ART CENTRAL 2022

CURATOR STYLE RETURNS TO ART CENTRAL 2022 WITH AN EXCITING LINE-UP OF ARTISTS, INCLUDING THE ASIA DEBUT OF CYPRIOT ARTIST ANDREAS STYLIANOU

 

Yayoi Kusama, Citrouille (II), 2000
screenprint, lame, sheet size 50 x 65 cm
Image courtesy of CURATOR Style

Running from 26 to 29 May 2022, CURATOR Style (booth: B17) is delighted to announce its participation for the second time at Art Central 2022 in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, presenting a prominent line-up of four established and emerging artists, including Cypriot artist Andreas Stylianou, and Japanese artists: Yayoi Kusama, Yoshitomo Nara, and Chiharu Shiota, who have elevated their voices and exerted significant influence on the contemporary art world. In many senses, their creations speak vigorously and harmonically towards one another, and ingeniously express the introspective theme, Searching the Soul, through their own techniques.

 

The exhibition will display an assortment of unique, original works of various medium, ranging from traditional materials such as paper or canvas, to experimental methods including threads, metal, aluminum panels and spraying painting. The outcome is more than a visual feast to the eye: it forms a powerful, emotional dialogue not only between the artists, but also between the artwork and the audience, who can reflect on their inner self with art acting as a mirror.

 

Andreas Stylianou, Super Sonic, 2021
enamel and spray-paint on aluminum sheets with aluminum wall support, 150 x 138 x 10 cm
Image courtesy of CURATOR Style

 

According to American author Caroline Myss, “The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.” This exhibition leads the viewers to traverse the spirituality (the process of soul-searching) of each artist through self-discovery and self-healing art practices.

 

Born in 1990, Cypriot artist Andreas Stylianou has developed an affinity for creating and collecting art at an early age. Later on, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree at the well-known Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. Making his Asia debut, Stylianou’s latest works will be showcased at CURATOR Style’s Art Central presentation, including Super Sonic (2021) and Light Headed (2021), are produced with purposely cut and unevenly shaped aluminum panels painted with enamel paint, which are a complete departure from his previous canvas works in terms of medium and style, hence reflecting more about his architect’s sense towards the property of one material and another. Driven by an urge to search for the emotional meaning in his latest works, Stylianou further abstracts his subjects of familiar cartoon characters like “Sonic the Hedgehog” by deliberately hollowing out their eyes. Without the disturbance of these figurative elements, one may effortlessly delve into the ocean of his emotions and feel his soul mastering the direction of his brushstrokes, which are extraordinarily executed in each of his unique works. Between the flowing impulses of colours, Stylianou is intentionally walking on the thin line between control and lack of control, or more precisely, the will of self and the natural order: on the one hand, he composes the scene in his paintings with complete control of his brushstrokes; on the other hand, he attempts to let the colours organically burst or flow on the painting surface as guided by the natural forces, like rivers bearing with the traces of time. Each work thus plays as an important hint to the artist’s charm as well as providing an exotic feel by revealing the captivating remote landscape of his home by the sea. Altogether, they intrigue the audience with the artist’s story of returning to his birthplace during pandemic, where he reimagines his roots by letting himself be absolutely lost in the natural wonders. Furthermore, for him, art acts like a perfect medium for sharing his intricate relationship with time, which he has once stated that as he paints, it would usually take a few weeks for a work to be completed, because he would wait until the previous layer of colours to be naturally absorbed and dried up to apply the next layer. Hence, he suggests that feeling time flows in his painting is like imagining the process of waiting and appreciating a sunrise or sunset till over. Stylianou’s presentation at Art Central is also CURATOR Style’s debut exhibition with the artist, who joined the programme in 2022.

Yayoi Kusama, Citrouilles series N°2, 2002
limoges ceramic, set of 5, 7 x 9 cm each
Image courtesy of CURATOR Style

 

For Yayoi Kusama, who has been suffering from mental disorders throughout her life, the “soul” is like an old friend whom she has revisited over and over for many years in the process of finding her true self and inner peace. According to Kusama, the recurring subject of “pumpkin” in her works has always acted as a home to her soul and provide her with great comfort and calmness against the mental chaos. As one of her highlighted works exhibited this year, Citrouille (II) (2000) is a rare editioned print portraying a significantly large and plump pumpkin glaring with lame, suggesting the artist’s innermost, uninterrupted existence of soul beyond time and space.

 

 

Yoshitomo Nara, Untitled (Irgendwo Steinebergen als Tragbild), 1997,
pencil and coloured pencil on paper, image size 30.5 x 22.9 cm
Image courtesy of CURATOR Style

 

 

On the other hand, Yoshitomo Nara’s approach to searching the soul is nostalgic; child-like images, childhood memories and old-time music have been his answer to the question of his true self while he was trying to escape from the status quo. In contrast to Stylianou’s hollow-eyed characters, there are profound emotions underlying the eyes or expressed through the actions of the innocent girl portrayed by Nara as a way of self-consolation or self-revelation. In this exhibited original work on paper Untitled (Irgendwo Steinebergen als Tragbild) (1997), where a free-spirited musician is playing her guitar on the piled-up stones amid the mountains and valleys, conveying a sense of fearlessness.

 

Chiharu Shiota, Skin, 2021
Thread on canvas
140 by 80 by 6 cm (each); 140 by 160 by 6 cm (overall)
Image courtesy of CURATOR Style

 

Within the layered threads in Chiharu Shiota’s expansive works and installations, one may also find strong sentiments of the artist, whose creation is inspired by her dream and sense of self in relation to time, space, and human relationships. In the creation of art, with part or the whole of her body, Shiota liberates her soul from the physical boundaries of the reality while exercising her creativity with consciousness. In this exhibition, two unique works, State of Being (Keys) (2015) and State of Being (Keys) (2020), from her well-known State of Being series will be shown alongside her latest large-scale work on canvas, Skin (2021), a theme she has been revisiting since her work Memory of Skin (2001) presented at the inaugural Yokohama Triennale in 2001.

 

 

25 May (VIP Preview), 4PM - 8PM
26 May, 2 – 5PM; 5 – 8PM
27 – 28 May, 11AM – 3PM; 3 – 7PM
29 May, 11AM – 3PM; 3 – 6PM

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CURATOR Style再度參展ART CENTRAL 2022強勁展出陣容

包括塞浦路斯藝術家安德烈亞斯·斯蒂利亞努（Andreas Stylianou）的亞洲首展

 

草間彌生，《南瓜(II)》，2000，絲網印刷及亮粉，紙幅50 x 65厘米
圖片來源：CURATOR Style

CURATOR Style將再度參與Art Central 2022並呈獻群展「靈魂的探尋」，於5月26日至29日假香港會議展覽中心舉行，展出四位當代藝術家合共20餘幅作品，包括來自塞浦路斯的年輕藝術家安德烈亞斯·斯蒂利亞努，以及幾位赫赫有名的日本當代藝術家：草間彌生、奈良美智及塩田千春的作品。他們透過藝術創作表達個人鮮明的觀點，對當代藝術的發展影響深遠；此外，他們亦運用了多元的創作技巧淋漓盡致地表現出是次展覽主題——「靈魂的探尋」。是次所展出的作品在創作手法、媒介的運用和畫面表達上看似風格迥異，若觀者細看，便會發現這些作品背後所表達的情感和主題，皆與探索人的內心、思想與靈魂這個主題有關。

 

是次所展覽的作品除了傳統的布面及紙本作品，更包括了利用線、金屬、鋁板及噴漆創作、極具實驗性的作品，有如一場精心設計的視覺饗宴，充滿力量和情感的對話，引領觀者代入藝術家的內省過程，探索靈魂的核心。

 

安德烈亞斯·斯蒂利亞努，《Super Sonic》，2021，瓷漆及噴漆於鋁板，150 x 138 x 10厘米
圖片來源：CURATOR Style

 

美國作家卡羅琳·麥斯（Caroline Myss）曾寫道：「每個人的靈魂都懂得自我痊癒，不過並非人人都可以讓自己的思緒完全平靜下來。」CURATOR Style的展覽旨在讓觀眾透過各藝術家的創作手法深入其內心世界，展開探索和療癒自我的靈性之旅。

 

塞浦路斯藝術家安德烈亞斯·斯蒂利亞努於1990年出生，自小對藝術和收藏有濃厚興趣，及後修讀了建築系，並以學士及碩士榮譽畢業於著名倫敦學府——建築聯盟學院（Architectural Association School of Architecture）。是次展覽將展出他的最新作品，作為他的首個亞洲展覽，包括《Super Sonic》（2021）、《Light Headed》（2021）等均利用了金屬、鋁板及噴漆創作，跟他以前的布上作品截然不同，從媒介上反映了他的建築背景和對物料的敏銳觸覺。此外，這一系列作品均以不規則的形態呈現，切割後的金屬外形酷似家傳戶曉的卡通人物「超音鼠」（或稱為「音速小子」），輕易地勾起觀眾的童年回憶。最特別之處，是他故意掏空主角的雙眼，旨在從角色的刻板形象中抽離，希望透過抽象的外觀線條表達內在的情感。觀者因此不再受到圖像的干擾，能夠暢快地穿梭於藝術家豐富的情感之中，並從他揮灑自如的筆觸真切地感受其內心世界。在色彩流動的脈搏之中，藝術家更故意行走於理性與非理性、自我意志與宿命的邊界，一方面受意識驅使而動筆描繪景象，另一方面則果斷地抽離自我，藉由自然力量的牽引，讓色彩在畫布上任意跳躍或流淌，形成一道又一道記載著時間軌跡的河流。它們帶領觀者一步步探索這位來自遠洋的藝術家的個人魅力，以及其家鄉塞浦路斯沿岸迷人的風景線。這系列創作於2021年，受到他在疫情前後回到熟悉的成長地深受其自然景色啟發，通過創作拼湊出對「家」的想像，更抒發他自身與時間的聯繫。正如他分享時提及，每一幅畫的創作時間或長達數星期，皆因他會在不同層次的上色之間讓色彩自然地沉澱直至乾透，如此獨特的創作手法猶如等待、欣賞至結束一場日出或日落的過程，在此其中便能感受到時間的淌去。

草間彌生，《南瓜N°2系列》，2002，limoges陶瓷，7 x 9厘米，一套5件
圖片來源：CURATOR Style

 

草間彌生童年時開始有嚴重的幻覺，令她飽受折磨，她的作品多年來亦離不開探尋「靈魂」，或者可說是她心靈上的「安身之所」。據她所述，經常在她畫作中出現的南瓜便是她的「靈魂之家」，讓她在巨大的精神苦痛與混沌中汲取一絲安慰和平靜。今次展覽其中一幅精彩絕倫的作品是草間彌生的《南瓜II》（2000）稀有限量版畫，畫面呈現的南瓜碩大圓潤，尺幅之大甚為罕見，在純白的展牆上閃爍著璀璨的光芒，彷彿在是草間彌生在經過時間和現實的錘鍊下內心依然強大的最佳鐵證。

 

 

奈良美智，《無題》，1997，鉛筆及彩色鉛筆紙本，30.5 x 22.9 厘米
圖片來源：CURATOR Style

 

 

另一方面，奈良美智透過懷緬過去的同時尋找一種自我價值和肯定：不管是童稚的臉孔、童年的回憶匣子，或是舊年代的音樂，都成為藝術家的創作泉源，目的是在擺脫現實的過程中找到答案。奈良美智把這些複雜的情緒都蘊藏於畫中主角的雙眼，又或是通過樣子單純的小孩做出違反常理的動作，而暗自流露的一種自我表現，剛好與之前提及的藝術家安德烈亞斯·斯蒂利亞努相反，後者透過掩去主角雙眼的光彩，營造一種抽離感，以另類的方法引起共鳴。在這次展出的原作《無題》（1997）中，觀眾可見到一位在山谷中無拘無束地演奏著的結他手，縱使她的姿態搖搖欲墜，腳步並不平穩，腳下是歪歪倒倒的石頭堆砌而成的斜塔，但未見眼神畏懼，反而流露一種懾人的自信和威風，不禁引人駐足細看。

 

塩田千春，《皮膚》，2021，布面棉線，140 x 80 x 6厘米 (每幅)
圖片來源：CURATOR Style

 

塩田千春的作品由層層交織的線主導著方向，在虛空中無窮無盡地延伸，由此觀眾在無意之中被她濃烈的情感深深包圍和影響。她的作品有部分是受到夢境所啟發，有部分則是她從時間、空間以及人與人的各種關係中追溯到自身的本質帶來的領悟。在創作過程中，塩田會局部或完全解放身體，隨心而行，恣肆而有意識地灌注她的情感於藝術之中。是次展出的兩件作品同樣名為《存在（鑰匙）》（State of Being (Keys)），分別創作於2015年及2020年，均來自她為人熟悉的《存在》（State of Being）的系列中，另外還有她於近年創作的大尺幅布面畫作《皮膚》（Skin），此作呼應了二十年前曾經於2001年首屆日本横滨三年展展出的《皮膚的記憶》（Memory of Skin）主題，揭示人的皮膚之下的種種羈絆。

 

 

展覽詳情：

香港灣仔會議展覽中心（展位：B17）

開放時間：2022年5月25日（VIP日），下午4時至8時

2022年5月26日，下午2時至5時；下午5時至8時

2022年5月27日至28日，上午11時至下午3時；下午3時至7時

2022年5月29日，上午11時至下午3時；下午3時至6時