KWAN Sheung Chi: 100 things, a little retrospective  關尚智 《百物。一點回溯》

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KWAN Sheung Chi
100 things, a little retrospective 

​18 May – 22 June 2012

Gallery EXIT announces “100 things, a little retrospective,” the second solo exhibition of KWAN Sheung Chi with the gallery. Kwan staged his first retrospective in 2002 at the age of 22 as a tongue-in-cheek demonstration of what he had learnt and not learnt in art school. In the intervening decade, his practice encompassed social intervention and commentary,the deconstruction and reconstruction of the identity of an artist, performative actions that defy success and failure, and of late, the spirit of availability. It is that spirit which permits us simply to let things be in whatever may be their uncertainty and their mystery. The works on view will illustrate these approaches with a focuson recent works that have not been shown in Hong Kong before. 

KWAN Sheung Chi was born in 1980, Hong Kong. He obtained a third class honour in B.A. Fine Art from The Chinese University of Hong Kong [CUHK] in 2003. He failed in applying for its MFA programme in 2004 and 2007. In 2000, he was named the “King of Hong Kong New Artist”. In 2002, “Kwan Sheung Chi Touring Series Exhibitions, Hong Kong” toured 10 major exhibition venues in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Art Centre presented “A Retrospective of Kwan Sheung Chi”. In 2003, he set up a studio in the Fo Tan industrial district and since then became an active member of the Fotanian artists’ studios complex. From 2004 he became a nine-to-fiver in Central. On 1st January 2008, he determined not to sell any of his artworks for 3 years. However, he broke his pledge and the statement was auctioned during his solo show “No matter. Try again. Fail again.” at Gallery EXIT on 15th October 2009. In addition to his studio practice, he co-founded the Hong Kong Arts Discovery Channel (HKADC) in February 2009, a web-based channel that aims at promoting critical discourse through interviews with artists, curators, critics and the audiences. He is also a founding member of local art groups, hkPARTg (Political Art Group) and Woofer Ten, which experiment with art practices in relation to local politics, social issues and communities. In 2009, He was awarded the Starr Foundation Fellowship through the Asian Cultural Council to take part in a residency program in New York, USA. His artworks have not been widely exhibited around the world and he has never participated in any major exhibitions held internationally. 
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關尚智
《百物。一點回溯》

2012年5月18日至6月22日

《百物。一點回溯》是關尚智在安全口畫廊舉辦的第二次個展。2002年22歲的他辦了首次回顧展。調皮的展覽形式顯示了他在藝術學院有所學成及學不成的藝術成果。十年間，他的藝術創作涵蓋社會介入和評論、藝術家身份的解構和重建、超越「成功」與「失敗」定義的表演行為、和最近的「泰然任之」精神。正是這種精神，允許我們讓未來自來，放開掌控性的意志思維。是次展覽將以尚未在香港展出的近期作品闡述關氏的創作手法。 

關尚智，1980年生於香港。2003年畢業於香港中文大學藝術系，並獲三等榮譽文學士學位。2004年及2007年報讀中文大學藝術碩士課程失敗。2000年起成為「香港藝術新人王」。2002年「關尚智香港巡迴展」於香港十個主要展覽場地巡迴展出，並於香港藝術中心舉辦「關尚智回顧展」。2003年於火炭工業區成立工作室，並一直作為「伙炭」藝術工作室群落的活躍成員。2004年起成為上班族於中環上班。2008年1月1日，他決定三年內不再出售自己的所有作品。不過，在2009年10月15日，他於其個人展覽「不要緊。再嘗試。再失敗。」期間，違背了自己的誓約並將其宣言拍賣售出。在他的創作以外，2009年2月他合作成立了香港藝術搜索頻道（HKADC），以訪問藝術家、策展人、藝評人及觀眾在網絡頻道推動批判性的論述。他亦是本地藝術團體「政藝小組」，及「活化廳」的創辦成員，兩者均實驗與本地政治、社會議題及社群相連的藝術實踐。2009年獲得亞洲文化協會給予Starr Foundation Fellowship交流獎金，前往美國紐約參加國際藝術家留駐計劃。他的作品沒有在世界各地廣泛展出，他也沒有參加過任何國際性的重要展覽。