Moon Knight
Subconsciously inspired by Marvel, Moon Knight: this composition was found hidden as I sped my lines across the page. There is a red figure and a black one with only the lips and the chin showing. I do want to draw your attention to the writings. I talked about calligraphy on another slide and this Chinese calligraphic writings in the background do not appear as you may think. These are Automatic writing, an idea I am putting forth to show what one can go beyond the calligraphic notion. Knowing the way to turn the brush/pen with stops and turns is mastered through practice. Must the rule be followed in terms of visual presentation?
Nirvana
Nirvana was one of the satisfying pieces as it demonstrates my focus on Chinese Art in terms of spatial presentation. I do not agree that Chinese Art must be related to ink washes and landscapes. Thinking out of the box, as an artist, I must blend all elements, concepts and skills to present in my own way. Simply naming something Asian or Western is a stagnant thought.
There is sexuality, there is ethnic features and there is lotus plants hidden within the piece, but these were not intentional, everything just surface from my subconscious.
Empress
Here is a three minute clip showing how my art works are conceived. Rendering is not the only way to generate an image. It is, in fact, quite cognitive and disturbs the original idea passed down from above. Therefore, I do not alter any lines but play along to seek for the hidden image.
One might say there is an influence of Klimt, but only in the use of gold. If you study my Art, it is more about Michelangelo! To see the figure inside the marble is the act I follow when I see the hidden compositions behind the haystack of lines.
There is also a Reuben's influence of lines making the composition flow or you may mention the act of Automatic Drawing from the Surrealist's concept of drawing from the psyche, which is really where my foundation lies. To top all that, L'automatisme was actually a Canadian discovery!
Equilibrium
This was a turning point in the discovery.
A line across the page in speed. It ends as soon as it began. The intuitive part ends where the cognitive part begins.
This is my two-staged creation at play in 2017.
Celestial Moon
The URL clip shows you an animated version of this painting and how the composition was found.
The hand contour actually was the first that stood out and finding the face follows.
Again, spatial presentation is the central idea throughout my works. I always wish to out-do my previous work and texture was another challenging aspect in this piece. Bit by bit, gold was painted onto the cobalt blue, giving it a sheen of reflection while presenting a bluish foundation.
Superstition
Calligraphy teaches us the way to create beautiful lines… and lines with characters too. I adapt the skills in my drawings as a line exploration. I try to push further this idea of calligraphy beyond the mere concept of writing words as the only communication stage between the artist and the viewers.
The clip below shows close ups of this small drawing to give you an idea of the details presented, even the cat image! That is why this is named Superstition.
About the Artist
Kire was juried into the North Park Gallery exhibition in Victoria upon graduation. Then the relocation diverted him into an education career for 20 years in Hong Kong. During that time, he experimented with calligraphy, both Chinese and Western, and the various disciplines of designs, installations among many other art forms.
He ended his teaching days and moved back to Canada for good in 2010. It was a time of change and so his Art followed. A few transformations during that time affirmed his mastery in line manipulation.
In 2014, his art steadily sunk into the psychology aspect of art. Using automatic drawing as a foundation discipline, his presentations swayed back and forth from abstractions to expressionism.
In 2018, he began to decipher figures from the haystack of swift automatic lines. The message from the psyche is a genuine outpour because no alterations were made in the creative process.
Kire is now residing in Edmonton. He received the 150 in 150 award in the visual arts category in 2017. His works have been sold to private collectors in the U.S., Canada, England and Hong Kong over the years.
His participation at Art Vancouver Fair 2023 was just done in May.
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Ethnic Origins
East Asian
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Languages
Cantonese, English
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My Disciplines
Visual Arts
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Artist Statement
When the best work comes from above, submission is the only way. Un-intention as intention, the muse leads and the artist finishes.
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What I'm Creating
L'AUTOMATISME NOUVELLE My creative process comes in two stages: the intuitive and the cognitive. The former would only take a minute or two to complete; lines are dropped subconsciously. The latter, linking and revealing the hidden forms. The aesthetic aspects such as color placement are cognitive decisions addressed in the second stage of reasoning is where the artistry is applied. It is also the part which we could objectively appreciate to justify the merits. L’automatisme, in its nature, poses no rational control, yet mastery could be infused subconsciously into the line qualities. An example would be our signatures, does one need to think of how the line goes having done a million times? It is a naturally expressed habit which involves even muscle memory. The idea is to leave the subconscious part `intact and finished’ before approaching further with skills and artistry, the subconscious voice is amplified, enhanced and solidify into impressions. ____________________________________ Pushing the practice further, anime and digital presentation would be explored. Collaboration with artists in the discipline would be what I look forward to.
Where I am on my Decolonization Journey
I grew up in my homeland,
educated in a foreign land.
This foreign land became my homeland.
I went back to the original one unwillingly.
Found myself always displaced.
This time, I am back to Canada, staying for good.