2016.09.01 Thu, by
EMERGING AND MID-CAREER ARTISTS ON SHOW AT THE 9TH ASIA CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW

[Press Release]

EMERGING AND MID-CAREER ARTISTS ON SHOW AT THE 9TH ASIA CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW NEXT MONTH
Including original paintings, editions, photography and sculpture

The 9th edition of the popular Asia Contemporary Art Show opens in just over a month, again at the convenient, 5-star Conrad Hong Kong. Featuring more than 2,500 works of art from over 80 local and international exhibitors, the Show opens with an invitation-only VIP Collectors Preview on Thursday September 15th, and is then open to the public and invited guests on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the 16th, 17th and 18th.

FEATURED ARTISTS AT THE 9TH EDITION OF THE ASIA CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW

“Run the World” by Francesco Lietti, Macey and Sons Auctioneers and Valuers Limited, Hong Kong, Rooms 4026, 4226

FRANCESCO LIETTI, ITALY
Macey and Sons Auctioneers and Valuers Limited, Rooms 4026 and 4226

Francesco Lietti (b.1971, Lecco) combines memories and imagination in bringing to life work that focuses on travel and discovery. Using distorted shapes and bright colours to provide a caricature-like representation of the energy of the cities he has visited, the artist repeats basic elements which create a simpler more direct image, compelling the viewer to complete the image with their own visions rather than focusing on a particular area. The result is work that incorporates both the artist’s contribution and the viewer’s perspective.

Lietti studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He also studied photography at the London College of Printing.

“Lai Yuen” by Water Poon, BLINK Gallery, Hong Kong, Room 4121 (bottom)

WATER POON, HONG KONG BLINK Gallery, Room 4121
Water Poon (b.1944) is a multifaceted man – he is an artist, photographer, designer and film director. As an artist Poon is an inspired man, seeing through his singular perspective a world full of stories to be told. Whether it’s watercolour paintings of Rose, the protagonist of Yi Shu’s Hong Kong-inspired romantic novels, or mixed media pieces of cities that capture his heart, the artist punctuates his work with expressions of emotion, thoughtfulness and love.

Poon graduated from Hong Kong Polytechnic College with a degree in Graphic Design. He has worked as a photojournalist for various newspapers and magazines and has published many photography albums, art books and travelogues as well as exhibiting his works internationally.

“Art Blossom – Solid Series 151071″ by Jang Seunghyo, space bm, South Korea, Room 4217

JANG SEUNGHYO, KOREA space bm, Room 4217
Jang Seunghyo’s (b.1971) photo-collage sculptures transform two-dimensionality into three-dimensionality via a calculated use of photographs associated with his everyday experiences. The quotidian images – logos, advertisements, Internet images – reflect the artist’s individual memories, as well as the shared reality of collective associations. Fragments of plastic and photographs are transformed into a hybrid configuration that challenges pictorial convention but unites the collective-memory imagery into a single expression. Jang received his BFA and MFA in Sculpture from Hongik University, Seoul, and an MFA in Sculpture from New York University. He has exhibited his work in solo and group shows across South Korea, and in New York, Paris and Hong Kong.

“Showcase – Ceramic Korea” by Moon Joo Ho, CK. Art Space, South Korea, Room 4106

MOON JOO HO, KOREA CK. Art Space, Room 4106
Moon Joo Ho places his critique of disposable consumption and waste culture on display. With his “Showcases” series, the artist articulates through fragments of plaster cups the remnants of an era of wealth and waste, of debris emptied of its value. He arranges the fragments as if they were centuries-old artefacts, superimposing them upon comics representative of the “kitschiness” of popular culture. The cup, empty and broken, is a symbol for the internal void that cannot be filled with material wealth.
Moon Joo Ho received both his BFA and MFA in Fine Art from Chung-Ang University in Seoul, and he is currently a PhD candidate in Fine Art at Hongik University. He has taken part in several international art fairs.



”ABOVE/Chater Gardens” by Martin Lever, Hong Kong, Room 4317

MARTIN LEVER, HONG KONG – Room 4317
Martin Lever has lived and worked in Hong Kong for 36 years, drawing inspiration from this unique city he calls home. The vertical life aspect that is singular to Hong Kong – we sleep on the 30th floor, work on the 20th floor and eat on the 10th floor – ensures that much of our time is spent up in the air; we are simultaneously connected to both street and sky. Lever probes the relationship between land and sky in a series of powerful abstract ‘groundscapes’, inspired by some of Hong Kong’s most emotive locations – celebrating our home from a new perspective.

Lever’s artwork has been exhibited in a number of solo shows in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the Middle East. His work adorns the walls of private and corporate collections.

“Falling in Love with The Banyan Tree” by Ala Leresteux, Lithuania, Room 4023

ALA LERESTEUX, LITHUANIA – Room 4023
Ala Leresteux’s (b.1987) work is inspired by research that cites the ability of trees to communicate through a fungal network – mycelia, or so called “wood wide web.” Through this network, trees can share information and nutrients with each other. The artist aims to connect her tree-focused series with Taoist teachings about befriending trees and communicating with them through meditation. Her paintings depict different species of trees, including banyan, pine and sycamore, and their role in mythology and everyday life.

Ala studied at Moscow State University and the Ecole National des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Her work has been exhibited in select European cities including at the Grand-Palais of Paris in 2012 and at the Florence Biennale IX in 2013.

“Untitled” by Tian Xutong, Artists in Taiwan, Taiwan, Room 4312

TIAN XUTONG, CHINA – Artists in Taiwan, Room 4312
Tian Xutong (b.1962, Beijing) takes great inspiration from the paintings of the Song Dynasty, where painters retreated into nature to find the moral equilibrium that was lacking in the human world. Adapting the most simplified of symbols, the artist seeks to represent the stillness, perfection and co- existence of everything as expounded by Zen philosophy. With his bold and spontaneous brushstrokes, Tian’s work resonates minimalism yet reflects profound Zen wisdom in which “one sees colours amongst distant mountains and hears no sound when beside a flowing stream.”

Tian graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts & Craft in 1985 and is currently an art professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

“Wing Beat” by Tomoko Konno, Giant Year Gallery, Hong Kong, Room 4021

OMOKO KONNO, JAPAN
Giant Year Gallery, Room 4021
Tomoko Konno is a highly acclaimed ceramic sculpture artist who is inspired by the organic world – natural shapes and textures synthesize with her own imagination. Using the nerikomi technique of layering different coloured clays to form unique patterns, the artist layers one piece of clay over another until the form sprouts organically resembling a moving, breathing entity. Her use of soft tinted hues gives her work a gentle complexity, a textual softness and an otherworldly expression.

Konno graduated from the Bunka Gakuen University in Tokyo in 1989. She studied ceramics in Tokoname, a centuries-old ceramic art production centre. The artist has exhibited in solo and group shows in Asia and Europe.

“Networking-M” by Park Ji Sook, Fabrik Gallery, Hong Kong, Room 4315

PARK JI SOOK, SOUTH KOREA – Fabrik Gallery, Room 4315
Park Ji Sook’s (b.1963) series of organic and linear motifs represent the interwoven lines of life, endless connections between body and nature, on the universal continuum of birth, death and rebirth. Natural processes such as breathing and circulation found in organic forms are rendered on canvas as a galaxy of circuitous intersecting fronds emanating from multiple centres of life. Working with pencil, pen or ink in combination with acrylic, the artist believes in allowing creative freedom to flow freely onto her canvas, following the dynamic energy of life.

Park has an MFA and a Ph.D. from Hongik University in Seoul. She has exhibited in several solo and group exhibitions in Korea and around the world.

“At the Top of the World” by Xie Ke, Beijing Central Art Gallery, China, Room 4307

XIE KE, HONG KONG
Beijing Central Art Gallery, Room 4307
Xie Ke (b.1955, Hong Kong) creates sculptural work that combines images from the past with those in a modern context. He portrays fragments of history in a humorous yet thought-provoking way, combining them with his own critique of today’s world. Heroes from Chinese martial arts stories and the golden age of kung fu films defend those in need, returning balance and order to society. In combining Western innovativeness and traditional Chinese design, the artist aims to raise a culturally reflective awareness in the viewer.

Xie studied at the First Institute of Art and Design in Hong Kong and at the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University in Beijing. Xie has exhibited his work in many solo and group shows across Asia.

The Asia Contemporary Art Show would like to acknowledge and thank arts patrons Macey and Sons Auctioneers and Valuers Limited, the Wall Street Journal Asia Edition, Fiji Water and Langton’s East Asia; as well as hospitality partners Samuel Adams and Leaf Tea Boutique for their support.

Tickets for the Asia Contemporary Art Show are now available for HK$220 (buy one and bring a friend for free) at www.asiacontemporaryart.com. Tickets at the door are HK$220 per person.

EXHIBITORS AT THE 9TH EDITION OF THE ASIA CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW

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