2013年4月12日 星期五

Exhibition Name: Wilson Shieh... Sumbody
Date of visit: 6 April 2013


 

In a nutshell, this is a show about reviewing the development of Wilson Shieh’s figurative practice of the past five years and his positioning as an artistic figure. Such endeavour of figuring out conclusions from a ‘retrospective’, a sum, of recent work by one of Hong Kong’s more well-­‐known contemporary painters is elusive, perhaps even impossible from the get-­‐go, yet the shifts in registers of medium, production and strategy accompanied by increased exposure to the broader public call for a considered attempt at explication and clarification. This is not a time to remain silent. Hence, this is not simply any review show, but self-­‐consciously about Wilson on Wilson Shieh.

Performing Arts: Wafaa Bilal

Iraqi-born artist Wafaa Bilal, an Assistant Arts Professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, is known internationally for his on-line performative and interactive works provoking dialogue about international politics and internal dynamics. 


EDUCATION 
2003 MFA, Art and Technology, School of the Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL
1999 BFA, Summa Cum Laude, University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 
1985-90 BA (equivalent) Geography and Geology, University of Baghdad Baghdad, Iraq

APPOINTMENTS 

2008-12 Present Assistant Arts Professor, Photography, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
2004-08 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Photography, Art and Technology, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2003-05 Instructor, Photography, Advanced Video, Harold Washington College, Chicago, IL

AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

2012 New York Foundation of the Arts (NYFA)
2011-12 Artist-in-Residence, Lower Manhattan Culture Center, LMCC, New York
2011 Freedom to Create Commended Artist Award
2010 The Kindal Achievement Award 
2008 Editor’s Choice Best Book of 2008, Booklist Magazine 2008


For his current project, the 3rdi, Bilal had a camera surgically implanted on the back of his head to spontaneously transmit images to the web 24 hours a day – a statement on surveillance, the mundane and the things we leave behind. 
3rdi

Bilal’s 2010 work “…And Counting” similarly used his own body as a medium. His back was tattooed with a map of Iraq and dots representing Iraqi and US casualties – the Iraqis in invisible ink seen only under a black light. 


Bilal’s 2007 installation, Domestic Tension, also addressed the Iraq war. Bilal spent a month in a Chicago gallery with a paintball gun that people could shoot at him over the internet. The Chicago Tribune called it “one of the sharpest works of political art to be seen in a long time” and named him 2008 Artist of the Year. 



http://wafaabilal.com/#&panel1-1
website of Wafaa Bilal

2013年4月11日 星期四

Au Hoi Lam: My Father is Over the Ocean

Date of visit: 6 April,2013
Name of art gallery: Osage Open (Kwun Tong)
Name of exhibition: My Father is Over the Ocean



It ‘s been a year since Au Hoi Lam’s father passed away and she still can’t quite accept his death. So the contemporary Hong Kong artist did what artists do: create beautiful, poetic artworks to express her yearning.
Au Hoi Lam created her first large-scale installation at Osage Open titled “My Father is Over the Ocean.” The show plays with two main elements, the song “My Bonnie is Over the Ocean” and a bed that her father last occupied before he passed away.

Au Hoi Lam sung and recorded the song, which the song is playing in the exhibition venue. The bed her father used to sleep with was separated into parts. The wooden bed parts are used in the artworks as the medium. 




The bed sheet, the stairs and the every single wooden part of the bed are shown in many different ways. Words are written on the wood, which are 60 questions that Au Hoi Lam would like to ask her father. I appreciate the way she chose to express her idea. It's new and special to me. 

Here comes with more works in the exhibition:


 


I like the last artwork,'Dad, What Shade of Blue Did You See Today?', the most. Au Hoi Lam's father always worked on the sea.In the last few days before he died, he said he felt like boarding over the sea. So Au Hoi Lam express her sadness and the memorizes her father in this artwork. She uses differnt kinds of blue to form a big scene of sea view. When I saw this works, I can feel like I am on the sea. And I feels the love between her and her father.

Generally, I love this exhibition.

http://encn.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/884004/interview-au-hoi-lam-dedicates-an-installation-to-her-late
Interview by Blouin Artinfo

More of Au Hoi Lam

Au Hoi Lam has been an artists for more than 10 years since she was in university.
She used to focus on painting only in the previous stage. She treats painting as a hobby to express her thoughts. She feels free to paint and feels comfortable with that.
While we can look into her works in the past to discover her own characteristics in painting. 

2006 When Words are Sweet: Paintings by Au Hoi Lam 










2010 Definitions of Time: Paintings by Au Hoi lam






http://www.timeout.com.hk/art/features/34248/interview-au-hoi-lam.html#panel-4
Interview : Timeout Hong Kong (2010 May)

video clips of Au Hoi Lam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EKTwu6qeck
profile of Au Hoi Lam
http://www.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/~fadept/Eng/Staff/part_time/AuHoiLam.html
http://www.va-gallery.com/eng/artists/au-hoi-lam/


2013年4月2日 星期二

Exhibitions of Andy Warhol

Name of exhibition: Hello It's Me, Goodbye:Andy Warhol's Cinema
                             (4 Feb,2013)
                             15 minutes Eternal (15 March,2013)

 




First of all, what can you think of between banana, and Campbells tomato soup?


Yes, the linkage between them are no one, but Andy Warhol and pop art culture.

Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became a renowned and sometimes controversial artist. The Andy Warhol Museum in his native city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archives. It is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist.(web resources)




It's amazing and wonderful to see so many famous artworks of Andy Warhol. He is one of my favourite artists and his artworks always give inspiration to me.
In fact, I love pop culture that Andy Warhol had brought. It is a symbol of transformation and revolution of arts. It give us broaden vision and perspective when viewing arts and even daily affairs.
I am happy I have been to both the exhibition of Andy Warhol. While the gallery gave me a valuable time to see so many master pieces, the cinema showed me the other form of Andy Warhol's arts. I get to know more on Andy Warhol and know deeper of his biology and life perspective.

2013年3月12日 星期二

Review on Osage exhibitions

Date of visit: 4 Feb,2013
Name of art gallery: Osage (Kwun Tong)
Name of exhibition: Meta Landscape (Ng Sai Kit)
                                   A Flight of Fancy (Magdalen Wong)
                              
                             
The Meta Landscape of Ng Sai Kit shows a series of natural photography with spatial concerns, which the composition of the photo is special for disorienting effects. Recently, his works are transformed into an investigation of the nature of "photography" and "seeing". Under the camera of Ng Sai Kit, the focused and out-focused area are thrown into jarring contrast through the development of an extremely shallow depth of field. The viewers are then come to disorientation, may doubt and question their perception of their views of vision. I appreciate the idea and concept of the artworks, which brings to a self-reflexive manner. When people look at the the photography, they are having different interpretations and feelings. That's what the artist desire for.
The artwork is "seeing", which the photographer' thought is presented or projected. It's a meditative arena for self-scrutiny.      

    
A flight of Fancy is interesting and inspiring to me. Her artworks is are really creative to me. She applies what we have seen  in daily life in her works, like milk commercial pictures and washing powder brands.She uses these stuff to express her unique thoughts and perspective of the world. Like most of us, she has doubt to this world. Like what she expressed in this exhibition, which is 'why commercial?' She put the ironic question to the commercials and advertisements. I agree with her in some extend. I think that the advertisements nowadays are too obvious and explicit. Some of them are overact or exaggerated, which give out a wrong message to the public and misleading some of the people. 
I appreciate the idea of the artworks and the way she chose to show us. This is what contemporary art is, to have new ways to perform arts and mixed media.  
  

Osage Gallery is devoted to the exhibition and promotion of international and Asian contemporary visual arts. It aims to be a catalyst for the creative expression of artists and active engagement of audiences by embracing a global and diverse approach to the creation, presentation and interpretation of the arts. I think it is a good platform to offer audiences new experiences of art in spectacular surroundings. Osage is like a warehouse-style contemporary arts space in Hong Kong.
Audiences who come can just relax, feel free to explore contemporary arts here.

2013年2月22日 星期五

Research/ preparation for interview

Artist: Au Hoi Lam

AU Hoi Lam is a local artist. Her works are labour of love and craftsmanship, infused with her unique sensibilities and passions, and integrating minute details into a unified whole. Perhaps, like life itself, her paintings are best to be savoured and pondered over, instead of being analyzed in a rational manner. Her works are collected by Hong Kong Museum of Art and private collectors. 


Background:

2009 Master of Philosophy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
2004‐2008 Established studio Tone Quarters in Fo Tan, Hong Kong
2004 Master of Fine Arts, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
2002 Received Alexandre Yersin Excellence Scholarship from Consulat 
         Général de France à HongKong. Studied at Ecole Supérieure des 
          Beaux‐arts du Mans, France
2001 Bachelor of Arts with Honours, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Major in  Fine Arts,  Minor in Philosophy )
Awards:
2001 Ramon Woon Creative Prize
2001 Hui’s Fine Arts Awards – Painting                                                                                                                     
2000 Nokia Arts Awards ‐ Asia Pacific 2000 – Finalist                              The perfect circle Qiang: Fotanian Open Studio 2013
2000 Cheng’s Fines Arts Awards ‐ Painting

Recent exhibitions:
2012 Fotanian Open Studios 2012, Qiáng (Fo Tan, Hong Kong)
2010 Definitions of Time: Paintings by Au Hoi lam (Edge Gallery, Hong Kong)
        Au Hoi Lam Reading Room (Muji Atelier, Hong Kong 2010)
        Lui Chun Kwong exhibition You Are Here, I am not. (Osage Kwun Tong, 
        Hong Kong )
2007 Reversing Horizons: Artist Reflections of the Hong Kong Handover 10th 
         Anniversary (MOCA Shanghai, China)
2006 When Words are Sweet: Paintings by Au Hoi Lam (Central Library, 
         Hong Kong)   

As I have chosen Au Hoi Lam as my interviewer, I found her works inspiring and unique. With references in both the exhibition Fotanian Open Studio 2013 and Osage Kwun Tong, I found her artworks have strong attraction to me. 
Here comes with parts of her artworks.


Artwork in The perfect Circle: Qiang- Fotanian Open Studio 2013 


If only there were no lies 11.11.2011《Osage Kwun Tong》

Work chosen: If only there were no lies 11.11.2011《Osage Kwun Tong》
Theme of the art work
It's the ideal and private studying corner of Au Hoi Lam. While she reflect and express her own feeling on this artwork. It is like the reminder or evidence that lies she had told in the past, every single day she keeps telling lies.
She mentioned she has tried to tell the truth through her paintings for 11 years. However, it's rather contradictory at the same time she tried to hide truth and told lies. She made this work to reminisce the days she had lied, to desire for a place with no more lies. Which is, what she want to own in real life. 
In other works of Au Hoi Lam, she treats art creating as a way to caring for oneself and stay vigilant. Her works are always around our daily life and scrutinize the relations between herself and the world, to reflect and to introspect.
Form of the art work
This artwork is an installation with combination of paintings, interior decoration and kind of scrapbook works.
And it's the collaboration with Au Hoi Lam's teacher Mr. Lui Chun Kwong. The strip painting 'LUI's painting Landscape No.0722' has turned into a new work of art. Where Au Hoi Lam cut it up to 4212 fragments and modified to a new picture.
Besides, Au Hoi Lam's works are all almost paintings. 
Medium of the art work
The installation carries various medium, like paintings, scarpbook and drawings etc. And it can be say the mixed media as medium. Every single parts of the installation can be separated and regard them as one particular work. We have Acrylic on canvas, pencil drawing on paper and mixed media like carved drawing on wooden desk and painting fragments in frames as decoration.
Background and believes of the artist 
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Au Hoi-lam graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Fine Arts from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Au taught in the Fine Arts Department at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2004-2005. She also studied at Ecole Supereure des Beaux-arts du Mans in France in 2001.
She has insisted on painting as medium in her works. She treats painting as her own confession to herself. Her paintings life is intertwined inseparably with her own introspection. She recalls what she has experienced and reviewed what she have dreamed of when She paints. To the audience, it's just a painting. However, everyone can have their own interpretation with their own experiences.
Characteristic of art work
Au Hoi Lam focuses entirely on paintings. Her delicate paintings are often described as girly. Characteristics of Au’s paintings include faded, pale colors and human figures that resemble children’s doodles.Though her work appears childish at first glance, it's actually a kind of perfection in details with the attention. 
An idea of self-introspection is brought by the artworks of Au Hoi Lam. Her works are about time, past, days and  life. It is like telling people to ask themselves question, to stay true to oneself. 
Reflection of me
I am impressed by the works of Au Hoi Lam. For me, I have passion in literacy, words. I like DIY like scrapbook and also decoration in details. I am attracted towards the pastel color and girly style. It is not very common in Hong Kong artists. This specific style is rather interesting and unique. I appreciate how she expresses her feelings in artworks, and insists on her own style and ideas.
In my interpretation of her works, I found it's somehow indifferent of how she thinks. The work If only there were no lies 11.11.2011《Osage Kwun Tong》does not have the meaning of lies and truth to me. When I first glanced at the work, I found it's a dreamy and girly working corner. And I was like exploring on the desk, I saw scrapbook works and the little envelopes. They are like memories to me. I felt like collection of memories, being collected and grouped together. This is like a corner of memories. The faded color means 'past' to me. In general, the work is a place for review old dreams, to relive past experiences.
I think mixed media is an interesting medium to use in artworks. There is contradiction between them but in meanwhile the mediums are well-combined, making the artwork more unique and strengthen  the expression. Many effects can be achieved by using mixed media. Trend new objects can be used in conjunction with traditional artist media. In this manner, many different elements of art become more flexible than with traditional artist media.

Interview Questions:
1. Few artists in Hong Kong concentrates exclusively on painting,Why do you choose to focus on this medium?
2. What are the factors that make you became a artist?Is there anyone who affect you?
3. How do you usually find inspiration for your artworks?
4. Most of your works are girly in style, are there any special reasons for it?
5. I found some of the human figures in your works are like doodling, why?
6. Have you receive any opinion about your drawing style? 
7. What do you think of this particular drawing style? Do you think it's a obstacle to your career? 
8.  Is Artist's life related to her/his art? What art means to you?
9. It's like you prefer using fabric like linen and cotton, instead of traditional medium. Why?
10. Time and life is the main theme of your works. Is there any experience for that?
11. What you want to express by dimmed color?



At the End of the Rainbow by Robin Peckham
Review on 2010 Definitions of Time: Paintings by Au Hoi lam (Edge Gallery, Hong Kong)
www.osagegallery.com
Osage homepage