Brutalists | 粗獷者

curated by William Lim

​

Architecture is Art － 建築本是藝術

​

Architecture is fundamentally an art. It is a profound game of composition and the material articulation of the mind. Trained to see and think differently, architects move through the world with heightened sensitivity, observing the intricate details of everyday life with care and precision. Through their thoughtful use of materials, they compose love letters to the contemporary landscape.

​

In this exhibition, curator William Lim walk alongside three fellow architects, Frank Leung, Norman Ung, and Alonso Odria to present their artistic practices under the exhibition title The Brutalists. Far from a stylistic reference to mid-century concrete monuments, The Brutalists here represents an uncompromising attitude: the courage to strip away the unnecessary and the superfluous, allowing raw structure, material honesty, and the artists’ thought to flow through the space.

​

Frank Leung begins with real scenes of nature and architecture, translating them into pencil sketches that explore composition and colour. Once paint meets canvas, an honest dialogue unfolds; the brushstrokes take on a life of their own. His paintings are not depictions of reality but vessels for character, sentiment, and nostalgia — an attempt to connect with the world through transience.

​

Norman Ung understands space through drawing. His process starts with spontaneous on-site sketches that capture proportion and atmosphere, and distilled into oil paintings. These are not reproductions but essences — auras of warmth, humidity, and pressure. With layers of paint that echo the weight of concrete, he reduces forms to essential rhythms, like Chinese characters written across the urban landscape, sharing not just the image of Hong Kong but rendering the city as a living, breathing biome.

​

Alonso Odria explores the abstraction of the natural world through fragmented forms and structures, inspired by geological processes and organic growth. Across sculpture and high-relief paintings, these fragments are layered and reassembled to mirror nature’s transformation process. Driven by the intersection of cultural heritage and the forces that govern nature, his work highlights quiet transformations of landscape, where subtle shifts allow material and thought to merge in harmonious resonance.

​

As architects, Frank, Norman, and Alonso navigate the streets and alleys, moving between nature and city. In this exhibition, they present their works as a narrative that reveals how space, observation, and materiality shape their inner worlds. Thoughts sprout like tender life emerging from concrete and moss after rain evaporates, moisture seeping into the very essence of their art. Through these works, the three architects reveal the work's compositions as deeply personal and romantic acts. It is a brutal honesty that invites us to view our landscape anew. In this exhibition, we invite viewers to experience the tranquility of deep observation through their eyes and craft.