We are delighted that ARTA will be participating for the first time in the Affordable Art Fair in London.
Please find us at the G4 booth, we are going to present a group show of eight established and emerging artists, including Andrea Björsell , Eric Fok, Ewelina Skowrońska, Michell Lie, Michael Chance, Monika Koch, Phillip Hui and Ricardo Rodriguez.
Andrea Björsell is a Hong Kong based established photographer. Born in Korea and raised in Sweden, Andrea has worked in London, Los Angeles and New York City.
Nothing creates more of a stimulation in creativity than travelling to a bustling city to
meet new people, visit new places, embark on new adventures and experience all
sensory elements of every moment.
Andrea brings a new series of photographs that captures life in the multicultural city - Hong Kong, called “Hong Kong 100 days”. Viewers can find brilliant interactions between citizens and the unique architecture.
Björsell lives in Hong Kong and has spent 100 days photographing the city as she sees it. The political situation, the time of change from freedom to a new rule that characterizes life there, has inspired her.
Björsell said, "Hong Kong - is a fascinating, exotic place, and also a city that is currently much rewritten and politically debated. A city in change, where the reformation still hasn't seen its end."
Eric Fok is an establish artists from Macau. Fok is a master of detailed ink drawing with technical pen to depict fine details on archaistic paper.
His renowned works of ancient style map incorporates with contemporary elements, start from the history of the age of discovery, probing on the cities changes caused by urban development and discussing on post-colonial phenomena.
Fok prepared a new series “the empire on which the sun never sets” especially for the Affordible Art Fair in London. Viewers discover intriguing stories from the past and present only by looking very closely at the meticulously detailed drawings.
Eric said, “The Great Voyage changed the world, some beings travel from their origins to find a real paradise for them and this is the story of their journey under the sun.”
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Ewelina Skowrońska is a Polish visual artist developing her practice in the fields of images and objects through the use of printmaking, drawings, and ceramic. Her interests include concepts of body, identities, gender, and psychology of human relations. Ewelina seeks inspiration for her artistic practice in everyday experiences, mythology, poetry, speculative narratives, and intangible connections of the world.
The series "Bound by Blood" is inspired by Japanese mythology, literature, and spirituality. The artist created a surreal story depicting the ambiguity of interpersonal relations, and she shows her femininity in the form of a fusion of beauty and hostility, drawing on the work of the Japanese writer Fumiko Enchi and the tradition of the mask Nō theater, where only men perform on stage in each of the roles.
In this series of paintings, femininity is presented in the form of an organic motif, repeated in each of the works, in an almost obsessive, yet at the same time controlled and ambiguous way. There are also many references to carnality in the series. Carnality allows for a comprehensive experience of existence and is the starting point for perceiving the world and building identity.
Michell Lie was born in 1973 in Hong Kong. Educated in the States majoring in business, minoring in illustration at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. Pursuing a life long career in advertising and branding agencies, in 2017 Michell begun her weekend hobby as self-taught ink artist aiming to groom this interest into something philanthropic.
Her goal is to make art affordable, charitable and enjoyable, raising funds for the city's senior folks; creating awareness amongst her social circle the importance of pursuing passion project alongside full time career is something worth dedicating lifelong.
Regarding her most recent series, Lie said, "My new collection is about The ripple of hope and joy. My art is like an object that is dropped in the vast ocean, although small in size, it creates a rippling effect that extends outward that keeps growing and expanding. This is made possible because there is hope and believing that kindness prevails and love conquers."
Michael Chance is a painter based in London, living on a narrowboat and working in a studio in Bow. Michael studied in the post-graduate programme at the Royal Drawing School in 2012-13 and between 2014-18 co-founded and ran Mercer Chance Gallery in Hoxton.
Their work is a kind of codified auto-biography that intersects with larger themes. A particular preoccupation is the confluence of patriarchal gender norms, capitalism, and humanist exceptionalism which underwrites the anthropogenic era.
Michael is at once horrified and entranced by the emerging effects of climate breakdown and aims to express both a deep anxiety about the future and a glimmer of hope for renewal through dramatic social and political change. Their work seeks a new language that enables images to overlay and enmesh with slippery, blurred boundaries, to suggest a messy nuanced truth usually disguised by simplistic binaries of male vs female, human vs nature. Working with sculpture and paintings in dialogue, Michael explores new and surprising ways to combine figures and objects; in both disciplines, there is a sense of carving into space to discover forms and images from the subconscious.
Monika Koch is a Polish-born self-taught artist living in London since 2003. Koch creates bold, naïve visions of striking female portraits using simple brush lines, strokes, and block colours. The artist portrays this through simple and direct forms. The artist was enchanted by the female beauty that became her leading muse.
Her inspirations come from all sorts of objects she finds beautiful and interesting including photography, art, and people.
The artists embrace mixed media forms using ink, gouache, acrylics, and gold leaf.
Koch art is effortless, there are a lot of distortions and exaggerations – but this is how she makes her own mark.
Her style is still evolving. She's constantly looking for new ideas and inspirations.
Phillip Hui was born in Hong Kong in 1981. He finished the diploma of Art from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design London in 2007, and attained a Bachelor in Arts degree from the University of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2011.
Phillip uses oil painting and sketching as his main mediums, and takes art elements from classical Eastern and Western Art. He creates his art with allegorical ideas and fictional scenes to express human nature and different encounters in real life. Phillip also tries to explore the relationship and coexistence between people and the environment.
Hui said "This series of paintings is about my memories of Hong Kong, including some places which are disappearing, the birds which I chose are living in our city, they are also facing a living problem because of the city's development. I used “Bonsai” to combine with them. I hope my works could give the message to audiences about conserving our culture and environment."
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Ricardo Rodriguez Cosme was born and raised in Valencia (Spain) where he completed his education in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage studies at the Valencia Polytechnic University followed by Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples.
Ricardo explores motives of beauty, perfection, and desire. Inspired by masters from the Greek and Roman empires, the black and white oil paintings take viewers on a journey around myths and showcase great attention to detail, lighting, and perspective. The artist’s goal is to create visual, cultural, and historical hybrids. Some of the pieces are painted with backgrounds that viewers might find familiar with today’s brands and contemporary art. The unique combination gives viewers a chance to make a connection between the old myths and symbols with the new, modern visual culture.
Through juxtaposing the art-historical significance of famous paintings and sculptures with the global popularity of advertising, Rodriguez attempts to fuse the Western artistic tradition with contemporary visual culture and elevate the truth, beauty, and wisdom that he sees in both.
His endless love for black and white painting on canvas allows him to explore the sentimental feelings within himself towards this practice which he thinks will give the works more power and help him to achieve a timeless style.
“It gives me a feeling of harmony; the taste is classic. I’ve always been more interested in classic aesthetics. Not only in painting but also in sculpture, architecture, and car design. So, I find combining it and the modern world really interesting.
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