Bananarolls Newsletter | 05
~ Exhibition Announcement! ~
BEYOND TRADITION: THE METAMORPHOSIS OF CHINESE ART
I will be showing two of the first few small watercolour paintings I made in London in this group exhibition. This will also be my first exhibition in London since relocating here from Hong Kong in late June 2023. Do come and say hi at the opening if you’re in town!
Alisan Fine Arts is excited to announce our participation in this year's Asian Art In London autumn event. We will be presenting the works of 16 distinguished Chinese artists from different generations and diverse backgrounds. This exhibition aims to underline the manifold and profound evolution of Chinese art over the past fifty years, by showcasing how each artist reinterpret classical subject-matters of Chinese art by incorporating innovative materials and creative methods while preserving the traditional culture and spirit. To enhance the viewing experience and create an intimate atmosphere, our exhibition will feature a salon-style hanging presentation, encouraging a more immersive and interconnected experience, while allowing viewers to explore the intricate details and connections within the exhibition.
Address: 4 Cromwell Place, South Kensington, London SW7 2JE, UK
Hours:
Preview 26 Oct, Thu 2:00pm-7:00pm
Opening 27 Oct, Fri 11:00am-8:00pm
28 Oct, Sat 11:00am-7:00pm
29 Oct, Sun 11:00am-4:00pm
30 Oct – 4 Nov, Mon – Sat 11:00am-7:00pm
5 Nov, Sun 11:00am-4:00pm
Talk:
31 Oct, Tue 17:00-18:00
Media and Materiality in Contemporary Chinese Art
by Dr. Malcolm McNeill
Director of the Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art & Senior Lecturer in Arts Education, SOAS University of London
Guided Tours:
26 Oct, Thu 2:30pm – 3:00pm
28 Oct, Sat 11:30am – 12:00pm
1 Nov, Wed 2:30pm – 3:00pm
3 Nov, Fri 11:30am – 12:00pm
Edit: / dear friend, I apologize for the upcoming difficult reading — I cannot afford the luxury of proofreading or grammatically sound writing — so this is just a stream of consciousness written at the desk of a quiet day at work/
Hello friends,
Hope October has gotten you into a spooky mood! The month had passed by far too quickly for me, to the point where… honestly, I’m quite overwhelmed and am slightly stressed out now:
I witnessed my first exhibition opening at iniva which had more a hundred guests showing up / I went to Trevor Yeung’s solo at Gasworks then to a Hong Kong arts people dinner that nearly depleted my social battery/ and a week later I took a spontaneous 4 day trip to Dublin during the week of tube strikes (which ate into a lot of my time) — but I must have been over-exhausted/not taking enough care of myself that I ended up passing out at the airport as I was returning to London. That was my first warning sign that maybe I’ve been putting up a front during my relocation here.
But I wasn’t able to give myself time to rest; I had dinners, order-packing, DND sessions, Warner Brothers’ Studio Tour, Frieze, preparation for the upcoming hallowarming (Halloween + Housewarming) party at ours where I experimented with bread-baking and divination cookies, and preparation for David’s upcoming visit this weekend. Then next week, of course, there’s my London debut with Alisan Fine Arts at Cromwell Place.
The only commitment I cancelled, was a Halloween trip to Glastonbury — only because after having a small late night panick attack about doing so much that isn’t painting, where for the first time, I felt that I couldn’t breathe (my second warning sign), I have to rest.
The thing is, this is the first time where my feeling of overwhelm and busi-ness isn’t from work, or art related activities but rather from socialising. And it is also the first time where my social battery goes into the negatives and yet I still enjoyed this month — I enjoyed every single moment of it. It was so much fun.
But there’s also so much guilt that comes with having fun because I’m not actually producing anything worthy of note —
or perhaps I just miss my family. I miss my partner. I miss the few friends whose presence just calmed me down without having to say a thing. I miss home.