Chris Huen’s large-scale oil paintings are derived from observation of his own life, portraying quotidian experiences through a fresh set of aesthetic strategies. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas echoes the spirit of the scene. The blank spaces and fragmented forms give voice to a specific moment and the way it exists, or perhaps escapes the artist’s consciousness.
Chris Huen’s large-scale oil paintings are derived from observation of his own life, portraying quotidian experiences through a fresh set of aesthetic strategies. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas echoes the spirit of the scene. The blank spaces and fragmented forms give voice to a specific moment and the way it exists, or perhaps escapes the artist’s consciousness.
Having grown up and raised a family in Hong Kong, Huen relocated to London in 2021 with his wife, children and dogs, marking a distinctive visual shift in the content of his work as he continues his practice of seeking to capture his surroundings. Huen’s dream-like pictures evolve organically and haphazardly; the artist forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, favours intuition by opting to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Depicting what has been seen but perhaps forgotten, Huen’s intuitive exploration of perception flows with a deep sensitivity and alchemy of recognition, attaining a specific resonance steeped in individual sensation and shared experience.
Chris Huen Sin Kan: Puzzled Daydreams
Simon Lee Gallery is proud to present Puzzled Daydreams, a solo exhibition by Hong Kong-based artist Chris Huen Sin Kan comprising, new paintings and works on paper. Huen’s largescale oil paintings are derived from observation of his own life, portraying quotidian experiences through a fresh set of aesthetic strategies that bring the domestic and surreal into compelling partnership.
Prelude: Melancholy of the Future
Prelude: Melancholy of the Future brings together works by artists associated with MDD, either in the past or the future. The exhibition – the last at MDD before the museum’s renovations, until summer 2021 - considers the current challenge of anticipating on a future while the past itself is under scrutiny.
7th Biennial of Painting – Inner Spaces
From 26 July to 18 October 2020, the three visual art museums at the banks of the river Leie — Museum of Deinze and the Leie Region (Mudel), Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in collaboration with Sint-Martens-Latem, and Roger Raveel Museum — join forces to present the 7th edition of the Biennial of Painting. Under the title Binnenskamers (Inner Spaces), this edition of the Biennial focuses on the interior within the tradition of art history and contemporary practice.
Works by Chris Huen Sin Kan will be exhibited at the Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens.