Lam Tung-pang, "The Window Cannot be Seen No. 2," 2017

A prominent artist based in Hong Kong, Lam Tung-pang is best known for his charcoal and pigment works on wood panel. He received his Master of Fine Arts in London, UK, and, ironically, it was during his time there that he gravitated towards the long tradition of Chinese art, an area he had been uninterested in during his time studying art in Hong Kong. Seeking to remedy his previous lack of interest, Lam embraced his ignorance and began to willfully and playfully merge the different styles and eras of Chinese painting within his work. Subverting the standards of tradition, the artist combines imagery from Song dynasty masterpieces with Tang era motifs, experiments with modern color palettes, and incorporates contemporary mixed media, such as found objects. In "The Window Cannot be Seen" series, Lam finds particular inspiration in Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty woodblock prints, incorporating flashes of bright acrylic color. Perhaps as a nod to the wood-block process, Lam has begun to carve directly into his painting surfaces, exposing the bare wood underneath, developing a new vocabulary that blurs the boundaries between painting and object.

This item is available online only.