Koon Wai Bong

painted in 2014

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

OFF – Contemporary Art Fair Brussels, 2014

Overall in very good condition, painted on eight round fans affixed to the paper mounting. Framed under acrylic: 203 by 52 cm; 80 by 20½ in.
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“As a Chinese painter I consider my artworks to related to the guohua concept, however I also aim to shape my art to reveal the identity of Hong Kong culture through hybridity, and to revive guohua through sustaining the great tradition of bimo (literally meaning the brush and ink), in Chinese painting, as well as appropriating Western modes of expression. Based on the concept of “reworking the classics”, I decipher the codes embedded in traditional landscape painting and attempt to infuse my paintings with a new and contemporary look.” - Koon Wai Bong

A prominent artist and professor based in Hong Kong, Koon Wai Bong is recognized for his contemporary ink works within public institutions including the M+ Pavilion, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. In contrast to Chinese paintings that appropriate various concepts from Western art and are often criticized as having faint connections to Chinese cultural narratives, Koon specifically posits his paintings as guohua (referring to the essence of the Chinese painting tradition and not aligned with art reform in China between 1949-1952); thereby emphasizing the core values of traditional painting, especially those of the literati. It is this embrace of tradition and desire for contemporaneity that mirrors the search for cultural identity among many Hong Kong artists today.