American painter Stanley Whitney is having his first-ever solo show in Asia, and it is free to see in Central right now. “Isn’t Love the Strangest Thing” opened at Gagosian's Pedder Building space on 10 September and runs until 7 November 2026, bringing the 79-year-old's vividly stacked colour-grid paintings to Hong Kong for the first time.
In This Guide
Who is Stanley Whitney?
Stanley Whitney was born in Philadelphia in 1946, studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and completed his MFA at Yale School of Art in 1972. He now splits his time between New York City and Parma, Italy, and holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Painting and Drawing at Temple University's Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Though he has painted for decades, wider institutional recognition only caught up with him in the 2000s — he is now considered one of the defining painters of contemporary American abstraction.
Whitney is best known for vibrant, hand-drawn grid paintings built from stacked blocks of colour, a visual language he has compared to the "call-and-response" phrasing of jazz — each colour calling forth the next in an improvised sequence. His influences range from Matisse, Cézanne and Rothko to Roman architecture, Egyptian hieroglyphs and the quilts of Gee's Bend. His work sits in major public collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Yale University Art Gallery, and he has won the Robert De Niro Sr. Prize in Painting, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Art Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
What is on view?
"Isn't Love the Strangest Thing" gathers a body of Whitney's signature grid paintings inside Gagosian's Pedder Building space, marking his debut solo presentation anywhere in Asia. The show leans on the density and rhythm that define his practice — loosely stacked bands of saturated colour, drawn by hand rather than taped or measured, so that each canvas carries the visible trace of the artist's process.
Address, hours and how to get there
Gagosian, Pedder Building
The Pedder Building is a heritage 1920s block that now houses several of Central's leading galleries, so a visit pairs easily with a wider gallery crawl. Check the Gagosian Hong Kong page for the latest opening hours before visiting, as gallery hours can shift around public holidays.
Why does this show matter?
A first solo appearance in Asia from an artist of Whitney's stature is a genuine event for Hong Kong's gallery scene, and it's free to walk in and see. It slots naturally into a wider Central art day: pair it with our guide to Central's best art galleries, or extend the trip with Hong Kong's best museums.
Good to know: the Pedder Building has several galleries stacked across its floors, so allow time to explore beyond Gagosian's 7th floor while you're in the building — it's an easy way to see several exhibitions in one Central afternoon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plan your visit
Free, in Central, and closing 7 November 2026. Stanley Whitney: Isn't Love the Strangest Thing, Gagosian, 7/F Pedder Building.