YIP FUNG | Recent Works 03 December 2018
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Artist Statement After delving into various medium and styles of expression, I have arrived at a language of painting that nearly comes full circle from my earliest works, which I can safely say is abstract expressionism or dare I say a derivative thereof. It may be because I still believe that painting and the act of applying colour onto a flat canvas or surface are rooted in our earliest beginnings, as witnessed in cavemen paintings. The act of recording and expression is paramount in my work. Mark-making and gesture contains within it meaning and intention on an unconsious level. An unromantic notion prevails: it is what I leave behind in form that is the goal of my existence. I don’t feel it is about love nor compassion. That would be too lofty, but perhaps its a way out of this singular consciousness. In each of the sections, I have given an account of what the process involved in my thinking, whether consciously or postrationalised, to the audience. YIP FUNG
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Selected Works 03 December 2018
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Le tourbillon de la vie & Visitation Series After an unsettling few months during recovery from a dog bite and drawing only on paper and smaller works, I finally came back to painting onto a large canvas. Drawing upon the work from Ode to New York, the paintings that surfaced became a mixture of bold and thick brushstrokes combined with drip marks. The title is Le tourbillon de la vie, which translates to the whirlwind of life, describes perfectly the way I am feeling. The additional work entitled Visitation borrows from the works of Le tourbillon. It is essentially a continuation and morphing of elements into something that is more recognisable as cloud formations or floating objects in the sky.
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YIP FUNG Lemuria, No. 5, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 100H x 100W cm
Most of my paintings in my current work in the Visitation and Lemuria series have been painted on larger canvases. My gestures have developed a certain pattern of movement and I wasn’t sure it the pieces could translate to a smaller 1 x 1 meter painting. It seems to have worked in this painting Lemuria, No. 5, retaining much of the langage and expression in the earlier, larger works.
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YIP FUNG Lemuria, No. 3, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 122H x 122W cm
This is a continuation of the Lemuria series of paintings, whereby I am solidifying a language or of using brushstroke and gestures in creating an olourful, lush and ominous abstract landscapes. I am experiencing both darkness and light in my life right now, with perhaps more fear of the unknown. Thus it is fitting to keep this in the Lemuria series versus the other previous paintings. There is both chaos and structure in my works, never wanting to appear contrived.
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YIP FUNG Lemuria, No. 2, 2018 Acrylic and pastel on canvas 152H x 96W cm
Lemuria, No. 2 several months to complete. It was an ambitious start, and then it came to a point where I was struggling to find its way. Nothing was coming out the way I wanted it to, even when I consciously ‘let it go’. And so it sat there on the side. I didn’t even want to look at it. Then one day, I pulled myself together and began to begin fresh, but without white-washing half or all of what I had completed earlier. I recreated a composition and overlaid the existing flesh. It took several more weeks to complete this, always somewhat hesitant of the outcome, and as if by some force, the painting was telling me how to proceed, whereas before, I was leading and forcing it into something that wasn’t meant to be. It has become a new soul, enriched with colors and complexity, chaos and order that is of its own voice. I had to really let go of my inclination to dictate it’s path.
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YIPFUNG Visitation, No. 9, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 122H x 122W cm
After the successful showing at The Other Art Fair New York 2018 with the sale of Visitation, No. 2, I decided to continue my work along this line. After struggling with several paintings, I finally felt I found the rhythm of what I had created in the original version. Dissecting my own artwork is not easy, as I had to review my own process of creating and destroying (covering up). This is the first artwork that I felt contained the right energy and vibrancy as Visitation, No. 2, but with it’s own identity.
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YIPFUNG
Lemuria Rising, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 152H x 96W cm
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YIPFUNG Visitation, No. 8, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 100H x 100W cm
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YIP FUNG Lemuria, No. 3, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 122H x 122W cm
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YIPFUNG
Visitation, No. 2, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 180H x 120W cm SOLD
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Visitation No. 1, 2017 Acrylic on canvas 153H x 96W cm
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YIPFUNG Visitation, No. 7, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 100H x 100W cm
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YIPFUNG Le tourbillon de la vie, No. 1, 2017 Acrylic on canvas 140H x 140W cm
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YIPFUNG Le tourbillon de la vie, No. 2, 2017 Acrylic on canvas 140H x 140W cm
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YIPFUNG Le tourbillon de la vie, No. 3, 2017 Acrylic on canvas 122H x 147W cm
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YIPFUNG Visitation, No. 5, 2018 Acrylic on canvas 100H x 100W cm
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Visitation No. 3, 2018 Mixed-media on canvas 120H x 180W cm
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Visitation No. 4, 2018 Mixed-media on canvas 120H x 180W cm
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Biography
YIP FUNG (č‘‰ç ƒ )was born in Canada in 1963 by Chinese parents. He is also known as photographer Norm Yip. After studying fine art in Saskatchewan and architecture in Toronto, he moved to Hong Kong where began working as an architect. In 1999, he decided to transition into fine art and photography, following his deeper passion into his personal interests. He formed a collective called Melo-Melo Artist Alliance with several friends. It was then that his journey into art began. Oscillating between photography as a main source of income and painting as a hobby, he began to assert more attention and time to the latter. He has exhibited mostly in Hong Kong in group exhibitions, yet has recently exhibited in Zurich, Switzerland and The Other Art Fair in New York.
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Exhibitions & Events
2018, How the Queens Stole XXXMas, Pop-up of Selected Paintings, Ozone, Ritz-Carleton, Hong Kong 2018, Clifford Chance Arcus Pride Art, Painting and Photography, Group Exhibition, Clifford Chance Office, Hong Kong 2018, Community Business Charity Event, Painting, Group Exhibition, Hotel Icon, Hong Kong 2018, The Other Art Fair Brooklyn 2018, Paintings, Solo Exhibitor, Brooklyn Expo Centre, Brooklyn, New York 2018, Love & Inclusion, Aids Concern, Group Exhibition, City Hall, Hong Kong 2017, Identity, Pink Season Event, Group exhibition, Era Barbers, Hong Kong 2017, Embryo Collection, Graphite Drawings, Solo Exhibition of Graphite Artworks, Consigg Art, Hong Kong
2016, Clifford Chance Pride Art Exhibition, Painting, drawing and photography, Group Exhibition, Clifford Chance Office, Hong Kong. 2015, Clifford Chance Pride Art Exhibition, Painting, drawing and photography, Group Exhibition, Clifford Chance Office, Hong Kong 2014, Embryo, Graphite drawing exhibition, Solo Exhibition, L’s Where, Hong Kong 2014, Andy Warhol X Absolut, Pink Season Factor, Painting, Group Exhibition, Azure Restaurant, Hong Kong 2013, Story of the Creative, Selected 3 dye transfer artworks appear in See | Exhibition Space, Group Exhibition, Angel Orensanz Foundation, New York 2012, Seven Deadly Sins, Curated and participated in a mixed media exhibition., Group Exhibition, Voxfire Gallery, Hong Kong
2016, The Wild Collection, Selected paintings from Seven Sacred Sins collection, Group Exhibition, Awethentic Gallery / Consigg Limited, Hong Kong
2011, Reborn – The Gallery, Group exhibition for Japan earthquake charity. Selected images from the “Adam” series, Group Exhibition, Hollywood Plaza, Hong Kong
2016, Two Minds One World, Paintings and photographs, Group exhibition with Alexis Reynaud, Gallery Box, Zurich, Switzerland
2009 , Zonta Club of Hong Kong II, Graphite drawings. Charity Art Sale, Group Exhibition, Rotunda, Exchange Square, Hong Kong
2016, Aids Concern Charity Event, Painting Rapture No. 2, Group exhibition, Aids Concern, Hong Kong
2005, Moonstruck, Acrylic painting submission, Group exhibition, Club 64 and the Venice Biennale 2005, Hong Kong and Venice
2016, Pulsation, Solo painting and drawing exhibition, Solo Exhibition, Tree of Life, Hong Kong
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2005, Nasi Campur, Painting, Group exhibition, Gallery Taksu, Kuala Lumpur
2004, Secret Constellations, Painting, Solo Exhibition, Studio 8 HK, Hong Kong 2003, Art in The Winter – Gardens Exhibition, Painting, Group exhibition, Lee Garden, Hong Kong 2002 , Persona of Spirit, Painting, Solo Exhibition, Studio 8 HK, Hong Kong 2003, Intrepid Terrain, Painting, Solo Exhibition, E&J Gallo Gallery, The Fringe Club, Hong Kong 2002, Embryo of Intelligence, Graphite drawings, Solo Exhibition, Home Boutique, Hong Kong 2002 , Verge, Paintings and Graphite Drawings, Solo exhibition, 5 opt Studio/Gallery, Hong Kong 2002, Buddha Buddha, Paintings, Group Exhibition, Studio 8 HK, Hong Kong 2001, Navigation, Paintings, Solo Exhibition, Studio 8 HK, Hong Kong 2000 , First Level, Graphite Drawings, Solo Exhibition, Meli-Melo Artists Alliance, Hong Kong 1999, Entanglement, Paintings & Photography, Group Exhibition, Meli-Melo Artists Alliance, Hong Kong
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