STPI x The Corner Shop

Hong Zhu An: Ascetic Serenity

$42.00

Veritas Branding & Marketing Pte Ltd, 2012, 83 pp.

In his continuing efforts to seek a greater harmony and the attainment of universal ideals, Singaporean artist Hong Zhu An has produced a new series of works in collaboration with STPI, bringing into view a landscape harkening of Zen and serenity. During his three-week residency, Hong explored papermaking from its most basic components, creating over 40 artworks that capture transient states and feelings, transcending language and cultural barriers.

In an age of globalisation, Hong’s works convey a modern sensibility anchored in the rich history of his Chinese roots. He combines spontaneous actions with an air of discipline – alternating sketching and pondering before grabbing handfuls of wet pulp and applying them with swift vigorous strokes. These masterful strokes, like those manifested in Dragon I and II, are a translation of energy rather than figurative or verbal idioms. Just as they exude a quintessential Chinese ethos integral to his heritage, the artist rejects not the influences of the 21st century, but rather reconciles the two into a visual language that has become his own.

With an essay by Iola Lenzi and photographs of the artworks.

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