Pearl Lam Galleries at Art Busan 2019 ｜Stand A-19

Busan—Pearl Lam Galleries is pleased to announce its upcoming participation in the eighth edition of Art Busan, one of Asia’s fastest growing art fairs. The fair attracts top-tier and up-and-coming contemporary art galleries and collectors from around the world. 164 galleries from 17 countries are taking part in this year’s fair, located in the renowned waterfront city of Busan.

At its stand at Art Busan, the Galleries will present a solo exhibition by Chinese abstract artist Zhou Yangming, featuring a selection of paintings created between 2007 to 2018. Meanwhile, a selection of new sculptures by Yinka Shonibare CBE, a British-born African artist, will be presented in the form of a special exhibition. 

Stand A-19

Private Preview:

30 May, 3 – 8pm

Public Opening:

31 – 1 June, 11am – 8pm; 

2 June, 11am – 6pm

Venue:

BEXCO Exhibition Center Hall 1

55 APEC-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan 48060, Korea

ZHOU YANGMING, 20190111, 2019, Arcylic on canvas, 210 x 180 cm

Zhou Yangming’s paintings illustrate a unique concept of space that is born out of a relationship between movement and transformation. They do not possess a logical narrative. Zhou’s oeuvre focuses on repetition, continuity, and achieving a mental clarity through self-cultivation to reach a spiritual infinity. By using markers, Chinese ink, and acrylic paint in a disciplined manner, the artist negotiates the formal structure of painting through an intricate system of vertical and horizontal lines as well as dots. Painting these lines and dots has become a part of the artist’s everyday life. He paints them meticulously in order to express his own fluctuating and serene emotions. Zhou creates different colour fields and leaves tiny spaces in between shapes to create an illusion. The artist then applies a second layer by painting line upon line and dot upon dot in dialogue with the background colour, enticing viewers to study the painting more closely. Zhou shifts his focus to the toe of the brush by emptying his mind, which he hopes will deeply resonate with Korean audiences.

ZHOU YANGMING, 20130418, 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 85 x 62 cm

In contrast, Yinka Shonibare explores the “duality of history” and “cultural hybridism” in his works. He understands that written history is intrinsically relative and has at least two sides, and that no historical account describes the absolute truth. Heroes written in history were also inevitably cruel invaders to some people. As a person who has experienced both African and Western culture, Shonibare audaciously inspects how Eurocentrism and racism are profoundly and inconsiderately entrenched in Western society. He criticizes imperialism, colonialism, and the misrepresentations of the past with his unique sense of humour and use of Dutch wax fabric with brilliantly colorful abstract patterns. Dutch wax fabric is widely viewed as native to Africa, yet the fabric originated from the former Dutch colony of Indonesia and was introduced to Africa by the British Empire; Shonibare successfully captures the irony of how a symbol of Africa is the product of imperialism and colonialism. With Korea being a country that has experienced and suffered from the prolonged aggression of imperialism, this special exhibition aims to provide a unique opportunity for Korean viewers to engage with issues related to colonialism through Shonibare’s unique sculptural works.

About the Artists

Zhou Yangming was born in 1971 in Taizhou, Zhou currently lives in a suburb of Zhejiang province. Zhou studied at China Academy of Art, the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University, and Xu Beihong’s studio at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Zhou Yangming has held various solo exhibitions as well as participated in group exhibitions in China, Europe, and the USA. Important solo exhibitions include Continuum (2019) and Begin Again (2017) at Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong, China; Zhou Yangming Recent Works (2012), Galerie Frank Schlag & Cie., Essen, Germany and Meticulous Transcendence (2005), Onemoon Art, Beijing, China. Selected group exhibitions include Lingering Manifestations (2018), Pearl Lam Galleries, Singapore; Emptiness in Time (2016), BA Art Space, Shanghai, China; Simple Is Good (2015), Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China; Virtual Transcend Power—Six Chinese Abstract Artists (2014), Museum für Aktuelle Kunst – Sammlung Hurrle, Germany; Immaculate (2014), Da Xiang Art Space, Taichung, Taiwan; China–Germany: Abstract Painting Today (2012), WILO Germany, Dortmund, Germany; Yi Pai—Century Thinking (2009), Today Art Museum, Beijing, China; and Yi Pai: 30 Years of Chinese “Abstraction” (2008), CaixaForum, Palma/Barcelona/Madrid, Spain.

Yinka Shonibare CBE was born in 1962 in London, Shonibare moved to Lagos, Nigeria at the age of three. After he returned to the UK in 1978, he contracted a rare inflammatory illness when he was 18, resulting in a physical disability. Shonibare received his MFA from Goldsmiths College in 1989 and is part of the generation of Young British Artists. He was a Turner Prize nominee in 2004 and has participated in many renowned exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale and Kassel documenta. In 2010, “Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle” became his first public art commission on the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square. In October 2013, the artist was elected as a Royal Academician, and in January 2019, he was awarded the decoration of the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE). Shonibare currently lives and works in London.

About Pearl Lam Galleries

Founded by Pearl Lam, Pearl Lam Galleries is a driving force within Asia’s contemporary art scene. With over 20 years of experience exhibiting Asian and Western art and design, it is one of the leading and most established contemporary art galleries to be launched out of China. 

Playing a vital role in stimulating international dialogue on Chinese and Asian contemporary art, the Galleries is dedicated to championing artists who re-evaluate and challenge perceptions of cultural practice from the region. The Galleries in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore collaborate with renowned curators, each presenting distinct programming from major solo exhibitions, special projects and installations to conceptually rigorous group shows. Based on the philosophy of Chinese literati where art forms have no hierarchy, Pearl Lam Galleries is dedicated to breaking down boundaries between different disciplines, with a unique gallery model committed to encouraging cross-cultural exchange. 

Further building on the Galleries’ commitment in Asia, Pearl Lam Galleries is delighted to announce the opening of its new gallery space in Singapore at Dempsey Hill in March 2019. The four gallery spaces of Pearl Lam Galleries in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore represent an increasingly influential roster of contemporary artists. Chinese artists Su Xiaobai and Zhu Jinshi, who synthesize Chinese sensibilities with an international visual language, are presented internationally with work now included in major private and public collections worldwide. The Galleries has also introduced leading international artists, such as Leonardo Drew, Jenny Holzer, Carlos Rolón/Dzine, and Yinka Shonibare MBE, to markets in the region, providing opportunities for new audiences in Asia to encounter their work. Pearl Lam Galleries encourages international artists to create new work which engages specifically with the region, collaborating to produce thought-provoking, culturally relevant work.