Sculpting Dreams｜RAY. WONG & Sabeth Holland & Kuo Shu-Fan & Liu Yu-Chi｜Group Exhibition Introduction

Galerie Koo is delighted to announce its exciting group exhibition “Sculpting Dreams” by Hong Kong artists Ray Wong, Swiss artist Sabeth Holland and Taiwanese artists Kuo Shu-Fan & Liu Yu-Chi

Sculpture is an art that challenges intelligence, physical ability, perseverance, and science through the convergence and expansion of its structure, the strength and beauty of its form, and the stability and rigidity of its volume. Artists create new worlds through their vision, constructing the existence of nothingness and reality in their creations. In this exhibition we present three sculptors who bring us their imagination and discussion on nature, virtual reality, human nature and society.

RAY.WONG, Monkey King 2020, Resin, Wood, H22 x W8 x D8cm

RAY.WONG's work originated from his board game "Journey to the West". To turn a two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional piece, one must invest a lot of time in research and perseverance to mould a pile of clay into a "human form" and grant it "life" and "essence". This kind of sculpture with "form" and "spirit" is a fusion of the traditional and the modern, and his many years of experience have made the statues of the characters he created so vivid, as if they have been brought to life.

Sabeth Holland, Guardian Cat Lovable 2022, Polyurethane, acrylic, 22 karat gold, polymere finish, varnishes, waxing, H74 x W32 x D58 cm

Sabeth Holland’s creation process starts with a sensual conception. To her this is like collecting stories with lots of illustrations. She loves the possibility of interchanging experiences and fantasies. With her work, she wants to evoke feelings. She tries to depict the invisible, as quoted in Saint-Exupéry’s “Little Prince”, by the use of generally understandable colour contrasts, shapes and symbols. All her works transport a positive message.

Kuo Shu-Fan, I Want To Be Your Star 2023, H25 x W28 x D21 cm, Ceramic

Kuo Shu-Fan’s inspiration for ceramic creation can be traced back to her childhood memories of dolls and cartoon characters. This time, she uses clouds as the theme to express her thoughts on the postepidemic era. She loves to use clouds as a symbol for her work, as the shape of clouds is always in a state of flux and comes in a variety of forms, a befitting symbol for expressing her emotions. In this series, the title of each piece is an encouragement of love in the post-epidemic world.

Liu Yu-Chi, Beyond the Clouds 2023, H31 x W15 x D15 cm, Ceramic

Liu Yu-Chi's current series of works is based on the theme of "clouds". In the midst of daily exhaustion, she pours out her emotions by looking to the sky for temporary solace, and using the clouds as a container for her spiritual outpouring is a new mindfulness practice for her. To her, creation is a record of life, and the characters are often a projection of herself. Apart from the emotional connection, she also likes to challenge different forms and experiment with glazes, hoping to gradually advance herself by accumulating these experiences.

“We are delighted to showcase Ray Wong, Sabeth Holland, Kuo Shu-Fan and Liu Yu-Chi’s artworks to art and culture enthusiasts in Hong Kong,” says Cecilia Koo, gallerist of Galerie Koo. “Sculpture is no less difficult than painting. To create sculptures from flat forms, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of light and shadow, as well as the knowledge of three-dimensional spatial structure. Therefore, to turn a sculpture into the shape you have in mind, one needsto have solid artistic foundation.”

Galerie Koo continues to promote contemporary art with beauty and colours to art lovers of all levels domestically and internationally. The exhibition continues to make a contribution to promote Hong Kong’s cultural and creative industries.

Exhibition Details

• Sculpting Dreams｜RAY. WONG & Sabeth Holland & Kuo Shu-Fan & Liu Yu-Chi｜Group Exhibition
• Date: 23 Sep - 28 Oct 2023
• Time: 11:00-19:00 (Tue-Fri) | 12:00-17:00 (Sat) (Outside of opening hours, please contact info@galeriekoo.one for appointments)
• Venue: Galerie Koo
• Address: Galerie Koo, 7/F Vogue Building, 67 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong

About the artist – RAY. WONG

RAY.WONG is a Hong Kong sculptor who is deeply influenced by Renaissance art and film special effects. He studied under the famous sculptor Zhu Dacheng. Early in his career he successfully crowdfunded the board game “Journey to the West”, which showcased his international vision within traditional Asian culture. This was a huge success and made him a record holder in Hong Kong, with his work selling well in many European and American countries. With many years of commercial production and licensing experience, as well as being a sculpture instructor, Ray’s works are diverse in styles and he is skilled in using different materials for art creations, specialising in human body sculpture.

About the Artist – Sabeth Holland

Sabeth HOLLAND (b. in the Rhine Valley, 1959), is an established Swiss artist. After creating several projects on buildings, including the roundabout in Wittenbach, St. Gallen, Holland has her first exhibition in 1991 in “Galerie vor der Klostermauer”, St. Gallen; during the time, she showed works in gouache on paper. With her continuous development in art, HOLLAND now works with a multitude of medias on her paintings and sculptures, and installation works; where she kept painting the center of her art. HOLLAND’s creativeness is expressed with vibrant colours and energy, her joyous personality together with the use of multitude of medias on her paintings, sculptures and installations works… brings out the positive sensations and emotions among people! Her signature and unique works, full of vibrant colours, combined with her many talents and skills have led to her international success.

About the artist – Kuo Shu-Fan

Shu-Fan Kuo (b. 1988) graduated from the Department of Material Creation and Design at Tainan National University of the Arts. She was selected for the 2016 Biennale International de Ceramics de Marratxi, Spain, and in 2017, she was awarded the Jury Prize at the 11th International Ceramics Competition Mino, Japan. In 2017, he was awarded the Jury Prize at the 11th International Ceramics Competition Mino, Japan. Shu-Fan has extensive experience as an artist in residence, having lived and worked in Japan, Taiwan, Finland and Korea since 2015.

Kuo's creative style is influenced by cartoon comics, so he often uses a character as the carrier of his work, and uses the character to express the story of his daily life. This way of creating indirectly records the artist's daily life and inner feelings, and also demonstrates Kuo's attempt to pursue a better world through his own imagination.

About the artist – Liu Yu-Chi

Born in 1992, Liu Yuchi graduated from the Department of Visual Arts at Taipei City University. She majored in ceramics during her studies and has made ceramics her lifelong ambition. In July 2018, she moved to Taichung to work full-time as a ceramic artist and founded the brand Yu's Ceramics, which is responsible for the research and development of branded products, as well as the production and sales of the products; she continues to work hard on her ceramic journey.

Source of the above information: PR