Malaysian abstract artist Eric Chan takes his hyperrealistic paintings to a new level in his upcoming solo show at FOST Gallery Singapore. “In Light of the Ephemeral Silence” will present the artist’s latest series of oil paintings, which balance between the figurative and the abstract, resulting in intense pieces.Chan’s new works are inspired by Western cinematic traditions, which feature atmospheric scapes in a tonal palette. They almost create a “cinematic experience,” as his canvases strongly resemble still frames from the dark and mysterious French films of the 1940s and 50s, especially the genre of “film noir.” Chan combines these moody scenes with aesthetic subjects traditional to Chinese landscapes.In “Perception,” for instance, a small segment of a mountain-scape can be perceived at the top of the canvas. An obscure, faint lake and a forest of tree silhouettes shrouded in mist dominate the rest of the work. These features then fade into a sharp neon-blue band at the bottom. The combination of the mysterious glowing bands of light and the hyperrealistic renditions is profound, and disturbs the logical understanding of the paintings.According to a press release, the exhibition “gives rise to an almost cinematic experience of melancholy and of a temporal stillness in flux. […] The transient qualities of light and silence are permanently captured in the paintings.”Initially an abstract painter, the artist’s most recognizable pieces are his floral paintings composed of subtle strokes, including layered veils of color. Today, Eric Chan is considered one of Southeast Asia’s leading contemporary painters. The artist was the unprecedented winner of the BMW Young Asian Artists series in 2007, and over the past two decades has continued to explore the different facets of oil painting.“In Light of the Ephemeral Silence” runs from September 16 through October 23 at FOST Gallery, Singapore.
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