"Who came, sure, from a sea of light?" 90.0 × 70.0 cm, Acrylic, oil sand on canvas, 2025
Whitestone Gallery is proud to present Waterfalls and Magpies, the first solo exhibition in Hong Kong by acclaimed Spanish artist Nuria Mora.
Running from January 31 to March 14, 2026, at M Place in Wong Chuk Hang, the exhibition showcases Mora’s signature geometric abstraction and her ongoing artistic conversation with the urban landscape.
The inspiration for this body of work stems from a deeply personal moment.
While Mora was caring for an unwell friend, the appearance of a magpie sparked a wave of anxiety, rooted in Western folklore where the bird is often viewed as an omen of bad luck.
However, Mora contrasted this reaction with Eastern traditions—specifically in China, Korea, and India—where the magpie is celebrated as a herald of joy and prosperity.
This cultural divide serves as the primary catalyst for the collection, as Mora explores how the same event can be perceived through vastly different lenses, ultimately emphasizing our power to choose the stories we tell ourselves.
Through these works, Mora investigates how a simple shift in perspective can transform fear into hope and chaos into a sense of renewal.
She utilizes the metaphor of a waterfall to represent a singular journey that breaks into infinite reflections, illustrating the endless potential for personal and cultural transformation.
Set in Hong Kong, a city where East and West seamlessly converge, the exhibition resonates with the local environment’s unique ability to host diverse, coexisting narratives.
"Playero" 18.0 × 7.0 cm, Ceramica esmaltada, 2025
Ultimately, Waterfalls and Magpies serves as an invitation for the public to look beyond the surface of the urban environment.
Mora’s art encourages viewers to find light in the shadows and to appreciate the rich, multifaceted meanings behind the symbols that populate our daily lives.
Born in 1974 and emerging from the vibrant creative pulses of Madrid, Nuria Mora stands as a vanguard of the international urban art scene.
As one of the few women to pioneer unauthorized public art, she has spent decades redefining the relationship between the city and the canvas.
Educated in Interior Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Madrid and Fine Arts at the Complutense University, Mora’s technical foundation informs a practice that is as structurally rigorous as it is ethereal.
Since her debut in the late 1990s, Mora’s work has existed as a delicate bridge between space, context, and form.
Unlike the aggressive impositions often found in street art, her interventions are quiet acts of rebellion—subtle, geometric abstractions that mirror the organic metamorphoses of nature.
She creates what she calls an "open language," a form of visual poetry that refuses to dominate its surroundings. Instead, her work breathes alongside the urban landscape, carving out serene sanctuaries for free thought amidst the relentless saturation of modern city life.
Mora’s transition from the street to the global stage has been marked by significant acclaim.
Following her debut at ARCO Madrid in 2005 and her recent presence at Kiaf Seoul in 2024, her work has graced the halls of world-class institutions, including London’s Tate Modern, the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona and Mallorca, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Johannesburg.
She was also featured in a collateral event at the 2022 Venice Biennale, further cementing her status as a global contemporary force.
"Four for a boy" 15.0 × 22.0 + 22.0 × 27.0 + 27.0 × 22.0 + 10.0 × 27.0 cm, Acrylic, sand and oil on linen on wood, 2025
Whether through large-scale murals, immersive installations, evocative watercolors, or video, Mora’s indoor projects never lose their umbilical connection to the street.
Currently living and working in Madrid, she continues to explore the infinite dialogues between the built environment and the human spirit, proving that art is not just something we look at—it is the space we inhabit.
