S-aan Ch'i & Brian Uhing: Procession of the Slightly Mad
For Art Fair Philippines, Art Verit茅 presents the two-artist show, Procession of the Slightly Mad by Brian Uhing and S-Ann Ch鈥檌. The exhibition is an unlikely pairing of two creative trajectories: Uhing hews closely to figurative surrealism while S-Ann Ch鈥檌 embodies the tenets of gestural abstraction. Their different temperaments notwithstanding, the exhibition showcases how generative and fruitful it is to think beyond the concerns of theme but instead focus on subtler traits of the painting medium, such as energy, exuberance, and engagement.
Such qualities are instantly discerned in the works of Uhing, who juxtaposes elements in a single painting. The reference for the figures appears to be Renaissance portraiture, with their brocaded outfits and magisterial poses. What could have been a straightforward depiction of a figure is upturned by an assortment of surprising objects: a table marked with the roundness of a single red apple, a billowing of clouds fastened to hair, a fish bowl through which the head gazes inquisitively. The humor is immediate and transportive: Uhing鈥檚 figures are denizens of a fantastical world, 鈥渢hough each piece was created as an independent act from each other,鈥� as the artist maintains.
Extending the whimsicality of the paintings three-dimensionally is the toy sculpture, 鈥淧hone with a Girl.鈥� The artist explains his concept: 鈥淎s the title hints, the girl has been delegated to being nothing but a backdrop, a fancy-laden table. The real subject of the piece is the phone, which documents her and the scene, and by doing so gives the situation meaning and value. There鈥檚 a slice of cake, but no fork to eat it with which further exposes the farce; a couple of roses are strewn at her feet, as offering to a life not truly experienced.鈥�
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For Art Fair Philippines, Art Verit茅 presents the two-artist show, Procession of the Slightly Mad by Brian Uhing and S-Ann Ch鈥檌. The exhibition is an unlikely pairing of two creative trajectories: Uhing hews closely to figurative surrealism while S-Ann Ch鈥檌 embodies the tenets of gestural abstraction. Their different temperaments notwithstanding, the exhibition showcases how generative and fruitful it is to think beyond the concerns of theme but instead focus on subtler traits of the painting medium, such as energy, exuberance, and engagement.
Such qualities are instantly discerned in the works of Uhing, who juxtaposes elements in a single painting. The reference for the figures appears to be Renaissance portraiture, with their brocaded outfits and magisterial poses. What could have been a straightforward depiction of a figure is upturned by an assortment of surprising objects: a table marked with the roundness of a single red apple, a billowing of clouds fastened to hair, a fish bowl through which the head gazes inquisitively. The humor is immediate and transportive: Uhing鈥檚 figures are denizens of a fantastical world, 鈥渢hough each piece was created as an independent act from each other,鈥� as the artist maintains.
Extending the whimsicality of the paintings three-dimensionally is the toy sculpture, 鈥淧hone with a Girl.鈥� The artist explains his concept: 鈥淎s the title hints, the girl has been delegated to being nothing but a backdrop, a fancy-laden table. The real subject of the piece is the phone, which documents her and the scene, and by doing so gives the situation meaning and value. There鈥檚 a slice of cake, but no fork to eat it with which further exposes the farce; a couple of roses are strewn at her feet, as offering to a life not truly experienced.鈥�
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