Christopher Ku: Painting of Reverberation

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Illuminati Fine Art proudly presents one of the most comprehensive retrospective duology “Painting of Reverberations” by a British-based Hong Kong artist, Christopher Ku. This exhibition will debut over 35 seminal works of the artist created from 2002 to the present, representing Ku’s ongoing experiments in material and painting technique while triggering discourses on the dynamics between artistic production, symbolism and narrativity.

The exhibition is presented in two chapters: “Reverberation” (from 24th June to 15th July) and “Semantic Construction” (23rd July to 12th August). The two series of works to be on view will illustrate the stylistic breakthrough of the prolific artist, capturing the multitude of the artist’s psyche and creations over his decades of practice. As a juxtaposition to Ku’s research on the histories of art and painterly expressions, this exhibition explores the potential, the roles and the contemporaneity of painting.

The “Reverberation” series — painting as an echo to histories

In the “Reverberation” series, Ku applies a powdered-form, earth-tone-coloured material on his canvas, moving away from painting conventions of using a single type of pigment. By creating an aesthetic associated with pre-historic cave murals, Ku attempts to dissolve binaries in art historical narratives that often reveal the ruptures between Chinese and Western ideologies. Ku’s unique, self-invented technique unfolds the relationships between painting as a form of artistic medium and the usage of unconventional materials into a painterly practice, collapsing parallels across histories and indigenous cultures while proposing a new definition to contemporary art. Besides, Ku imbues elements referenced from eastern craft cultures like paper-cutting and stenciling— an artistic negotiation between ‘high art’ (painting) and ‘folk art’ (craft) that has enriched the textures of the series of paintings.

Familiar symbols such as patterns of insects, Chinese characters (雙喜, meaning double happiness), and tree roots appeared in Ku’s works in an estranged context. In here, the artist invites viewers to leave behind habitual patterns of thinking and venture into the unknown and anomalous, where inspirations could bring semantical nuances to these universal symbols in response to the shift of context. The process of investigation and deconstruction of symbols had nurtured the stylistic hybridity of Ku, while his visual vocabularies continue to expand and proliferate.

The “Semantic Construction” series – probing into the future of painting

The “Semantic Construction” series, to be introduced in the second chapter of the exhibitions, reflects the artist’s recent state of mind. A creative result of Ku’s ceaseless invigoration and introspection, the painterly surface is charged with freedom, and its compositions are more unruled and abstract compared to his earlier works. Departing from his earlier style and motif, Ku has invented a set of unique visual language that speaks to the future and the unknown world. Breaking free from pre-existing mentality and frameworks is, in Ku’s perspective, the key to comprehending life, existence and mystic cosmology. The artist has produced a set of a common language with the external world through this body of works.

The progress of language-making in the primitive era has fascinated the artist, and thus, was absorbed into Ku’s practice as an analogy to the painting process. Conceptions, consciousness, and spirit exist before any languages and imageries were invented, whereas the act of writing and drawing are both significant channels for manifesting the human mind. Beginning with canvases of smaller size, the artist mixes oil-based pigment with water, allowing the watery pigment to flow freely on the surface, creating some original and profound ‘visual vocabularies. The unruly process has turned into a systematic, self-referential yet abstract language of Ku’s practice, as if humans struggle to put complex and intangible ideas into words in the pre-civilisation era. The invention of language and image requires an adventurous mind and experimental attitude, which are as well prerequisites for human civilisation.

The vivid pallet, shapes and lines collide and converge on the painterly surface, creating a robust yet airy presence, reflecting the exceptional sensibility of the artist towards colours. The pursuit of pure abstractions has provided a platform for Ku to transcend from the material world, as well as expanding the potential and technique of painting the metaphysical world.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Christopher Ku (born 1957, Hong Kong) stayed between Edinburg and London from the 1970s to the 2000s. He graduated from Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen then obtained a Master's degree from the Royal College of Art, London. He is currently based in Hong Kong.

Ku’s proficient skills have excelled beyond rationality and symbolism. He seeks to renew the traditional role of painting by focusing on material experiments. He is interested in researching artistic practices of different periods and cultures, for instance, pre-historic cave painting, eastern craft culture and wisdom behind, universal symbols and images, where he also allows spontaneousness in his practice, to apprehend philosophical concepts related to Zen and opportunity.

The textures on the painterly surface are crucial to Ku’s practice, whereas his thoughts, as inspired by the histories of art, are channelled into creative techniques that challenge the painting traditions and extrapolate the potential of artistic production. The interaction between colours and abstract symbols creates a unique visual language for Ku that ponders upon issues related to life and human existence.

His works are widely collected by international institutions, including Royal College of Art, London; Marlow Art Foundation; Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen; Museum 2000 in Germany and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.