Celebrity Life

Architect and award-winning artist Stefanie Hauger, whose bold artworks have captivated many, shares her favourite childhood memory and why embracing one’s inner truth is essential.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

Be sure to discover the top 3 modern artists, whose accomplishments are not only of artistic value, but also interesting to watch.

The post Art Pop: Top 3 Names Whose Progress Are Worth Following and Recognising appeared first on LUXUO.

2020 has been an extraordinary time for all of us, no doubt providing boundless inspiration for artists in particular, as they (and we) are forced to confront the new realities the world has presented to us. This couldn't be truer for Chinese artist Liu Wei, whose current solo exhibition 散场/OVER at Shanghai's Long Museum (West Bund) represents Liu's personal reflections on 2020, a year we know will go down in history as one of the most pivotal years in humankind.

Open since November 11, 2020, and ongoing until January 17, 2021, the exhibition represents one of China's most anticipated exhibitions this year, even as the country and the world at large suffer the impacts of the pandemic. Liu's large-scale installations that combine elements of sculpture, video, and painting are both serious and playful, a constant collision of polarising ideas that make up our world today. Duality has always featured prominently in Liu's works; his most famous paintings feature China's towering skyscraper structures in an abstract manner, rendered in neon colours that some critics say evoke a sunset, while others interpret it as the blanket pollution that has jarred the colours of the Chinese cities.

Trained as a painter at the China Academy of Art, Liu Wei is considered one of China's first generation of "new wave" artists and a member of the "Post-sense Sensibility" artists. Liu has always explored the relationship between matter and the body in his early works, and yet for this exhibition, he's bidding farewell to the old world and old systems, heralding in a new era: "Farewell, era of matter and the body. The complex and broken civilisation will send humankind as a whole into the ranks of gods" is written in the exhibition notes.

But this time, as we sit down with Liu via an Internet call, it isn't to ruminate over worldly matters. Rather, in a more light-hearted turn, we're here to talk about his latest collaboration with the whisky brand Hennessy, on a topic most decidedly festive: Chinese New Year.

Liu appears relaxed in his studio, dressed in a crisp white shirt, nonchalantly puffing away at a cigar, as he opens up the packaging to the Hennessy VSOP and Hennessy XO Chinese New Year edition bottles that he designed. The artwork for the two bottles are bright and vivid - the VSOP in warming red and purple hues, and the XO comes in a luxurious red, gold, and black palette.

Could you share some insight into what your artwork will entail in terms of theme?

I am currently holding my solo exhibition "Over/Over" at Shanghai’s Long Museum (West Bund), which demonstrated my thinking and reflection towards long-term topics such as body, things, ideology and world order at this special time of 2020. However, this collaboration work for Hennessy this time is slightly different from my artistic practice. The structure of this art piece is more about celebration, spring and the richness and complexity of Hennessy cognac. I hope to demonstrate more festive celebration and happy moments from this piece.

How did you choose what materials to work with for your art?

My creations are not limited by material selections. In my solo exhibition “Over/Over” at Shanghai’s Long Museum (West Bund), I did not use materials that I have constantly been using in my past creations, as those materials may have altered based on the ever-changing environment and may have lost its meaning already. I believe the selection of materials is my way of expressing, but not the ultimate objective.

Who do you create your art for?

In this artwork I created for Hennessy, I have specially chosen to use canvas oil painting, integrating inkjet and painting in the creation. In particular, I have selected more energetic and vital colour combinations, which I hope will bring happiness and hope to the audience.

To me, all of my artwork is created for my audience and they are especially important in the process of presenting the art piece. Both my personal artistic creation or this limited-edition packaging collaboration with Hennessy exist in my complete structure of creation. I believe the reflection from Over/Over towards audiences’ own existence or the happiness and hope from the collaboration work with Hennessy will be meaningful to audiences.

What response would you like your artwork to evoke in people?

I believe that art should not exist only for decoration, but it should have its social functions. The mass audience and functionality art faces have always been an important issue that I rethink throughout my creative process.

What do you see as the role of art in society?

I don't think art has a specific ‘role’ to play, yet this is where the beauty of art lies. For me, I believe human beings should always have the care and reflection towards humanism, and not limit themselves in the consideration of survival only, even under adverse environments.

The post Hennessy Taps Artist Liu Wei for Chinese New Year Releases appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Sotheby’s Gallery Hong Kong opened Contemporary Showcase: My Life Is Pointless, a solo exhibition of 48 works by acclaimed Spanish artist Joan Cornellà in conjunction with Hong Kong design studio, AllRightsReserved, making it the biggest solo exhibition staged by the artist in Hong Kong to date. 

My Life Is Pointless is Cornellà’s third solo exhibition in Hong Kong and marks his return to the city after three years. It features for the first time the artist’s latest life-sized panels, shaped panel paintings and bronze sculptures, along with a selection of limited print works that will not be released again.

With nearly 8 million followers worldwide on social media, Cornellà’s works have been exhibited globally, from Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing to London, Paris and New York. With a simplistic visual language and cheerful palette, Cornellà uses satire to comment on the bleak side of human nature, creating works that are honest, entertaining and stimulating. “In 2020, his well-established style evolved to combine text and imagery as he continues to explore the possibilities and universal resonance of his signature brand of humour,” according to Sotheby’s.

“It’s been three years since my last show in Hong Kong,” Cornellà said. “The audience can once again witness my representative works as well as some of my latest ones, which often explore the combination of text and pictures. It seems this surreal black humour resonates well with the times we live in.”

SK Lam, founder of AllRightsReserved, described Cornellà as “undoubtedly an icon of dark humour – his works crack you up, or can get on your nerves. Yet, it is Joan’s unique, sensational sense of humour that connects with everyone emotionally. The overwhelming response of his previous exhibitions in Hong Kong proves how much the people in this city relate to his worldviews. To many of us, 2020 has been incredibly challenging and it still is. I hope this exhibition, weaved together with laughter and tears, is coming at the right time as we round up the year.”

Heather Kim, Specialist of Contemporary Art, Asia of Sotheby’s, described Cornellàs works as “humorous, sinister and inspiring all at the same time. The entertaining yet thought-provoking show wraps up this unprecedented year, which truly demonstrated the tenacity and innovative opportunities of the contemporary art market in Asia and around the world.”

Joan Cornellà Vázquez was born in 1981, in Barcelona. His creations are light-hearted and playful on the surface, featuring a cheerful palette and figures with generic grins. Upon deeper contemplation, they communicate a potent, astute and nuanced satire on human nature and existence. Poking fun at sensitive and taboo topics with a fluid hand and minimal visual clues, Cornellà cuts to the core of the unnerving essence of our times.

My Life is Pointless opened on December 15 and runs until January 29 at Sotheby’s Gallery Hong Kong. By appointment only. RSVP online here: Sothebys.com/JoanCornella

The post Joan Cornellà’s My Life is Pointless Opens in Hong Kong appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

She’s known as ‘The Face of Modern British Impressionism,’ with 2020 seeing her celebrating four decades at the forefront of her field. Angela Sara West talks to the UK’s leading modern Impressionist, Sherree Valentine Daines, about her passion for painting, capturing famous faces and high-society events on canvas, collaborating with Bollinger Champagne, recreating Royal Ascot […]

The post Sherree Valentine Daines – Portrait Artist To Royalty & The Stars appeared first on Upscale Living Magazine.

She’s known as ‘The Face of Modern British Impressionism,’ with 2020 seeing her celebrating four decades at the forefront of her field. Angela Sara West talks to the UK’s leading modern Impressionist, Sherree Valentine Daines, about her passion for painting, capturing famous faces and high-society events on canvas, collaborating with Bollinger Champagne, recreating Royal Ascot […]

The post Sherree Valentine Daines – Portrait Artist To Royalty & The Stars appeared first on Upscale Living Magazine.

Yayoi Kusama, one of the world’s top selling female artists and most popular exhibitors made famous by her polka dot motifs, can rightly be called the matriarch of Pop Art.

Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan, Yayoi Kusama was the youngest of four children in a wealthy but troubled family. Her father was a womaniser, her mother was cold and distant.

As a young child, Kusama was sent to learn Nihongo, or traditional Japanese painting, and surviving sketches from that time show clearly a talent well beyond her years. Kusama already knew that she wanted to be an artist, but found the traditional master-pupil regimen stifling. But her mother wouldn’t entertain the idea, instead telling Kusama that she was destined to be a dutiful wife to a wealthy husband. The mother frequently confiscated Kusama’s inks and canvases, which probably contributed to her obsessive creative drive.

[caption id="attachment_209248" align="alignnone" width="1078"] Kusama kicks back in a serpentine setting.[/caption]

Kusama’s burning desire to paint continued, and in the late 1940s and early 1950s she looked abroad, impressed by the new generation of American painters. She greatly admired Georgia O’Keeffe, with whom she corresponded for advice. O’Keeffe, who was more than 40 years Kusama’s senior, warned her that artists in America had “a hard time making a living”. Still, she advised Kusama to move to the United States and show her work to as many people as she could.

In her mid-20s, Kusama left to seek fame and freedom in New York, where she lived from 1958 to 1975. She would later acknowledge that “America was really the country that raised me”. Kusama has said that without her art she would have committed suicide a long time ago. Her “Infinity Net” dot paintings, which first won her critical acclaim in New York, originate from visual hallucinations that she claims have haunted her since childhood and became the overwhelming power in her life.

"One day I was looking at the red flower patterns of the tablecloth on a table, and when I looked up I saw the same pattern covering the ceiling, the windows and the walls, and finally all over the room, my body and the universe. I felt as if I had begun to self-obliterate, to revolve in the infinity of endless time and the absoluteness of space.”

[caption id="attachment_209251" align="alignnone" width="957"] A dot room, which started off stark white. Exhibition attendees were given booklets of different sized and coloured dot stamps to place wherever they liked.[/caption]

In 1977, two years after returning from overseas, she booked into a psychiatric asylum in Tokyo where she has lived on a voluntary basis ever since. However, she maintains a large and very productive studio across the road from the institution and describes her work as “art medicine”.

She views her recent paintings as diary entries. Whenever she is overcome with a nightmarish hallucination, Kusama sits down at a canvas and begins to document the vision, completing the work in one sitting. These are always completed on the same size canvas and create a visual log of her obsessive thoughts. Despite their bright colours, the works have titles such as The Far End of my Sorrow and All About Joy, reflecting a troubled soul.

Kusama’s output is prolific. According to Christie's, she was the world’s highest-selling living female artist with her Infinity Net paintings being the most sought-after. Her touring retrospective, Infinite Obsession, attracted the largest global audience of 2015.

[caption id="attachment_209249" align="alignnone" width="960"] Kusama's Infinity pumpkins.[/caption]

She is business-savvy and prolific Kusama’s CV reads like a roll call of creative industries; she founded an erotic newspaper entitled Kusama’s Orgy, has published eight novels, several books of poetry, designed a bus and has produced films – including one with British musician Peter Gabriel.

During her time in US and back in Japan, Kusama has never identified as belonging to any artistic movement, always describing her style simply as “Kusama art” despite her connections to major avant-garde artists. Still, Kusama often tells of how she craved fame when she arrived in New York. As a woman forging a career in a country that harboured post-war resentment towards Japan, it took dogged determination to get the attention she craved.

Sources: Christies, BBC, New York Times

The post Arty Facts: Yayoi Kusama on Connecting the Dots appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

This is the first mask project by the Museum of Contemporary Art, and features designs by artists such as Andy Warhol, Virgil Abloh and Yoko Ono.

The post Exclusive face masks with designs by famous artists appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

This is the first mask project by the Museum of Contemporary Art, and features designs by artists such as Andy Warhol, Virgil Abloh and Yoko Ono.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

A neo-Georgian building on the banks of the River Erne is the home of  Ireland’s oldest craft pottery, Belleek. For nearly 170 years, Belleek has been a collectors’ item and prized family heirlooms. The pottery’s founder, John Caldwell Bloomfield, declared that any piece with even the slightest flaw should be destroyed. “This rule is still […]

The post Belleek, Ireland’s Oldest Craft Pottery Continuing an Age-Old Tradition appeared first on Upscale Living Magazine.