Statue Square Fountain

Public Art: Statue Square Fountain

Sculptor: © Antonio Casadei (1923, Forli, Italy -9 March, 2014, Alicante, Spain)

Description: The Statue Square fountain is one of two fountains in Statue Square (Casadei Fountain). Both are relief panels made from concrete and glass mosaic tiles.

Date Unveiled: c 1960s

Location: The Statue Square Fountain is located in Statue Square, Central, Hong Kong.

Mystery Solved: After searching high and low for the name of the artist who created the iconic fountains of Statue Square I struck gold.

There was a small reference to the artist Antonio Casadei in an eBook.

“Casadei is not an unknown name in Hong Kong. He had been living here since 1960. His works are all over the town in such public places as Statue Square, Prince’s Building and Ocean Centre. Casadei is an artisan in the traditional sense of the word. He is a master of the techniques of ceramic, glass and metal work. Although his strong Italian artistic temperament is deeply rooted in him, the Eastern culture has had much influence in his creative work.”

Casadei was born in Italy. In 1944 he studied ceramics at Faenza under the watchful eye of Melandri, Matteucci and Gatti. Casadei would later develop a peacock green ceramic he called “Melandri green”, a colour that had been lost for over 600 years. After moving to Hong Kong in 1960 he once had a “permanent” exhibition at Mei Foo Sun Chuen.

Between 1968 -1978 created numerous public fountains on housing estates.

References:  111 Places in Hong Kong that you shouldn’t miss: Reiseführer, by Kathrin Bielfeldt, Raymond Wong (eBook)