This event has ended
Can clouds be depicted in a still life composition? And if so, does it still count as a still life?
Invited by the Taipa Village Cultural Association, Wong Wing Cheung presents a series of etchings titled "Catch It Outside." This series was first and exclusively exhibited in 2018 at the be-Kyoto gallery in Kyoto, Japan. The artist's personal expression of traditional printmaking techniques involves using new software technology (3D drawing) to simulate his still life compositions, creating hyper-realistic images akin to photography.
The exhibition's etchings revolve around two major themes: empty spatial passages and still life compositions. At first glance, both appear devoid of human presence, thus seeming cold, abstract, and meaningless. However, upon closer observation, a common element emerges as a life force: the presence of clouds and the interplay of light and shadow in a paused moment of time.
Two natural elements, sunlight and clouds, play a crucial role in each spatial composition. Their brightness contrasts with the overall environment, cleverly presenting a transient beauty. The psychological space created by each work seems to extend into a new space for breathing, where the fresh air awakens contemplation and elevates poetic sentiment.
João Ó
Wong Wing Cheung is a prominent young artist in Macau's recent art scene. His artistic talent was recognized early in his high school years, making him the youngest selected artist for the first Macau Print Triennial. He later received a scholarship from the Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau to study art at the prestigious Goldsmiths, University of London. He integrates the printmaking techniques learned early from master printmaker Wang Zhenbao into both two-dimensional and three-dimensional works, creating a unique style in composition and sculptural texture.
In 2018, he held his first solo exhibition, "Catch It Outside," in Kyoto, Japan, which was praised by the Kyoto art circle, with some works collected by cultural enterprises. His recent solo exhibitions include "Above The Descending" at the Ox Warehouse in Macau (2020) and "Somewhere Still Wild" at the Orient Foundation Gallery in Macau (2021).
In the works presented in this exhibition, I attempt to segment the picture plane with cold, inorganic lines, interspersed with ethereal cloud forms that may or may not dissolve into a state of being.
Clouds, to put it plainly, are nothing but vaporized water. By utilizing their uncontrollable forms, I aim to evoke the interaction between the inorganic elements of the picture and the clouds, highlighting the silent atmosphere between the composition's layout and its various roles. The clouds may inadvertently fade away from the picture. Perhaps, the clouds themselves cannot control their coming and going. I do not presume to touch any intangible things with an empty picture. I only wish to share with everyone a moment that, once gone, never returns—a single imprint left behind from a chance encounter in a corner of clouds and space.
Wong Wing Cheung
Art Exhibitions
Organizer
