To mark its 10th anniversary, Andante is celebrating by showcasing the hidden talents of some of Hong Kong’s biggest names in design.

Joseph Sy’s photography exhibition opened at Andante last Thursday 8 October.

Located on Duddell Street in Central, the Andante store is Italian furniture brand Minotti’s home in Hong Kong. The showcase at the store comes in the form of a series of exhibitions, each one highlighting the artistic abilities of local interior designers and architects. Among the designers whose works have been on show are Jason Yung of Jason Caroline Design and Dennis Chan of jewellery brand Qeelin, both of whose photography graced the walls of Andante earlier this year. Currently on show are two sets of photographs by Joseph Q. Sy of Joseph Sy & Associates: The Holyland Dream, which reinterprets the heavens through a dreamy series of images of Israel, and the otherworldly Zhangjiajie / Hunan, China.

Andante owner Tony Luk feels it’s important to show Minotti’s furniture as it would appear in a home.

Andante’s owner, Tony Luk, dreamt up the exhibition series as a way of honouring Andante’s 10th birthday. Titled 10 + TEN, the series will see Luk collaborate with 10 of his designer friends.

“The idea is that I’ve walked my path with a lot of good friends in the field, so I’m gathering them to do a kind of art jamming,” says Luk, “A lot of my friends do their own thing, and then they have this passion for art at home that most people don’t know about.”

Andante’s Owner, Tony Luk, with Jason Yung of Jason Caroline Design

As well as providing these multi-talented individuals with a platform through which to show their work to the world, 10 + TEN presents art alongside furniture – much as it would be in any home.

“We can’t just treat these design pieces as standalone bits of furniture. It has to be a total design concept – [we have to show people] how the Minotti collection should be used in a real environment,” explains Luk, who also owns Louvre Gallery, which sells Fendi Casa, Lolli e Memmoli and other Italian furniture brands.

Opening night for Sy’s exhibition – 8 October – saw Hong Kong designers such as William Lim of CL3, Antony Chan of Cream, Jason Yung, Winston Shu of Integrated Design Associates and ViSpring’s Brandon Chau flock to the boutique in support of their friend. Steve Leung of Steve Leung Designers officiated, alongside Pastor Daniel Ng.

The design crowd comes together at the opening of Joseph Sy’s exhibition

It’s fitting that Sy’s ethereal work is on show at Andante: 13 years ago, Louvre Gallery played host to the very first exhibition of his photographs. “Joseph designed our Louvre Gallery,” says Luk, explaining that Sy eschews digital cameras in favour of old Leicas, a Twin Lens Rolleiflex and a Hasselblad. “The way Joseph sees colour is amazing,” raves Luk.

Sy showcased two themed series: one on Israel, and one on China, at the Minotti showroom

Talent recognises talent, of course, so it should come as no surprise that Luk is also a skilled photographer. His own works will be on show at Kee Club from 1 February 2016 – dynamic photographs of Hong Kong’s ballet dancers in a variety of graceful poses. The exhibition will be held in partnership with the Hong Kong Ballet, and a portion of the proceeds will go to a fund that helps underprivileged children get access to cultural performances by the Ballet.

Beyond this, it will be back to Andante for an exhibition of William Lim’s work – and some intriguing installation pieces involving Minotti furniture components – followed by exhibitions by Barrie Ho, Antony Chan and Patrick Leung. Watch this space.

Andante is located at G/F, Ruttonjee Centre, 11 Duddell Street, Central.

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