Richard Koh Fine Art, in collaboration with Finale Art File, presents recent works by Philippine visual artist Jonathan Ching in a one-man exhibition entitled And They Say the Stars Are Worlds. The show will be on view at RKFA Singapore from October 12 to 25, 2011.
Th exhibition presents recent paintings exploring the concept of parallel worlds: other realities undeciphered or undiscovered in our own immersion with the immediate and the present. Ching offers viewers paintings that engage both memory and possibility: open ended stories and representations of the everyday, rendered unfamiliar and strangely surreal.
Appropriating its title from a quotation from Thomas Hardy’s classic novel, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, the works in the show utilize images from familiar and alien locations, art works of the past and present, and everyday objects. Ching intentionally builds upon layers and layers of visual references—from Hokusai’s woodblock prints to Gericault’s oil paintings to Philippe Halsman’s underwater photography, for instance—and combines these disparate influences and images into singular works, sometimes splicing together different visual elements into a seemingly unified sequence. Ching also incorporates in his paintings bronze and copper pieces cast from found objects–seahorses and foliage, for instance—as markers of meaning. Ching’s works, though seemingly disparate in subject matter, are unified in their tangible sense of desolation and enchantment, inviting the viewer to venture further into their parallel worlds.
Manila-based artist Jonathan Ching is among the members of the defunct arts collective Surrounded by Water, which sucessfully established an alternative artist-run space from 1998 to 2004. He obtained degrees in Civil Engineering from De La Salle University and Fine Arts from the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
Parallel Worlds
“Did you say the stars were worlds, Tess?”
“Yes.”
“All like ours?”
“I don’t know, but I think so.
They sometimes seem to be like the apples on our stubbard-tree.
Most of them splendid and sound – a few blighted.”
“Which do we live on – a splendid one or a blighted one?”
“A blighted one.”
- Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles
In his latest one-man exhibition, titled after a quotation from Hardy’s classic novel, Jonathan Ching explores the idea of creating parallel worlds: other realities undeciphered or undiscovered in the face of our own immersion with the immediate and the present.
The works in the show, ranging from oil on canvas paintings to installations of found objects, juxtapose images from familiar locations, art works of the past and present, and everyday objects to create new scenes and contexts. Intentionally disparate and unrelated, Ching’s choice of images defy any obvious logic of sequence or narrative between themselves: a garden set, seascapes filled with bodies, an urban park divided by sunlight and shadow, the expanse of space enclosed in a desolate atrium. By doing this, the artist offers viewers a preview of different worlds, like what a folio of short stories or random recollections does.
He uses multiple sources of images to underscore the simultaneous representations that exist in our world. In one work, for instance, Ching intentionally builds upon layers and layers of visual references—from Hokusai’s woodblock prints to Gericault’s oil paintings to Philippe Halsman’s underwater photography—and combines these different influences and images into a singular scene, splicing together different visual elements into a seemingly unified sequence.
Ching also continues to experiment with fusing painting and sculpture—something he started in 2009—into a single work. By attaching to his paintings bronze and copper pieces cast from found objects—seahorses and foliage, for instance—he does beyond the two-dimensional limits of canvas and paint and additionally positions these objects as markers of meaning.
The strength of Ching’s art is how it engages both memory and possibility: open ended representations of the everyday, rendered unfamiliar and strangely surreal. Though seemingly disparate in subject matter, his works are unified in their tangible sense of desolation and enchantment, inviting the viewer to venture further into their parallel worlds.
Richard Koh Fine Art is located at 71 Duxton Road, Singapore, Singapore 089530. Representing contemporary South East Asian artists, the gallery is open from Tuesday-Friday (11:30 am-7:00 pm) and Saturday (12:00-6:00 pm). For inquiries, please contact info@rkfineart.com or +65.6221.1209 (phone) or visit their website at http://www.rkfineart.com.
The exhibition is organized in cooperation with Finale Art File, located at Warehouse 17, La Fuerza Compound, 2241 Chino Roces Avenue (Pasong Tamo), Makati City, Philippines. Gallery hours are from Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. For inquiries, contact the gallery at (632)813.2310 and (632)812.5034 ,or visit www.finaleartfile.com
The show was featured in Time Out Singapore http://www.timeoutsingapore.com/art/feature/spring-returns-and-the-winter-snow-melts-by-jonathan-ching
Thanks James!
Tags: 2011, Finale Art File, installation, oil painting + object, Richard Koh Fine Arts, Singapore