Simon Birch’s “Hooligan” exhibition at Ben Brown Fine Arts will come to a close on May 15th but not without selling out most of his paintings as well as adding to the exhibition on May 11th his sketch drawings for the first time. His images are striking, style distinct, and trademark-able and in all of it he tells a story. In this case, there is someone off canvas affecting the portraits of these faceless people alluded to only in the title. What is a Hooligan? When I think of the word without looking it up in the dictionary, I think of the meaning as someone who causes trouble. And Hooligan’s are generally nondescript just as the portraits could really represent any one of us. Are there people in your life causing you trouble? Perhaps take a look at one of Simon’s portraits and see which one might be a reflection of your own “Hooligan”-ed life. Still have a few days to check out the art work! By Derek Ting
Read More
Last week we attended the opening of the Cobra Exhibition at Kee Club, Central. The stylish event displayed Daniels’ signature bold coloured artworks against the opulent black interior of the club. Guests were treated to cocktails and canapés as well as an intriguing performance from the models come dancers, styled to look like the artist’s muses. Fox Daniels is a Belgian-Moroccan artist, after working across the globe she relocated to Asia and began to explore her painting further. She uses art as an expression of herself and as a tool to communicate how she perceives the world around her. Daniels’ work is strongly influenced by postmodernism and the COBRA movement, marked by its disregard for rules and exaggeration in the way the subject is perceived. Daniels’ current exhibition includes major art pieces from the ‘Birds of Paradise’ series, inspired by the all-powerful women of the 21st century. With a strong focus on female elitism in Hong Kong, the paintings shine an intuitive light on some playful characters. The Cobra exhibition is on show at the Damina Gallery from 1February to 7 March. Damina Gallery, Suite 1406 Oceanic Centre, 2 Lee Lok Street, Hong Kong By Claire Johnson
Read More
Founders of Latitude22N Julie Progin and Jesse McLin have a very unique approach to their porcelain making process and aesthetics. Each pieces are made unique and unrepeatable, which are made from ‘fragments’ out of broken molds. Each piece has a combination of unglazed white porcelain and glazed colored fragments, no two vases look the same and the color combination changes as well. Julie mentioned that the process took about 7 months to complete at their China production studio once they come up with the concept for the exhibition. It’s really very enjoyable to look at each piece and see what color and where the ‘imperfections’ are. Ilivetomorrow gallery also have a concept store right next door called Signed-By offering avant-garde design and fashion which includes the porcelain ware from Latitude22N. This art exhibition goes till January 31st 2013. 43 Tung Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Check it out! www.ilivetomorrow.com, www.latittude22n.com
Read More
I love leading photo tours around town in Hong Kong. I always find something new and different to photo take at each location we go to. This time we did an old and new Sheung Wan street tour starting at Man Mo Temple, to the antique market, the garden at the end of Hollywood road, streets with dried seafood, and ending at the Western market. It’s always interesting to see the range of subjects you can find during such a short walk: temple details, street art, antique items, different types of pedestrians, cafes, old tea houses, old dried goods, flowers, fabrics etc. etc. The subjects are endless, the challenge is trying not to capture everything but focus on a few details or subject matter.
Read More
