THE INTANGIBLE REALM
by Sand Wan
Sand Wan's April 2023 photography exhibition curated by Steven Dragonn
Duration:
-
April 19th - May 12th
Location: 106-8889 Laurel St, Vancouver
Exhibition Details:
-
Opening Event on April 19, 6-9 pm
-
Free Admission
-
Free Parking Outside
Closing Event-Wujing Charity Event:
-
May 12, 2023 6 pm
-
Doors open at 6:00 pm
-
Free Parking
-
Richmond Hospital Foundation Donation link here!
-
Online Auction form here!
Gallery Hours:
Wed: 12:00 am - 6:00 pm
Thu: 12:00 am - 6:00 pm
Fri: 12:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sat: 12:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sun: 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
With the closing event - Wuijing Charity Event
Mr. Wan has generously donated one of his artworks to the Richmond Hospital Foundation.
Online Auction:
-
Value: CAD 3600
-
Starting Bidding: CAD 1800
Fill up your bidding price here!
<< THE INTANGIBLE REALM>>
Silence & Stillness No.1- 2019
THE EXHIBITION
Before Modernism came on the scene, people's pursuit of art mostly rested on aesthetic judgement. Since beauty can arouse emotions, it was thought to be the source of art. Reflecting on the conspiracy behind aesthetics, avant-garde of Modernism made various outlandish attempts to strip naked Beauty and expose the rot inside. Photography, as a form of presentation being considered more scientific and objective at the time, brought a revolutionizing impact
on the matter, and steered art to change direction. It can be said that seeking truth has been one of the most important topics in art since the twentieth century. However, in the process of continuously discovering 'truth,' aesthetic judgement not only hasn't diminished or disappeared, it has, from time to time, come to knock in unexpected ways.
To most art photographers, the correlation between 'beauty' and 'truth' has long been a lingering thought. Since they have no paint brush in hand to draw freely nor a completely clear vision in their mind, everything is taken into the lens wherever their camera turns. Thus, photography
is also a mind-cultivating process like the Buddhists'. In the field of photography, there is often
a saying that photography is the art of reduction. But from Sand Wan's work, photography is not only about the refinement of visual language in the lens but also refinement of the soul--- stripping off ostentation and being at ease.
The Intangible is a collection of photos of beautiful rocks off the northwest coast of Taiwan, which Wan took during his many trips over there and later modified through image editing. The textures and grains of the time-worn rocks appear hyper-real in the delicate light captured by his lens. But he wasn't satisfied. With image editing, he rebuilds the perspective and a sense of space around the objects, creating a wonderful balance between reality and aesthetics. The final result is both concrete and abstract, real and illusive, just as the great Chinese Painter Qi Baishi once said, "The subtlety lies between resemblance and non-resemblance."
Somehow, Wan doesn't simply attain 'non-resemblance' for the sake of it. As we look back, both of his previous albums, Immortality and Finn Slough, are in the style of poetic realism. Strong photogenic sense and unique Schlieren method were applied to express the photographer's inner emotions, and the somewhat desolate textures convey a subtle grief. They are in the vein of Ansel Adams's and Edward Weston's highly detailed photography of still life and landscape, and also possess elements of Eugene Smith's humanistic empathy. Whereas, when it comes to the Intangible, Wan attempts a metamorphosis from the accumulated quantitative changes. He forgoes a photographer's obsession about realism and freely pursues the poetic aspiration in his heart---an intangible realm where there are no external scenes but the ones created in one's mind. By taking 'no way' as the way and conjuring up visions beyond the pictures, his work looks intangible yet concrete, illusive yet real. One is at ease where there are no bounds.
ABOUT
Sand Wan 溫一沙
He is a fine-art photographer and a member of the Chinese Canadian Artists Federation of Vancouver. He was born in 1949 in Hong Kong and graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic with a Foundation Design Certificate. While he was in Hong Kong, he was engaged in the publishing business and graphic design. His works have won numerous awards in Hong Kong and international design competitions. In 2013, his photography entitled The Beauty of Immortality: Reincarnation of Driftwood exhibited by the Gallery Cathedral Place in Vancouver. In 2015, a solo exhibition The Passing of Time at the city hall of Richmond. In 2016, his solo exhibition Guei Hou was at the Viridian Gallery in Vancouver.
純藝術攝影師 ,溫哥華華人藝術家協會會員 。1949 年生於香港 ,畢業於香 港理工學院設計學系 。曾多年從事出版與平面設計工作 ,其作品多次獲得香 港與國際設計獎項 。
2013 年應邀在溫哥華 The Gallery at Cathedral Place 舉 辦「不朽之美—漂木的重生」主題攝影個展 。
2015 年於加拿大卑斯省列治文 市政廳展出「歲月流過」系列攝影作品 。
2016 年在溫哥華瑋瑞畫廊舉辦 「龜 吼」攝影作品個展 。
Steven Dragonn 龙邃洋
Steven Dragonn is a visual artist and curator based in Vancouver and Guangzhou China. Graduated from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art in China with a BFA and from University of Paris East in France with a MA, he is director, curator and founder of Canton-sardine. He is a beyond-Conceptualist and Neo Hyper-real Pictorialist across communicatics and personal visual experience. Specifically, he dedicated his work to examining political and social injustice, while his main curatorial interests include individual experience, migration of minorities, minor gender, personal identities, and social political sufferance.
广州美术学院雕塑系专业学士,法国东巴黎大学电影与多媒体艺术系纪录艺术专业硕士;曾任岭南画派纪念馆当代艺术项目策展人,广州儿童三年展"策展人,现为加拿大溫哥华艺术机构“沙甸咸水阜”总监及策展人