Press Release For immediate Release ‘Crush On My City’

A Group Exhibition by Artists

Sim Chan, Chan Wing Sang, Angel Hui Hoi Kiu, Jaffa Lam Lamm, Lau Chi Chung, Eve Leung Yee Ting, Stanley Siu Kwok Kin, Annie Wan Lai Kuen, Wong Chak Hung & Elvis Yip Kin Bon

Curated by Eric Leung Shiu Kee

27th February to 2nd April 2015

Opening Reception on Thursday 26th February 2015 from 6 to 9p.m. With special performance ‘Gestures For The Seascapes’ by Edwin Lo who took part in the first exhibition jointly curated by K11 Art Foundation and Palais de Tokyo. It constitutes a stunning sonic experience for audiences.

at Karin Weber Gallery G/F, 20 Aberdeen Street, SOHO, Central, Hong Kong

Political events in Hong Kong over the last few months have struck a chord with many people, and reshaped the history of Hong Kong through real individuals and real events. Karin Weber Gallery’s Spring exhibition, ‘Crush On My City,’ brings Hong Kong, and Hong Kong art, into focus and is testament to Hong Kong people’s love for their city.

Local artists are never short of passion for their city. Most of them prefer a euphemistic, understated approach, which is characteristic of Hong Kong contemporary art. New generation Hong Kong art practitioners emphasize concept and novelty in their creations, whilst simultaneously maintaining the subtlety and moderation that roots their works in the East.

‘Crush On My City’ illustrates the multi-dimensional nature of local creativity as it includes oil painting, Chinese ink painting, photography, sculpture and installation art. Wong Chak Hung’s oil paintings, which resemble mosaic tiles in the MTR, may look simplistic at first sight. The actual process of working on each piece, placing the tiny tiles, is painstakingly accurate and reflects the artist’s collective memory. Lau Chi Chung ventured all over the Hong Kong countryside to create a photographic record of abandoned buildings covered by wild plants. His Landscaped Artifacts series reflect upon the impact of urban development on nature, and won him an award in the 2013 Lian Zhou Foto Festival. Sim Chan and Stanley Siu’s three-dimensional oil painting Watermelon Football, (a popular grass roots street sport from the olden days) is an excellent example of nostalgia for local toys and widgets. Annie Wan’s ceramic sculptures transform old Wanchai outdoor advertising signs into Tang poems. Jaffa Lam’s use of unwanted parachute material to create a cloud-like installation is reminiscent of her signature works made for the Jockey Club Innovation Tower at HK Polytechnic University.

The ten local artists in this exhibition stay true to the city pulse of Hong Kong through their art works. By digging deeper beyond the surface, we discover their individual ‘love affair’ with their city.

About the performance at opening reception Using glass and a range of everyday objects such as pebbles, placed in various locations around the gallery space, Edwin Lo seeks to recreate the sound of the Hong Kong seascape in a performance piece that is totally unique to its location and time.

“After several years of performing with sound using computers, I just want to abandon this form and try something new. In this durational performance, I continue to articulate the experience of listening to the seascape and performing with glasses and vibration. I would like to create a sonic image or texture the audience can immerse in,” comments Edwin.

About the Artists Sim Chan (b. 1987) graduated from Hong Kong Art School in 2008. Sim has been working on depictions of the local cityscape and urban architecture, his work a compilation of his own observations, reminiscences and tactile senses towards the ever-changing city, Hong Kong, his hometown. Sim’s work has been exhibited in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Thailand. One of his latest projects is the installation at .

Chan Wing Sang (b. 1987) graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2012. Chan works predominantly in the medium of mixed-media painting. His works develop from simple units to form an intricate framework. He was selected to show in the Young Talent Hong Kong section at the 2014 Affordable Art Fair.

Angel Hui Hoi Kiu obtained her BA in Visual Art from the Academy of Visual Arts, HK Baptist University in 2014 and is currently studying for a Master degree at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

Jaffa Lam Lamm is a conceptual sculptor specializing in large, site-specific mixed-media installations and has recently focused on the function of art in society through her projects which explore themes of community, cityscape, heritage, memory and current events. Lam’s work have been exhibited in numerous solo shows and included in important regional and international exhibition and collections. She has participated in several international artists’ residency programmes. Jaffa was chosen as one of the highlighted artists by the Hong Kong Art Promotion Office for its ‘Artists in Neighbourhood Scheme II’ 2003, she received an Asia Cultural Council grant in 2006. In 2007 and 2008 she was the New York Urban Glass visiting artist fellow, an invited artist of the Tree Museum in Toronto and attended the ‘Subvision Festival’ in Hamburg. Jaffa Lam received her BFA, MFA and Postgraduate Diploma in Education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She teaches at the Hong Kong Art School, Hong Kong Baptist University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. This is Jaffa’s second show with Karin Weber Gallery.

Lau Chi Chung (b. 1976) graduated from The Surrey Institute of Art & Design University College, UK, majoring in interior design. He produces independent short films and has worked as an Art Director in TV production. He took part in the Hong Kong Photography Series Exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in 2012.

Eve Leung Yee Ting - received her BA in 2010 and MFA in 2012 from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Eve specialises in contemporary Chinese ink painting. Her previous works have been selected for the ‘Hong Kong Young Artist 2012-The Asia Contemporary Art Show’ and Hong Kong Contemporary Art Awards 2012. She has also received the ‘Hong Kong Chinese Meticulous Painting Association Creative Award’ and ‘Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Creative Award’. Her works are collected by Hong Kong Museum of Art and private individuals.

Stanley Siu Kwok Kin was trained and practices as an architect. He has received numerous awards including Design for Asia Award 2014, Hsin Chong - K.N. Godfrey Yeh Education Fund Young Architects’ Award 2014, Platinum A Design Award Winner for Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category in 2013. He is the founder of Daydreamers Design.

Annie Wan Lai Kuen creates ceramic objects which are seemingly frozen in time, by encasing everyday items such as books in ceramic slip. When the item is fired away, a preserved ceramic version remains. Annie’s multi-volume dictionary project Lost in Biliterate and Trilingual was on show in Manchester, UK, as part of the exhibition ‘Harmonious Society’, Asia Triennial Manchester 2014 and she participated in 2014 Kochi-Muziris Biennale with her work’ History of India In Nine Volumes’. She holds numerous awards, including the Hong Kong Art Biennial in 2003, and is currently a lecturer in Ceramics at the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University. Her work is in the collections of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and a number of overseas institutions. This is Annie’s second show with Karin Weber Gallery.

Wong Chak Hung (b. 1963) graduated from The Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, in 1988. His realistic approach often echoes the ordinary, mundane and sometimes alienated mood of a city. Wong’s works are collected by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the University of Hong Kong, Fung Ping Shan Museum, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Hong Kong Baptist University amongst others, and held in numerous private collections.

Elvis Yip Kin Bon (b. 1989) works with a range of innovative materials such as masking tape to visualise his impressions of daily life. Elvis obtained his BA in Visual Art from the Academy of Visual Art, Hong Kong Baptist University in 2013. He was awarded Outstanding New Artist in the Fresh Trend Art Graduates Joint Exhibition 2013 and the AVA Award of the Academy of Visual Arts 6th Graduation exhibition, HKBU 2013.

Edwin Lo (b. 1984) graduated from School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong. He had a solo exhibition at the Goethe Institute Hong Kong in 2014, as well as taking part in many overseas exhibitions including

FILE 2010 – Electronic Language International Festival in Brazil, EMERGEANDSEE Media Art Festival in Germany 2010 and Around Sound Art Festival in Japan 2014. More recently, Edwin is working with French electroacoustic composer, Jean-Claude Eloy, for the latter’s coming concerts and events in Hong Kong supported by Hong Kong Arts Development Council. He will also feature in a group show titled ‘Inside China’, which coincides with Art Basel HK 2015 and is co-curated by Hong Kong’s K11 Art Foundation (KAF) and Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

About Karin Weber Gallery Established in 1989 and now in its 16th year in Hong Kong, Karin Weber Gallery has a strong reputation for curating and presenting contemporary art from almost all over the world with unique perspectives. Whilst the space in Aberdeen Street, Central, remains firmly at the heart of the gallery, a network of partners and representatives in London, Mumbai and Berlin connects us with artists, clients and art institutions across three continents and as many time zones.

Media Contacts: For more information, images or interviews, please contact Kenneth Young [email protected] or Stephanie Braun [email protected]

Images

Title: Untitled Title: Shot The Star Artist: Wong Chak Hung Artist: Jaffa Lam Medium: oil on canvas Medium: neon, recycled wood Size: 100 x 50cm Size: 130 x 58 x 18cm

Title: Landscaped Artifacts Title: Watermelon mud mud mud… Artist: Lau Chi Chung Artist: Sim Chan, Stanley Siu Medium: inkjet Medium: Oil and acrylic on Lycra with handmade Size: 100 x 125cm wooden frame Size: 30 x 35.3 x 37 cm

Artist: Edwin Lo