Qualia Contemporary Art Debuts at Art Central Hong Kong 2026

Qualia Contemporary Art will present new paintings by Lyu Peng and Xu Hongming at Art Central Hong Kong from March 25 through 29, 2026. The two-person booth marks the Palo Alto gallery's first presentation in Hong Kong.

A&O PR has had the pleasure of supporting Qualia Contemporary Art with business advisory and communications services since their launch. Founded in 2020 by director Dacia Xu, the gallery has built a distinctive program in Palo Alto, bridging Eastern and Western contemporary art forms. Since its launch, Qualia has mounted over 30 exhibitions, relocated to the former Pace Gallery space, and has expanded its presence through local and national press and art fair presentations. The gallery's first international art fair presentation at Art Central marks a significant milestone in the gallery's trajectory.

Lyu Peng and Xu Hongming On View at Art Central Booth A1

Qualia Contemporary Art will showcase Lyu Peng and Xu Hongming at Art Central. The two artists represent complementary approaches to the question of what Chinese painting tradition can hold in contemporary form.

Lyu Peng paints himself into scenes drawn from Chinese literary and political history. The compositions are dense and theatrical, figures arranged across layered narratives that collapse centuries into a single frame. He appears among them as a participant moving through the accumulated visual culture of a civilization. The booth will include a selection of works on silk from his ongoing series, among them Magic Ball 01, Magic Ball 02, and Game Among the Sunflowers.

Xu Hongming layers powdered mineral pigments onto canvas, then pelts the surface with water. The liquids congeal in sheets that rest on the surface, interrupted by thin ridges of piled pigment and regions where the weave of the cloth shows through. Each layer is misted and fixed with a water-soluble adhesive in a process that mimics the motion and erosion of rainfall.

Together, the two artists engage with the mutability of Chinese painting tradition from different positions. The pairing reflects a curatorial sensibility that has defined Qualia since its founding: presenting artists whose work holds inherited technique and contemporary ambition.

Two Bay Area Exhibitions On View at Qualia Contemporary Art

Cathy Lu and Yulia Pinkusevich: Emergence

The Art Central debut arrives alongside two concurrent exhibitions at the gallery's location in Palo Alto, both of which opened March 7 and remain on view through May 2, 2026.

Emergence brings together two Bay Area artists whose practices converge around the concept of transformation and the symbology of ritual smoke and cleansing flame. The title draws on the interplay between the words "emergence" and "emergency," referencing environmental and spiritual themes through disparate practices that unite around the act of ritual as a method for reflecting on ways of being.

Cathy Lu presents sculptural ceramic incense burners that function as both vessels and forms. Yulia Pinkusevich contributes fire portraits built from organic materials including mica, ash, and charcoal. The opening reception was held on March 7th in conjunction with International Women's Day.

Stella Zhang: Tidal Traces

Tidal Traces features nine new works on canvas in which Zhang approaches tidal forces as a conceptual framework for memory, emotion, and the body's negotiation with external pressure. The materials, including knitted fabric, thread, cloth, paper, and ground pigment, are closely connected to the body. The number nine holds significance for Zhang as the largest single digit, representing the close of one cycle and the preparation for another.

Both exhibitions are on view now through May 2nd at Qualia Contemporary Art, 229 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 11am to 6pm, and Friday through Saturday, 11am to 7pm.

Art Central Hong Kong 2026

Art Central runs March 25 through 29 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, with VIP Preview on March 24. The fair presents more than 100 galleries from across Asia and internationally, organized into several curated sections including Central Galleries, Neo, Solo Presentations, and Duo Projects. Qualia Contemporary Art will present at Booth A1 as part of Duo Projects, a program dedicated to focused two-artist presentations.

For a gallery founded five years ago the selection represents a meaningful step into the international fair circuit. Qualia joins a broader movement of galleries with defined cultural missions entering global markets on the strength of their curatorial specificity rather than on scale alone.