Overview
Across the 2016/17 programme Pilar Corrias Gallery will present RE-FRESH, a series of solo exhibitions which will contemplate the broad scope of painting at present.
In his 2015 text, The Sext Life of Painting John Kelsey contextualises painting as a form of 'refreshment'. Kelsey describes the experience of viewing painting within the context of an information and image saturated age, drawing comparison to the constant feed of information one experiences through vehicles like social media. RE-FRESH considers each exhibition as an iterative re-posting or re-freshing of the space, looking at the ways the medium is enacted in the work of each artist.
The paintings of Hong Kong based emerging artist Chris Huen Sin Kan, are characterised by his pursuit to capture the details and minutiae of everyday life.
Huen meticulously observes personal, and yet, commonplace occurrences drawn from his studio/home. He seldom plans for a painting; keeping his brush strokes gestural and light as he works to catch a moment before it passes. Through their subdued colours Huen's paintings materialise as ethereal essences of reality. Typical domestic scenes include pot plants in the corners of his apartment, and often feature his dog Doodood sleeping on a sofa or bed. His subjects lie within the reality of human nature. It is through painting Huen experiences the nuances of looking and builds an archive of the experiential phenomena of life.
Chris Huen Sin Kan (b. 1991 in Hong Kong) lives and works in Hong Kong. He obtained BA in Fine Arts at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2013. Recent solo exhibitions include: Things Happen Naturally, Nanhai Gallery, Taipei (2015); Out of The Ordinary, Gallery Exit, Hong Kong (2015); Chris HUEN Sin Kan: Life In The Temporary, Gallery EXIT, Hong Kong (2014); Double Solo Exhibition: Chris Huen Sin Kan | Vito Hung- Fai, Ch'ien Mu Library, New Asian College, CUHK, Hong Kong (2013). Recent group exhibitions: Performing Time, Leo Xu Projects, Shanghai (2016); Imagine There's No Country, Above Us Only Our Cities, Para Site, Hong Kong (2015); Absolute Collection Guideline, Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing (2015); réflexion au delà des frontières, Young Art Taipei, Sheraton Grande Taipei, Taipei (2015); after/image, Studio 52, Hong Kong (2015); Imagined Geographies, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong (2014); Remaster vs Appropriating the Classics, VT Art Salon, Taipei (2014); Collector Club, Oi!, Hong Kong (2014).
