NORM YIP | 葉 灃 Pulsation Exhibition 12-31 Aug 2016 Catalogue
Pulsation by Norm Yip | 葉灃 Recent Drawings and Paintings 12-31 Aug 2016 Venue: Tree of Life 38 Eastern Street Sai Ying Pun Hong Kong http://treeoflifehk.com
Cover: Pulsation, No, 7 Note: Prices indicated in this catalogue are subject to change at any time. Please enquire.
2
PULSATION is the beat of the heart pulsation is the beat of the city pulsation is the beat of the Earth pulsation is the beat of the universe It is the dance of negative and positive energy in synch with one other.
Ever since Norm Yip decided to pursue his interest in art and creativity, his investigations have brought him closer to the work of the Abstract Expressionists and inspired by ideas of consciousness and quantum physics. Pulsation is part of the ongoing evolution of Norm’s art: organic, yet mediating between control and freedom in the traditional form of painting and drawing.
3
Pulsation Many of the great painters had muses; they provided
That very day, I was about to start on a new painting. I
the inspiration for their artwork amongst other things.
froze, not knowing how to approach the blank canvas.
I have my muse as well and she comes from the city of
Previously, my inspiration stemmed from aesthetic
Hong Kong itself. Hong Kong is the place where I have
beauty. This time though, beauty was not on my mind,
felt an inner connection with: the energy, the vibrancy,
but I had to translate the feeling into my art. How it
the dense population and it’s frenetic pace in which it
would turn out, I would not know. And so, I just let it
operates under. She casted her spell on me from the
happen. The results of which you see are shown here:
day I landed in 1994. It is something that is very hard
eight paintings that were generated in short matter of
to describe, but a close feeling that I have submitted to
time, imbued with the energy and fervor that my mind
many times within my creative work as a visual artist.
and body had succumbed to.
Pulsation is my newest work and is a continuation from my Vibratory Field series of paintings; however the
The brushstroke are bolder and more emphatic than
paintings have extra ingredients: pain and anger.
previously. There is a quality that resonates with both inner energies and outer influences of suffering and
The deeper story behind the origins of the Pulsation series are sad and tragic, which all began in Orlando, Florida and the mass shooting that left 49 people dead in a gay bar. That gay bar was called Pulse. The emotions that streamed through my mind as I watched the news and its repercusions halfway around the world in Hong Kong was no less than shock, sadness, and horror. It left me numb.
4
confusion. It is chaos within order or order within chaos.
5
Pulsation, No. 1, 2016 Acrylic on Canvas 210 x 140cm HK$68,000
6
7
Pulsation, No. 2, 2016 Acrylic on Canvas 210 x 140 cm HK$68,000
8
9
Pulsation, No. 3, 2016 Acrylic on Canvas 152 x 96 cm $35,000
10
11
Pulsation, No. 4, 2016 Acrylic on Canvas 152 x 96 cm $35,000
12
13
Pulsation, No. 5, 2016 Acrylic on Canvas 152 x 96 cm HK$35,000
14
15
Pulsation, No. 6, 2016 Acrylic on Canvas 210 x 140cm HK$25,000
16
17
Pulsation, No. 7, 2016 Acrylic on Canvas 100 x 100 cm HK$23,500
18
19
Pulsation, No. 8, 2016 Acrylic on Canvas 140 x 140 cm HK$45,000
20
21
Energy/White Noise The energy and white noise drawings are intense, organic creations of an immediate and direct nature. They are drawn using lead pencils, a material that for most of us, have become closely associated with at a very early age during childhood. Being so, it is imbued with our first markings onto paper, thereby creating one of our earliest associations or foundations to using our hands and fingers to communicate through drawings. The energy or white noise drawings are essentially the same, using trance music to facilitate the process of drawing from a higher consciousness. I only draw these drawings in the evening in the comforts of my studio. Lights are turned off with the exception of where my table is situated. I play selective trance tracks that that are engaging. The initial start of a drawing is tense, and I usually take repeat or play the music until I the feeling is ‘right’. When that moment reaches, my fingers release and the drawings starts. The first few minutes, the drawings appear uncontrolled, but there is a rhythm and an order within the motion. Eventually the drawing starts to take form as something begins to appear like a web or matrix. The music is the guide, as the artwork is somehow ‘channeled’ into my fingers and hands. I try as much to let it happen as it is without intervention on my part.
22
23
Energy, No. 2, 2016 Graphite on Paper Frame: 78 x 63 cm HK$12,000
24
25
White Noise, No. 1, 2016 Frame: 86 x 120 cm HK$19,000
26
27
Solace IV, 2001 Graphite on Paper Frame: 90 x 50 cm HK$25,000
28
29
Profile Norm Yip’s work eschews any one medium or genre; it
Norm further expanded his artistic repertoire when he
weaves in a constant circle around photography, graphite
began photographing the Asian male body. Inspired by the
drawings and paintings. The essence of his art permeates
chiaroscuro aesthetic of Herb Ritt’s sculptural subjects,
at several different levels; reflecting varying aspects of his
his series of photography books - aptly named ‘the Asian
mind and heart at play.
Male’ - brought a renewed sensibility to the Asian man as monuments of beauty, desire and pleasure.
Graphite drawings dominated his early repertoire and remains some of his most philosophically and emotionally
In 2012, Norm set out to combine his disparate interests;
influenced pieces today. Pencil and paper meet to inscribe
allowing photography and painting to collide and fuse
his awakening into the mysteries of life and death. At first
into an altogether different form of expression. Through
appearing as symbols, the drawings tend towards the
a process of image transfers using an ink toner printer,
formless - the ‘being-ness’ of existence represented in a
paper and acetate with animals and portraits as his initial
series of embryonic circles.
subjects, the pieces that emerged were highly textural and tactile; vivid in their raw emotional energy and vigor while
Where graphites provided glimpses into his deeper sub-
tempered with a tenderness and sensitivity born from
conscious, it was acrylics that gave Norm’s thoughts full
years of observation and experimentation.
voice - a vocabulary exciting and rich in both colour and form. His visual language of choice is that of abstraction, with recent works inspired both by nature and the malleability of the medium; using colour to capture movement and guide the eye. In another series, he uses the infinity symbol ∞ to represent the unending consciousness of life; bound neither by birth nor death.
30
Biography Norm Yip was born in Canada in 1963 to Chinese parents.
In photography, Norm’s work was first recognized when
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) in
his photographs of Asian men was selected to appear in
1984 at the University of Saskatchewan and his Bachelor
publications 2Blue and Dreamboys 2, both special editions
of Architecture degree in 1989 at the University of
of aclaimed Blue Magazine, known for its excellence in fine
Toronto. In 1994, he moved to Hong Kong where he
art photography of male physique. Since then, his work has
worked as a project architect for Wong & Tai Associates
been featured in The Best of International Nudes Photography
Ltd and RTKL International Ltd before pursuing his greater
III by Feierabend Unique Books and The Romantic Male
interest in art and photography.
Nude by James Spada.
In 1999, he co-founded the art collective Meli-Melo Artists
Norm has taught photography courses at The Open
Alliance (MMAA) along with Betty Cheung and Wilson
University of Hong Kong and has been a guest lecturer
Chik, where he curated several exhibitions with artists
at the Hong Kong Art School. In addition, he has been
such as Gavin Tu (Hong Kong), the late Neung or Panuwat
invited by the Cathay Camera Club to act as a judge in their
Hoonbamrung (Thailand) and Oksana Movchan (Canada).
monthly photography competitions.
Shortly thereafter, he formed his own photography
In 2008, he moved his studio to Chai Wan, an industrial
company Norm Yip Photography, in addition to Studio
neighborhood, where he continues to photograph, paint
8, a semi-public photographic and art space located in
and draw.
the district of Sheung Wan -- where he hosted private and selected exhibitions in the mediums of photography, painting and graphite.
As a photographer, Norm’s work has appeared in HK Magazine, WHERE, Global Investor and American Express’ Centurion magazine, Prestige, and Luxury Properties Magazine. Celebrities he has photographed include Zhang Yimou, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Destiny’s Child and Korean pop-star Rain.
31
Exhibitions, Recognition & Events June 2016 Pride Art Exhibition, Group exhibition, Clifford
July - August 2013. The Narcissist, photography exhibition, Studio
Chance, Hong Kong
8 HK, Hong Kong.
June 2015, Pride Art Exhibition, Group exhibition, Clifford
July 29, 2013. Collections, Selected artwork Greed in a group
Chance, Hong Kong
online exhibition, Saatchionline, London.
May 2015. Selected artwork Infinity, No. 4 in curated collection
July 26, 2013. Story of the Creative, Selected 3 image transfer
New This Week - 5-25-2015 by Saatchi Art (online), Los Angeles.
artworks to appear in See | Exhibition Space, Angel Orensanz Foundation, New York.
May 2015. Selected artwork Infinity, No. 3 in curated collection New This Week - 5-11-2015 by Saatchi Art (online), Los Angeles.
November 2012. Curator and exhibitor. Seven Deadly Sins, Voxfire Gallery, Hong Kong.
May 2015. Selected artwork Spring rejoicing in curated collection Bright Abstracts for under $2,000 by Saatchi Art (online), Los
August 2011. Group exhibition RetreAttack – RA Vol. 2, Selected
Angeles.
photographs of Janice, Dahlia Gallery, Singapore.
April 2015. Selected artwork Heaven is here in curated collection
February 2011. Group exhibition Heat, Selected photograph and
New This Week - 5-4-2015 by Saatchi Art (online), Los Angeles.
painting, Charity Art Sale for Hong Kong Aids Foundation, Voxfire Gallery, Hong Kong.
April 2015. Selected artwork Infinity, No. 1 in curated collection All Things Abstract by Saatchi Art (online), Los Angeles.
November 2009. Group exhibition. Selected graphite Verge V. Zonta Club of Hong Kong II. Charity Art Sale. Rotunda, Exchange
April 2015. Selected artwork Will you remember? in curated
Square, Hong Kong.
collection New Portraits by Saatchi Art (online), Los Angeles. May - June 2009. Oxford Pride 2009. Group exhibition to the December 2014. Embryo, Solo graphite drawing exhibition, L’s
theme of 1969 Stonewall. Two bondage photographs were
Where, Hong Kong
selected to appear in the show. Oxford, UK.
October 2014. The Asian Male, solo photography exhibition,
December 2008. Group exhibition. Curated and participated in
Gallery Box, Zurich, Switzerland.
the charity art auction Sexpression benefiting Horizons Group in Hong Kong, Studio 8 HK, Hong Kong.
October 2014. Andy Warhol X Absolut, group exhibition, Pink Season Factor, Azure Restaurant, Hong Kong.
September 2006. Solo Exhibition, Skin Deep, Selected photographs of the new male nude/semi-nude photography,
October - November 2013. Cool on the Inside; Hot on the Outside,
Baileys at the Fringe - Fotogalerie, Hong Kong.
photography exhibition, Studio 8 HK, Hong Kong. November - December 2005. Group exhibition, Gay Artists: Gay
32
Art?, Selected photographs of The Asian Male, Art Statements,
May - June 2002. Solo exhibition, Verge, exhibition of paintings
Hong Kong.
and graphite drawings, 5 opt Studio / Gallery, Hong Kong.
August 2005. Solo exhibition, NudeNotNaked, Selected
March 2002. Artist and curator of a group exhibition Buddha
photographs of the Male Nude, Three Boxes, Hong Kong.
Buddha. Other artists include Neung (Thailand) and Gavin Tu (Hong Kong), Studio 8, Hong Kong.
April 2005. Group exhibition, Moonstruck, Acrylic painting submission, Club 64 and the Venice Biennale 2005, Hong Kong
November 2001. Solo Exhibition Navigation. Selected paintings,
and Venice.
drawings and photographs. Studio 8, Hong Kong.
March-April 2005. Selected group exhibition, Nasi Campur,
March 2000. Solo Exhibition First Level, exhibition of graphite
exhibition of acrylic paintings, Gallery Taksu, Kuala Lumpur.
drawings, Meli-Melo Artists Alliance, Hong Kong.
October 2004. Selected artist featuring selected graphite images
January 2000. Co-curator/Exhibitor Light + Shadow, black & white
to appear in art book Eyes of the Soul – Exploring Inspiration in Art;
photography, Meli-Melo Artists Alliance, Hong Kong.
written and compiled by Philip Rubinov-Jacobson; foreword by Ken Wilber. RRR Publishers, Germany, 2004.
October 1999. Co-curator/Exhibitor Entanglement, group exhibition, mixed media, Meli-Melo Artists Alliance, Hong Kong.
August 2004. Selected Group Exhibition, Private Edge, selected fine art photographs, B2G Gallery, Singapore. June 2004. Solo Exhibition, Secret Constellations, exhibition of acrylic paintings, Studio 8, Hong Kong. November - December 2003. Group Exhibition, Art in The Winter Gardens Exhibition, selected paintings, Lee Garden, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong June - July 2002. Solo Exhibition, Persona of Spirit, exhibition of new graphite drawings and paintings, Studio 8, Hong Kong. May 2003. Solo Exhibition Intrepid Terrain, exhibition of paintings. E&J Gallo Gallery, The Fringe Club, Hong Kong. June - July 2002. Solo Exhibition, Embryo of Intelligence, exhibition of graphite drawings, Home Boutique, Hong Kong.
33
Office & Studio Room 809, 8/F Hong Kong Chai Wan Industrial Building 26 Lee Chung Street Chai Wan, Hong Kong T: +852 2540 6267 M: +852 6838 8948 E:
nwy@normyip.com
http://normyip.com
34