JOE FAN
Counting Leaves
JOE FAN Counting Leaves 1 – 29 May 2019
Foreword Welcome to the fascinating, mysterious world of Joe Fan. His work, which embraces landscape, still life and suggested narrative, defies categorisation, although we can perhaps be unsurprised he works in Aberdeen, from where an elusive strain apparent in James Cowie, Alexander Fraser and Joyce Cairns could be called Aberdonian Magic Realism. But a closer reading reveals how Fan has harnessed many other influences, including Medieval tapestry, traditional Chinese painting, and the Northern European Renaissance, where an angel can appear more like a peasant than an ethereal being. He uses spatial and scale distortions: a man can dwarf a tree, plants spring impossibly from a tiny stem, decorated with disparate fruit; architecture floats, like lily pads in the sky. The imagery becomes personal and speaks directly to the child’s experience, to The Singing Ringing Tree, to The Box of Delights or any deeply felt, early sense of the magical, for which we all search again for spiritual guidance. His exhibition title Counting Leaves speaks to the idea of an impossible quest and perhaps one that the artist has undertaken: he is guide and mentor as he invites us to join him in a magical storybook, each painting a new chapter. Even his palette eschews the technicolour of our times for a cool, dry, mineral colour scheme close to Mantegna, Bellini or The Wizard of Oz. This is Fan’s first show with The Scottish Gallery and we are thrilled to work with such an original talent. We are grateful also to Frances Walker, a long-term friend and mentor, for her insightful words on the following pages. Guy Peploe The Scottish Gallery
right: Joe Fan’s studio, January 2019 2
Counting Leaves Joe Fan came to Aberdeen from Hong Kong in 1979 when he was 17, now 40 years later he is a kenspeckle member of the Aberdeen and wider Scottish artist community. After spending his early years in Aberdeen attending the College of Commerce, studying English then Graphic Design, Joe Fan was encouraged by lecturers James Furneaux and Donald Kelman to apply to Gray’s School of Art. In 1984 he started his course there and studied painting. Joe was appreciative of the teaching and influence of his lecturers at Gray’s: identifying Sylvia Wishart as inspirational to his early development, and remembers an overall happy time of progress in learning and artist practice. Every year a few fortunate students from the then four Scottish art schools were offered the opportunity to spend the summer living, and working together at Hospitalfield Art College, Arbroath. For Joe that was the summer of 1987. Following his graduation from Gray’s School of Art with a First Class Honours Degree in 1988 he won the Miller Homes Young Scottish Artist of the year which took him to the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. Back in Aberdeen at the end of 1989 he was invited by Arthur Watson of Peacock Print Studio to have his first solo show in the Peacock Visual Arts Centre. From 1990–1997 Joe was a lecturer in Drawing and Painting at Gray’s School of Art where Joyce Cairns was also a lecturer and Sandy Fraser was Head of Painting. From 1997 Joe has been a full-time artist and every two years from 2000 he has had a solo exhibition at the Thackeray Gallery, London. In 2003 he was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Academy. This exhibition Counting Leaves at The Scottish Gallery is his first major solo show in Edinburgh. left: Light on at Garden 9, 2018 (cat. 22) on studio wall 5
In the centre of Aberdeen, not far from the home he shares with Fiona and their two children, Joe Fan can be found in his studio; one of many studios occupied by artist friends and colleagues in the WASPS building. On the walls of Joe’s studio hang several drawings made with a black or red conté pencil line gliding over crisp handmade paper; and if Joe finds it necessary to extend the drawing, more pieces of this handmade paper are added on. These drawings form the source material of his paintings and are a very special, uniquely identifiable aspect of Joe’s work. Drawings are translated by a brush line onto canvas as underlying composition for the paintings. Those paintings most often reflecting the continuing narrative of ‘The Boy’ on his wander of wonder where he searches and makes discoveries with delight, surprise and humour within an enclosed garden space or room. Here, clouds billow across the sky and often also benignly through the garden revealing trees, bushes, flowers, fruit, animals, birds, tiny buildings, tables set like art school still lives, chairs, walkways and ladders to climb to different levels. There are changes of the time of day, season, weather and mood in these contemplative, intriguing, joyful drawings and paintings of the world of Joe Fan. Frances Walker RSA, RSW
right: Joe Fan in his Aberdeen studio, January 2019 6
Frances Walker is one of Scotland’s most highly regarded living artists. Born in Kirkcaldy in 1930, Frances Walker studied at Edinburgh College of Art and then took up a post as visiting teacher of art for the Hebrides. This experience engendered in her a life-long love of wild and desolate places and since then she has chosen to depict the most remote landscapes, her compositions usually based on coastal reaches, craggy rocks and deserted beaches. Moving to Aberdeen, Walker took up a post at Gray’s School of Art, where she taught for many years. Since retirement, she has divided her time between Aberdeen and the Western Isles, especially Tiree, where she owns a thatched cottage, but more recently has also travelled further afield – her latest inspiration being the even wilder and more desolate landscape of the Antarctic, South Georgia and Iceland.
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My work is historically referenced by the early Renaissance, as in Giotto and Bellini, where the figures and landscapes are enclosed within an Arcadian sense. This is the aspirational world of the ascending figures within my work. I am both attracted to and influenced by the primitive, dreamlike rockiness of this art. On a more contemporary level it would be a failure to neglect the Picasso influence of fragmentation of space, and Cezanne’s treatment of pictorial plane within my work. I’m not sure where the swirling paths, mountain roads and garden gates are leading me – but I certainly know it has led me from my studio to someplace I can call my own. Joe Fan
1/ Prayer at Stolen Moon, 2018 oil on canvas, 99 x 99 cm 8
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2/ Blue Drizzle, 2016 oil on canvas, 51 x 40.5 cm 10
3/ Babel Re-Imagined, 2018 oil on canvas, 122 x 91.5 cm 11
4/ Pop-up Diary, 2017 oil on canvas, 106.5 x 86.5 cm 12
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5/ Winter Tale, 2014 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 45.5 x 55.5 cm 14
6/ Spring Time Chaos, 2017 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 48 x 45.5 cm 15
Joe [Fan’s] art reflects greater themes of the personal odyssey framed within the smaller compassionate scale. His pragmatic references here relate to gardens, but not gardening, where the Homeric and Hellenic tradition is played out within themes of the mundane – the fence, the cloud lantern and the organic form with the all-pervading sense of the broken journey. The everyday event takes on the epic; the journey across the playground; the reflective walk and everywhere that sense that nature is encroaching and encompassing a sense of growth and belonging. The viewer should also not underestimate Joe’s sense of humour with his fracturing of scale and form and the recurring theme of the rabbit… These gardens of earthly delight become real within the confluence of the practised mark and the reflective, crepuscular grey tones. Extract from Rory Lynch, November 2014 for the publication Joe Fan, With Love from Ithaka, 25th Anniversary Show, Thackeray Gallery, London
7/ Bridge above the Hidden Book of Wonder and Night Curtain with Floating Feather (diptych), 2014–19 oil on canvas, 91.5 x 142 cm 16
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8/ Kite, 2016 oil on canvas, 51 x 40.5 cm 18
9/ Ghost, 2014 oil on canvas, 30.5 x 22.5 cm 19
10/ Painting the Cloud, 2014 oil on canvas, 22.5 x 30.5 cm 20
11/ Man on the Bridge, 2014 oil on canvas, 22.5 x 30.5 cm 21
12/ Celebration at Dawn, 2014–18 oil on canvas, 137 x 45.5 cm 22
13/ 23 Miles to the Sea, 2014 oil on canvas, 116.5 x 89 cm 23
Joe Fan refuses to explain or interpret his art other than through the randomness of his individual mark a thought organic forms present in challenging degrees of perspective. The journey is a consistent theme here and Joe’s odyssey is played out within the thoroughfares of his personal journey, the playgrounds of the world and the seeking for the journey’s end. From a post-wasteland sense of despair comes a sense of hope. Shape and form coalesce into the deconstruction of space and scale with that sense of upward movement that is redolent of all Joe’s work. Joe’s simple assertion that his art should reflect a ‘truthfulness’ to self is critique enough. Extract from Rory Lynch, November 2014 for the publication Joe Fan, With Love from Ithaka, 25th Anniversary Show, Thackeray Gallery, London
14/ Winter Harvest, 2014 oil on canvas, 71 x 91.5 cm 24
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15/ Prayer Booth, 2010 oil on canvas, 30.5 x 30.5 cm 26
16/ Looking for BoBo, 2010 oil on canvas, 38 x 38 cm 27
17/ The Telling of Time, 2018 oil on canvas, 152.5 x 122 cm 28
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18/ Interior with Five Level Playing Fields, 2018 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 76 x 45.5 cm 30
19/ Three Level Playing Fields, 2018 oil on canvas, 122 x 91.5 cm 31
The narrative, constructed from the figurative within the landscape, gives a sense of curiosity and universality. The buildings and particularly the scaffolded plateaus are stages whereon the world is played out and infers the fragility and transience of the scene and creates hidden and intimate spaces. I can cut down trees or shrink churches to allow the sun or the moon to shine through or make way for a wandering cloud. Occasionally I use the light bulb as an obvious device to both illustrate and illuminate these spaces. Joe Fan
20/ Landscape Painter of the Day, 2018 oil on canvas, 122 x 91.5 cm 32
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21/ Light off at Garden 9, 2018 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 63.5 x 48 cm 34
22/ Light on at Garden 9, 2018 oil on canvas, 122 x 91.5 cm 35
23/ Botanic Reunion, 2018 oil on canvas, 91.5 x 122 cm 36
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24/ Chairs Reconstruction, 2010 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 16.5 x 17.5 cm 38
25/ Musical Chairs, 2010 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 16.5 x 15 cm 39
In Ancient Chinese culture, the rabbit is regarded as a divine image which also symbolises the Moon as it was believed there was a rabbit living on the moon. They could see it on the shiny full moon on Mid-Autumn Day (the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar). Rabbits, pronounced ”Tu” in Chinese, are also a symbol of longevity and the embodiment of cleverness. The swallow is a messenger of spring and happiness and seen as a symbol of good fortune. If swallows nest in the roof of a Chinese family’s house, the hosts will never disturb them, because it is believed that it will bring luck to the family. The number six, pronounced as “Liù”, is similar to the character 流 (Liú) which means “to flow”. The number eight is associated with prosperity.
26/ Calendar, 2018 oil on canvas, 122 x 91.5 cm 40
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27/ Mezzanine at Gray’s, 2018 oil on canvas, 122 x 89 cm 42
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This is a body of work of the road less travelled. It is less to do with the narrative distance and more related to the art of being and becoming. Joe’s art sings the body electric of hope. Extract from Rory Lynch, November 2014 for the publication Joe Fan, With Love from Ithaka, 25th Anniversary Show, Thackeray Gallery, London
28/ Four Seasons in a Daze, 2012–18 oil on canvas, 160 x 142 cm 44
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29/ The Re-Telling of Time, 2018 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 63.5 x 48 cm (study drawing for cat. 17, p.29) 46
30/ Garden with Hanging Cloud, 2014 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 53 x 68.5 cm 47
31/ Mezzanine, 2018 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 30.5 x 22.5 cm (study drawing for cat. 27, p.43) 48
32/ Map Reader, 2018 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 61 x 53 cm 49
33/ Flight to Fontainebleau, 2019 oil on canvas, 152.5 x 175 cm 50
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34/ Avid Amateur Cartographer, 2018 oil on canvas, 122 x 91.5 cm 52
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I draw using contÊ pencil on handmade paper for its texture and soft tones. I find the actual drawing process is therapeutic, controlled, organic and automatic. The drawing is integral to the possibility of any painting, the potential for more ambitious scale and the excitement of that possibility. This process can take several days or weeks. The painting references the drawing in structure and while it’s the back bone of the finished work, it serves as a template for further development of personal themes. The finished painting references the drawing but is an evolving and separate creative process. Significantly, the drawing continues throughout the painting process. There are always more surprises and unexpected dramas that appear within the larger scale after the initial drawing. Joe Fan
35/ Garden of Counting Leaves, 2018 contĂŠ on handmade paper, 73.5 x 53 cm 54
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I use a recurring thematic response within my work that has a level of consistency across the paintings. Significant among these are the rabbit, the inquisitive head, the hanging bird and the opulent fruit with it’s inference of potential decay. These responses have special meaning as well as purpose and relate to childhood memory, first artistic experiences and memories of cultural awareness. Joe Fan
36/ Counting Leaves, 2019 oil on canvas, 152.5 x 122 cm 56
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JOE FAN RSA Joe Fan, born in Hong Kong in 1962, came to Scotland to study Graphic Design at Aberdeen College of Commerce. He was then advised by an Aberdeen College lecturer to apply for a place at Gray’s School of Art to study Fine Art. After successfully gaining a place at Gray’s, one of his teachers was Gordon Bryce. Following graduation in 1988, Joe won the Miller Homes Young Scottish Artist of the Year, and was sent to Paris to spend time at the Cité Internationale des Arts from 1989–1990. From 1990–1997, Joe returned to Aberdeen and became a Lecturer at Gray’s School of Art in Drawing and Painting. During this period, Joe also spent time as a visiting lecturer at Cyprus College of Art, Paphos in 1994. Joe Fan has been a full-time artist since 1997 based in Aberdeen.
AWARDS 2016 W Gordon Smith Prize, shortlisted 2016 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, runner-up 2012 Aberdeen Artists Society Annual Exhibition (Commended) 2012 Meffan Winter Exhibition (1st Prize) 2010 Aberdeen Artists Society Annual Exhibition (3rd Prize) 2009 Aberdeen Artists Society Annual Exhibition (2nd Prize) 2004 Sir William Gillies Bequest, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh 2003 Elected Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh 2002 Shell Expo Premier Award, Aberdeen Artists Society (1st Prize) 1998 Noble Grossart Painting Competition (3rd Prize) 1997 Portland Gallery Award, RSA, Edinburgh 1995 The Morrison Portrait Award (1st Prize) 1994 The Guthrie Award, RSA, Edinburgh 1993 Royal Overseas League National Art Competition (1st Prize) 1988 Miller Home Young Scottish Artist Award 1997 Wood Group Young Artists Award (1st Prize) 1985 Rank Xerox Selected National Competition (1st Prize) Commonwealth Section
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SOLO SHOWS 2019 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 2017 Thackeray Gallery, London 2014 Thackeray Gallery, London 2014 The Lyth Arts Centre, Wick 2011 Fraser Gallery, St. Andrews 2007 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh 2005 Rendezvous Gallery, Aberdeen 2000–2012 Thackeray Gallery, London 1995/96/99 Rendezvous Gallery, Aberdeen 1994 Royal Overseas League, London and Edinburgh 1991 Thackeray Rankin Gallery, London 1991 Compass Gallery, Glasgow 1989 Peacock Visual Arts Centre, Aberdeen 1989 Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS INCLUDE Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums, Aberdeen Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow The Marlow Art Collection, London Miller Homes Art Collection, London Rank Xerox, London The Soho Hotel, London Crosby Street Hotel, New York Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh The Scottish Arts Council Collection, Edinburgh Unilever Art Collection, London Jones Day, London
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Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition JOE FAN Counting Leaves 1 – 29 May 2019 Exhibition can be viewed online at www.scottish-gallery.co.uk/joefan ISBN: 978-1-910267-99-8 Designed by Kenneth Gray Photographed by Stuart Johnstone Printed by Barr Colour Printers
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my family in Hong Kong, Glasgow, and Birmingham, thanks for their support and faith in me. Thanks also to the staff at The Scottish Gallery and Christina Jansen for her time and guidance. Stuart Johnstone the photographer for his usual excellent lens work. A special thank you to Frances Walker for her time, company and advice over many cups of coffee. Remembering John Gordon Brown.
All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers.
Cover: Bridge above the Hidden Book of Wonder and Night Curtain with Floating Feather (diptych), 2014–19, oil on canvas, 91.5 x 142 cm (cat. 7) (detail) 60