Raymond Fung
Born in 1952, Raymond Fung is an artist and architect from Hong Kong. Despite being highly recognised in Asia, his works have not been widely exhibited in the western art world. Currently, 3812 Gallery is presenting his first solo exhibition of contemporary ink paintings in London.
If you’d like to know more about his works and the exhibition, please visit "Between Breaths" or his Instagram.
About:
After dedicating himself to public architectural projects in Hong Kong for more than three decades, Fung decided to leave architecture behind and focus his attention on his art. He then began making exceptional contemporary ink paintings using a myriad of new pigments and materials, splashed ink painting techniques, and a western artistic representation of abstraction. There are indeed architectural elements in his works of art, allowing the viewers to ponder over the temporal-spatial relationship between mankind and nature.
18 SHADES IN INK SERIES, Ink and colour on paper, 136 x 280cm, 2018
Fung’s architectural pursuits and artistic practice in landscape paintings resonate with each other, allowing the viewers to immerse themselves in the exhibition space and therefore find their own inner peace and calm.
“Superficially, 18 Shades in Ink is a portrayal of the breath-taking beauty of landscape; but in fact, they represent eighteen different windows and perspectives of life that vary among viewers. Despite standing in front of the same window, we may still perceive different colours reflecting our state of mind, emotion, and mentality.”
18 SHADES IN INK SERIES at 3812 Gallery, London
BREATHING (4), Ink and colour on paper, 26 x 180cm, 2020
The Breathing series raises questions of whether our world nowadays is still breathing normally as it used to be. In response to the rising issues of global warming, contamination and Covid-19 pandemic, Fung deliberately adopted non-absorbent Japanese paper to prevent the ink permeating through it, mimicking people’s difficulties in breathing caused by the environmental threats. Fung endeavours to explore the literal qualities in Chinese painting.
BREATHING (23), Ink and colour on paper (Triptych), 90 x 270cm, 2021
“We are facing a widespread pandemic with many associated problems. How can we address that? This is something I'm trying to explore in Chinese painting. Something very literal.”
LIFE (2)(3), Ink and colour on paper, 43 x 43cm (x2), 2020
Fung used a daily object – cling wrap, to create the stem-like texture in his Breathing and Life series. He poured water and paints onto the non-absorbent paper, then covered it with a cling wrap, resulting in a variety of fissure after the colours collided with each other. He then meticulously worked with the coloured lines and transformed them into shapes and forms after a couple of hours of evaporation of the paints and water.
Fung will further explore new ways of representation one after another, continuously discovering the symbiotic relationship between his architecture and his artistic representations.
Selected Exhibitions:
Raymond Fung: Between Breaths
3812 Gallery, London
2 November, 2021 – 7 January, 2022
ONLINE: A “Liminal City” and Hong Kong Ink
3812 Gallery, Hong Kong
30 October, 2020 – 27 November, 2020
Reconnect
3812 Gallery, London
15 June, 2020 – 31 Oct, 2020
Reconnect
3812 Gallery, Hong Kong
15 June, 2020 – 31 Oct, 2020
