My Favourite Things: Henrietta Tsui-Leung
Hong Kong-based gallerist Henrietta Tsui-Leung shares the favourite pieces from her art collection.
Henrietta Tsui-Leung is founder of Galerie Ora-Ora in Hong Kong and a devoted art collector. She has a particular penchant for Asian female artists and those that use ink and paper. She has recently added some NFT works to her collection. “The artworks I’ve chosen all evoke their own responses from within me. Although I live with them and see them every day, they each give me pause for thought and continue to be a source of contemplation and delight.”
Man Fung-Yi Weaving Intimacy for Women 2 (2009)
Man Fung-Yi combines toughness and craftsmanship with sophistication and femininity. The delicacy and strength symbolised by her weaving with metal reminds me of the value of perseverance, and the importance of finding the beauty in the work that we do.
Peng Wei Cloudy Mountain (2010)
Peng Wei wears her ability and meticulous approach lightly, seeking the playful and the light-hearted where possible. This painting is a trompe-l’oeil, a dress of ink on paper, gently ruminating on the frailty of life itself. Most of all, it reminds me of a favourite quotation of hers: “I always strive to create a more perfect work. We need perfection, but the meaning of life lies not in perfection, but in love.”
Peng Jian Harmony X (2021)
Our artists are always innovating. This artwork is an NFT; we presented it at Art Basel Hong Kong 2021, alongside NFTs by another of our artists, Cindy Ng. I show it on an iPad at home, and it elicits an enthusiastic response from my friends who visit, particularly young people. It’s a technicolour puzzle vortex in jiehua with a mesmerising rhythm of its own. It always reminds me of the busy and productive time that Art Basel represents.
Xu Lei A Rainbow Garden Stone Catalogue 3 (2017)
The deep blue of this painting combines with the scholar’s rock to create an atmosphere of amplified calm and meditation. Up close it seems iridescent. From a distance, the ink and paper, the rock and the luminous colour form a harmony of the ancient and the contemporary, boldness and peace.
Wucius Wong Sky-Land Expression #13 (2011)
It’s important to be mindful and take note when there are masters in our midst — both Wucius Wong and Xu Lei belong in that category. While interpreting the joys and confusions of modern life, they link and bind us with the timelessness and discipline of the classical world. At the end of a busy day, I can lose myself in the abstraction that this painting brings into my home.
Zhang Yanzi Dabuyin Pills (2014-15)
Zhang Yanzi is a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, intrigued by wellness and vulnerability, and the way humans interact with each other and with their past. This album is a pleasure to pore over, depicting classical floral medicines trusted by our ancestors. It’s beautifully illustrated, with the resultant concoctions soaked into the page. To sit down and let the pages pass before my eyes is a form of healing in itself.
This article originally appeared in Billionaire's Learning Issue, Winter 21-22. To subscribe contact
