" Sensual Encounters " with Pang YongJie

You will never get bored living in Hong Kong. In the last few days, I was running around the town and trying to attend as much events as possible. There're simply too many art events happening all at the same time. But one I could not risk to miss is Pang YongJie 龐永傑's very first solo exhibition in Hong Kong " Sensual Encounters " presented by Fabrik Gallery. And I got to meet Mr. Pang in person at the opening reception! 

Pang's signature style is the abstract, round fluid women figure in his painting and sculpture. This trademark is strongly inspired by beauties in Tang dynasty. As he explained, the painting in the Dunhuang Caves has a big influence as well.  Recently, he spent 3 months in Dunhuang to study the forms and get inspiration.

His paintings are amorous yet comical in a way that they gives you a intriguing and sensual pleasure. This is probably why the exhibition is called the "Sensual Encounters" 

Mr. Pang is a very gentle and friendly person. He patiently answered each of our questions and shared his journey to become an artist and how his artworks evolved over time.  He said when he was young, for 7 concessive years, he did a sketch/painting every single day regardless of chinese new year or holidays, in order to make his painting skill perfect. " You can't start drawing abstract without a basic skills to draw realistic object. " Pang said. What an inspiring and earnest artist! 

Artist Pang YongJie

Got Pang's autograph and took a picture with him, I am officially a groupie :D

This exhibition runs until 12 Jun at Fabik Gallery: 1102 Nam Wo Building, 148 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Go check out those amazing paintings!

Perfection By Chance - @Pearl Lam

wanna quickly post this exhibition before it finishes up on this Sun (10 May) 

I came across this exhibition when I visited "The Inevitable by Simon Birch@Ben Brown" in the Pedder Building which accommodated several modish contemporary galleries. One of which is PearlLam Galleries currently is featuring " Perfection By Chance - A Yi Pai Series Exhibition  忘言 －－意派系列展" 

I am not very familiar with the Chinese Contemporary Art, because I personally prefer the diversity and complexion of western art. However, in views of the growing Chinese art market and more and more Chinese artists become world-famous, I acknowledge that you definitely can't gloss over Chinese Contemporary Art when you look into the art industry.

"Yi Pai 意派" -- an aesthetic theory developed by the distinguished scholar of Chinese contemporary art, Gao Minglu, as a holistic way of understanding modern and contemporary Chinese art - in which Gao emphasizes the spontaneity and formlessness of Chinese abstraction as an extension of ancient Chinese culture and philosophy.

I tried to appreciate the pieces with the introduction sheets on my hand, still found some of them are hard to interpret as the " Yi Pai" artists are famous of " integrating the oriental tradition of meditation, and maintaining an equilibrim between narration and imagery " The level of abstraction is a bit overwhelming to me frankly.

Eight Things (No. 10, 3, 12 Left to right) by Su Xing Ping 蘇新平 oil on canvas 300 x200 cm 

"Folded Moonlight" by Zhu Jinshi 朱金石 is definitely the centerpiece among the whole exhibition. I 'accidentally' overheard the conversation between two good-looking chaps in the gallery (probably a gallerist and a buyer) they mentioned the price of this painting which is something like millions US$....... 

"Folded Moonlight" 摺疊的月光 2014 Oil on canvas 180 x 160 x 3 cm

It is indeed amazing to admire his painting from distant and then study the bold splash of paints up close to see how they are randomly or inadvertently layered.  

I didn't pay too much attention to these two porcelain-like curvy plates in the center of the gallery, but before I was about to leave, I suddenly was curious to find out what's so special about these and turned out these are not porcelain, they are actually a piece of wood with painting, lacquer and linen on it. The artist Su Xiaobai underwent a long process of experiment of the materials especially lacquer and through observing and repeating, lacquer eventually appears the characteristic of porcelain or jade. The spirit and the impeccability of the artist is undoubtedly very respectable. 

"Peace"清靜 by Su Xiaobai 蘇笑柏 2014, Oil, Lacquer, linen , wood 172 x172 cm

There is still so much I would like to share, but as always time is short. If you are intrigued by my post, do visit the exhibition yourself and I appreciate if you could leave a comment and share your view as well. 

"The inevitable" by Simon Birch @Ben Brown Fine Arts Hong Kong

If you have read my previous post (By Inspired by Central ), you should have know that I am quite a fan of Simon Birch who is a profound artist relocated from England and has been living in Hong Kong for years. His works are always an inspiration and aspiration to me so how could I miss his new paintings exhibition titled: " The Inevitable " presented at Ben Brown Fine Arts Gallery.

Once again, it was a mind-blowing experience looking at his paintings. The dynamic of the strokes and the energy of the object almost create movement on the canvas. The title of the paintings are so poetic that they are picturing motion in your mind. You would be immersed in his dreamy yet alive canvas... this is why I love SB's works so much.

Tumbling and freezing while a thin shell of air molecules expanded around the body, like an image of departing life., 2015
Oil on canvas
200 x 300 cm; (78 3/4 x 118 1/8 in.)

He willed himself into passivity, became the passenger behind her eyes, 2015
Oil on canvas183 x 183 cm; (72 1/8 x 72 1/8 in.)

The sky was aquamarine, stroked with clouds. She could smell the grass and taste the scent of small, crushed flowers, 2015
Oil on canvas
216 x 247 cm; (85 1/8 x 105 1/8 in.)

Fears Wrongs Doubts Spinward, 2014
Oil on canvas
216 x 175 cm; (85 1/8 x 68 7/8 in.)

 What also intrigued me is the combination of the colours, most of the painting are mainly composed by few colours but the variation of composition and intensity generate such different effects.

(Close-up) 

(Close-up)

Don't miss out at the other side of the gallery showcasing the pieces from a Brazilian artist Vik Muniz who is best known for recreating famous imagery from old photographs such as historic and cultural people and objects.  You could spend hours in front of the artworks and study every little pieces of the collage, together they tell you some stories which are connected with each others.

Simon Birch: The Inevitable exhibition is until 29 April 2015. Try not to miss it! 

Another note: there are some other galleries hidden in the Pedder Building which are worth visiting as well if you have time. 

Always stay curious and explore the arty side of Hong Kong :) Happy Weekend!

Galleries Visit in Insadong, Seoul

Most people go to Seoul for shopping and the great Korean cuisine. I am not gonna lie that I wasn't one of them ( who could resist the Korean foodporn ) but I also took sometime to look at the local galleries in Insadong-gil, a neighbourhood contains traditional and modern atmosphere (also a great spot for souvenir shopping). It was once the largest markets for antiques and artworks and has been the center of culture and art from the Joseon Dynasty period.

For those who want to take a glimpse at the Korean artworks during a short trip, this is a perfect place to visit. A lot of the galleries are hidden on the upper floor of buildings so keep your eyes open!

Insadong Street view

Not many of you might know that Korean artists and artworks have become prominent and in the international market and art fairs. You could also spot some impressive large-scale sculpture across the cities. No doubts this is a vibrant city full of talents and artistic vibes. Below are some of the artworks I admire and would like to share with you all:

Forgot the name of this small Gallery I visited. The exhibition title: Raumarbeiten ( means "Work space" in German) featured 3 German artists. I found the works from Michel Lamoller are quite intriguing. It's interesting to look closer at his works and exam how a person is immersed into the backdrop.  

Tautochronos #14. 2014 by Michel Lamoller (Archival pigment print 50x75 cm)

Tautochronos #11. 2014 by Michel Lamoller (Archival pigment print 50x75 cm)

" Raumarbeiten " exhibition

The second gallery I visited is called Gallery MISULSEGYE which is the open cultural space for artist as well as those who visit Insadong. It's named after the first Korean art magazine < MISULSEGYE >

Bronze Sculpture at the entrance of Gallery MISULSEGYE - Park, Chan girl

The gallery currently showcases " The 39th Korean Association of Figure painting artists " It's very much to my liking as my favourite subject of painting is people. Study the facial expression of a person when you are drawing them is a very special experience. It's like they are telling you the story about them. I spent quite sometime to look at these paintings and pretty amazed by how meticulous they are. And some of them depict very well the impression I have for Korean people. They are friendly, hard-working, disciplined and conscious about the way they look. 

The 39th Korean Association of Figure painting artists exhibition poster

Spacious gallery floor 

(tempera on Linen 100x122cm)

"She" 116.8 x 72.7 cm 2014 

I would like to get to know more Korean artists and artworks, unfortunately most of the painting's titles and artist are shown in Korean which I don't interpret... but I am sure I would find their trace in the galleries and art shows in Hong Kong.

How much do you know about German painting?

Just a quick post about this German painting exhibition " Statement 2: New Painting from Germany " at Goethe Institut Hong Kong. 

I found the style is very different from the mainstream contemporary art. A bit dark humor in some way which I am always curious about what German Art world is really like. 

I would like to share more about this exhibition, however I am in a hurry en route to China for Ching Ming Festival, and this exhibition only last till 11th Apr, so I recommend you to drop by and have a look at the paintings in Wan Chai during this long weekend. If not, hope the pictures below could inspire you in some way.

Christoph Ruckhäberle

Uwe Henneken

                  

Wish everyone a Happy Easter and a lovely holiday! 

Ramon Otting - Love at the first sight

The first time I came across Ramon Otting's work was at the Asia Contemporary Art Show just a month ago ( which I mentioned in the previous post ) It was a Love-at-the-first-sight moment. I was completely dazzled by the glowing poppy flower ( plus it's one of my favourite thing in the world). So when I knew that there was a gallery opening "Dutch Light - Vineyards & Wildflowers painting by Ramon Otting" at Fabrik Gallery in Sheung Wan, I decide to attend and grab another chance to see his beautiful paintings. 

At the gallery opening evening this Tuesday, I was a bit disappointed that Ramon Otting himself was not at the event as I was quite looking forward to meet him in person. Still I enjoyed so much looking at his works. Through the friendly gallerist at Fabrik, I was told that Mr. Otting himself creates his work under the influence of Impressionism, adding on his unique way to depict the subject. And what made his work more special is many of his works include soil from the place where he found inspiration from. If you see the painting closely, you could really see the tiny bits. 

           

As I said to my friend, one day...I would buy his poppy flower paintings... one day!

Provence - Les Coquelicots I, II, III

"Champagne- Vosne Romanee"

This Cherry Blossom painting was created when Mr. Otting visited Cheung Chau island in Hong Kong.

Lastly, I would like to thank the host from Fabrik Gallery for their hospitality! Such a nice event and great dutch cheeses!! ;) x

See the masterpieces real up close @ Landmark Artrium

It was overwhelming the moment I saw this installation in Landmark Atrium, Central.

This event: Be Inspired in Central showcases works from renowned artist: Claude Monet, Marc Chagall, Zao Wou-ki and Zeng Fanzhi under the celestial dome designed by award-winning architect William Lim who is known for intertwining modern aesthetics with traditional Chinese Craftsmanship and materials.  

Amazed to see Simon Birch's work again. The first time I came across this name was his "Hope & Glory" exhibition at TaiKook Place back in 2010. His works is so unique and always stand out from the crowded that you just can't take your eyes away.

You could see the strokes and details of the paintings clearly thru the binoculars or see back around the fountain and glance up the works from a distance.

Don't miss out the chance to be part of this overpowering art experience before it finishes on 29th March (this Sun!)