A Contemporary

A33 / Hong Kong / Singapore

+852-2868-0776
alvin@a-consultant.com.hk
https://www.agalleryasia.com/

Born in 1974 and based in Taiwan currently, Koon Wai Bong received his B.A. and M.F.A. from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and his D.F.A. from the RMIT University. He has attained many awards during his career including Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial Award in 2009, and widely exhibited his artworks in museums, galleries and art fairs across the world.

In his painting, the calligraphic expression of brushwork and the manifold layering of ink washing or colour tinting drive him to travel to ancient times and open a dialogue with the early masters. Nevertheless, he is concurrently conscious of a sense of contemporaneity and relish coming back to the present time, often by fragmenting his painting into multiple smaller panels. This format also prompts the audience to reconsider their modern-day visual viewing experience through a lens or a window.

None of the scenery in his work is a direct record of any real-life scene, each landscape motif is intended to reveal his understanding of nature and his feelings towards the scenic sites he has visited. Through the process of painting, his intention is not simply to construct what he has seen, but to deconstruct the scenes in his head and reconstruct a ‘mental landscape’ based on what he felt during his travels and what he imagined afterwards. That’s why his paintings can be perceived as an artistic means of transmitting emotion from the innermost part of his mind, and as a portal through which you can enter his spiritual reality and travel with him.

Wai Bong's brushwork dances to the rhythms of themes like "time and space" as well as "life and nature,” paving the way towards the joyful blooming of being. With delicate lines and colours, he infuses the paper or silk with the very essence of life, etching the beauty of landscape motifs such as a bamboo or a pine, or even a forest. His paintings transcend mere representation, drawing inspiration from the cultural meanings of Chinese apparel, gateways to his inner world. Such transformations of the garments invite us on a journey through time and space, exploring the hidden connections between past and present, nature and city.