Ryan Chan: Borders & Beginnings

EVENT DESCRIPTION

The Spectacle Group proudly presents “Borders & Beginnings” by Ryan Chan, marking the local artist’s solo debut, featuring a selection of twelve geometric abstract artworks, including one NFT.

The headline piece of the show, Young II, appears to be a painting in minimalism at first. A closer look shows that the artwork is of many constructs and is, in fact, a mixed media sculpture that’s presented on a wall. Mixing brightly colored Perspex, oil and gold leaf on wood, the artist also manipulates light in his work through a hollow Plexiglas encasing in neon orange. Naturally creating a fluorescent pink silhouette in its peripheral surroundings, the result is a lifting ambience that lightens up the room.

A big highlight of the exhibition is Ryan’s Decision and Choices – an installation set consisting of one large sculptural painting (‘Decision’) and two small box sculptures (‘Choices’). Again, the lines of painting and sculpture are ambiguous in this artwork.

‘Decisions’ symbolize the artist’s rigid set priorities, with a core column in the middle, echoing a sense of heaviness in his thoughts. On the other hand, the facets of ‘Choices’ are painted in either plain oil color or metal leaf on each side and are meant to be placed arbitrarily in the vicinity of the large piece.

The color palette here remains the same. However, Ryan’s concept is that in whichever way the boxes are placed, one must give up the view of one or more sides in order to showcase the others. Therefore, the title ‘Choices’ refers to the act of installation. Through the installation work, the artist reminds himself that before becoming unmovable in his ‘Decisions,’ in front of him there are always ‘Choices.’

Also on display is an NFT artwork titled Desire V: Golden Hour, the latest instalment of Ryan’s ‘Desire’ series, in which the artist’s creations were previously in oil with gold and silver leaf on canvas. Inspired by an illusion that the artist once experienced in meditation, Ryan’s large moon symbolizes the forthcoming of good happenings which he so desires during a tough year in Covid. The moon appears even closer to him than the horizon, indicating that good news is coming closer to him than he thinks.

Ryan Chan’s fresh perspective in geometric abstraction is unique to the Hong Kong contemporary art scene. He pays tribute to the movement, and yet, contrary to it, Ryan’s works are not a study of the art of form but a portrayal of his feelings executed in precision, RGB and new media. To Ryan, not every emotion can be expressed in words but each one of them can be represented by a unique set of lines and shapes, forming a composition that tells the artist’s story with bold use of color, textures and remarkable simplicity.

Jaime Lau, director of The Spectacle Group and curator of the exhibition commented, “A strong theme running through Ryan’s work is the notion of constant self-reflection. Each work is a record of his journey towards self-acceptance. It’s exciting to see a young local artist to be taking such a bold stance in his artistic expression. I believe this could lead to new development in the landscape of Hong Kong’s contemporary art scene, especially since we live and breathe under the inception of our architectural surroundings that are filled with these flat surfaces, lines and shapes.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Ryan Chan (b. 1996) is a mixed media artist from Hong Kong, best known for his abstract geometric style and bold use of metal leaf and colour. He graduated with a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Hong Kong in 2019, specialising in sequential art and graphic illustration.

The artist has since exhibited at several art fairs including Art Basel, Fine Art Asia and Affordable Art Fair. In 2021, Ryan took part in ‘Talking Heads,’ a group exhibition co-hosted by The Spectacle Group and Holly’s International. In 2022, his NFT, Desire IV, became the headline artwork for The Spectacle Group’s curated NFT group show ‘Lucid Dream_1,’ with his work placed alongside the cardboard NFTs of renowned British artist, Adam Neate.