Osage Kwun Tong Until Sep 21

Roberto Chabet’s To Be Continued – Hong Kong is the type of exhibition that you would never find in your average Central gallery. Space is of the essence to Chabet’s constructions, the largest of which straddles 17.2m in Osage’s Kwun Tong outpost. Hailed as one of the most influential artists in the Philippines, this show offers a window into Chabet’s prolific career. At the core of the selection are his signature plywood pieces.

Entering the exhibition, it is immediately apparent that Chabet has no interest in visual seduction. Composed primarily of standard dimension plywood boards and shelving units with metal brackets, these are starkly conceptual works. Everywhere are sharp lines, opaque forms and neon arrows. The tone of the works is austere and there is an insistence of order that can be traced back to Chabet’s background in architecture.

Among the strongest works is a cluster of blue boards propped in V-shapes in the centre of the first room. Titled Cargo and Decoy (1989/2010), the splayed forms allude to ocean waves and cleverly reference cargo cults in the South Pacific. Yet the cramped arrangement of the surrounding works suffocates the installation. Tables, fabrics and wooden ledges spill out from every wall diluting the viewing experience.

Ironically, the subsequent rooms provide more space to interact with the assemblages but the work becomes increasingly impenetrable. In line with common conceptual practices, Chabet employs an army of recognisable objects – boats, mirrors, and clipboards – but abandons representation. Estranged from their everyday context, Chabet presents them as they are: ‘real materials in real space’. Although fascinating, the references embedded in most of the works are remote. Without a catalogue or clear captions, it is difficult to catch the allusions to Russian constructivists, Ted Kaczynski (the notorious American terrorist) or student painting assignments.

The exhibition would benefit from a wall text offering clues to Chabet’s internal logic. While the works may be enjoyable for those equipped with an art history background, viewers unarmed with an academic framework are likely to feel like they are being kept at arms’ length.

In many senses, the work Untitled (1994/2010) can be read as a metaphor for the artist. It is a tall wooden box with mirrors lining the interior walls. At the bottom rests a labyrinth of smaller vanity mirrors. Surprisingly, when the viewer peers into the sea of glass they can barely glimpse one or two reflections of themselves. However compelling, the work has a cryptic quality not unlike Chabet himself.

Although he is a formidable presence in the Philippines, this exhibition – along with Imagined Geographies, a concurrent exhibit of Chabet’s drawings at Osage Soho, until September 11 – is among the 74-year-old artist’s first shows overseas. One only wishes there were a larger range of works to offer more context or entry points into his oeuvre.

Payal Uttam