LAI Nga Lun, CHO Wing Ki, LAU Siu Chung: Symphony of Light and Stone
黎雅倫、曹穎褀、劉兆聰《光與石之響》
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8 February – 8 March 2025
Gallery EXIT is pleased to present ‘Symphony of Light and Stone’, with recent paintings by LAI Nga Lun, CHO Wing Ki, and LAU Siu Chung. The exhibition brings together three distinct perspectives, from architectural landscapes and human activities to the interplay between nature and the city, the artists collectively compose with colors and shapes, a symphony of light and stone, that commemorate the vibrancy of urban life. LAI Nga Lun's artistic journey began with an exploration of diverse brushstrokes found in traditional Chinese ink art. The bold and delicate brushstrokes of this medium have profoundly inspired him. Additionally, he has studied Western painting traditions, drawing influence from Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and even street art. These varied influences have enriched his creative expression. LAI is particularly captivated by urban landscapes. Streets divide space into geometric compositions full of tension, while the contours and windows of tall buildings create rhythmic patterns. To LAI, the flow of traffic and road signs moves like musical notes across his canvases. Over the years, LAI has developed an intuitive artistic practice that enables him to transform his observations of the tangible world into vibrant lines and colours, allowing him to pursue a painting style that reduces everything to pure visual symbols, weaving visual poetry onto the canvas. For CHO Wing Ki, art making is a way to connect with people and her surroundings. CHO is deeply moved by those who quietly persevere in the city's hidden corners, working hard and living with determination, and she is truly inspired by the resilience of these individuals. Near her studio is the Cheung Wing Road roundabout in the Kwai Hin area, which has become a vantage point for her to observe urban life. Time passes as vehicles circle the roundabout day and night, and she notices weary passersby taking moments to rest beneath the tree shades, which form a unique ecosystem of that urban landscape. CHO also explores other areas of Hong Kong, such as Kwu Tung in the New Territories, where she observes villagers and those who labour and are supportive of one another. This has inspired a way for her to work by using determined and bold strokes, CHO pays tribute to those who diligently live and work in the city. LAU Siu Chung engages in his works the greenery, light, and urban spaces that he encounters in his daily surroundings. For LAU, these seemingly ordinary scenes are both poetic and vibrant. He is particularly interested in capturing subtle moments of the quotidian: sunlight filtering through leaves, plants growing in building cracks, sceneries outside the windows, and the contrasts between rooftop greenery and the skyline. Employing warm and gentle hues such as orange, yellow, and purple, LAU portrays the delicate co-existence of nature and urban environments. His bright and intricate layers of colour serve not just as visual representations but also as a homage to the flourishing beauty within the city. LAU emphasises light and shadow in his artworks. Light not only reveals physical forms but also serves as a key to connecting nature and the city, what is seen and hidden. His use of colour in blocks and lines intertwines organically, creating rich layers that reflect the interdependence of urban and natural environments. LAI Nga Lun (Born in 1973, Hong Kong) graduated from the Fine Art Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2006. Lai uses oil painting as his primary medium of expression. His work began with an exploration of traditional Chinese ink painting, combining influences from Western art, which ultimately led to the development of his own unique visual language. Urban landscapes serve as the core inspiration for his creations. Focusing on streets, skyscrapers, and architecture, he transforms the tangible world into vibrant lines and colours full of life. CHO Wing Ki (Born in 1989, Hong Kong) graduated from the Fine Art Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2011. Her work primarily focuses on oil painting and printmaking, with most of her pieces depicting the people around her in their work and daily lives. Through observing the details of their everyday moments, she explores her own place within the community. Cho Wing Ki is also a member of Prinhow, a local print-making collective. LAU Siu Chung (Born in 1990, Shenzhen) received his B.A. in Visual Arts in Hong Kong Baptist University in 2014. Lau uses oil painting as his creative medium, focusing primarily on themes related to his personal self and life. Lau’s paintings are made of multi-layered images and compositions of mixed memories of everyday life and experience. Through painting, Lau reorganises and assimilates these memories and experience, depicting the texture of a particular lived experience from a general impression. After repeated experiences, the superimposed images represented in the painting resemble the memories of life under repeated exposure. |