry a similar spirit of rebellion and style.
For Lau, the constant is authenticity. “What never changes is a culture that remains true to itself,” he said. “That is what keeps the work alive.”
Exhibition details and credits
“Splendid Park” runs through March 5, with opening hours listed by K11 MUSEA as 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. The show is on the sixth floor Kunsthalle at K11 MUSEA, the organizers said.
Executive Producer: Angus Mok
Producer: Mimi Kong
Editor: Ruby Yiu
Video Editor: Fai Wong
Videographer: Kason Tam, Fai Wong, Alvin Kong
Photographer: Kit Chu
Designer: Michael Choi
Location: K11 Art & Cultural Centre Kunsthalle
Special Thanks: Michael Lau, LGDR
