Joey Leung Ka Yin - Asteroid B-612 Online Auction: Inspired by a Saint-Exupéry Novel Hong Kong Tuesday, December 7, 2021 | Phillips

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  • “A moment’s greed made me swallow the elephant

    immediately my curves are now an embarrassment

    the waist disappeared and the belly all swollen

    quick, have some fruit to digest him!”

    — Joey Leung

  • Catalogue Essay

    “What I like about Gongbi painting is the sense of tranquility,  the repetitiveness or calmness needed during the creative process, it suits me very well.” — Joey Leung 

     

    Born and raised in Hong Kong, Joey Leung graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (BA in Fine Arts, 2000; MFA, 2007). In her seamless blending of tradition with modernity, East and West, Leung comments on the trials and tribulations of the urban city landscape, confronting conventional habits and beliefs to provoke a new interpretation of modern life. The juxtaposition of images and words in Leung’s paintings recall the Chinese art form of Lianhuanhua (picture story book) popular during the 1920s in China, as well as Japanese manga. In sequential structure, Leung provides a strong sense of narrative in her paintings, prompting interpretation through witty poems inscribed onto the paintings in Cantonese.

     

     

    The current lot during the artist’s creative process (detail)

     

    Using pencil, needle pens, ink, and gouache, Leung explores cultural differences through her diverse choice of medium in addition to the form and content of her paintings, reviving the tradition of gongbi painting. Her iconic long haired girls carry an air of grace rivalling the ladies of ancient Song dynasty paintings, their melancholic expression juxtaposing the straightforward humour of the text and subject of the painting. 

      

    Filled with self deprecating humor, Leung’s accompanying texts are highly self aware, and were added by the artist with the intention of better communicating her thoughts: "I used to have no inscriptions in my paintings, and only included little hints in the title; but when I drew some more complicated stories, I was thinking about how I should express it to the audience, so I simply added text." These poems are hand written by the artist, purposely appearing as if they were printed on:"I want to make it look like it was printed on like the old days. What I find interesting is that the computer fonts are actually imitating our written characters. Then I imitate the computer fonts. When the viewer looks at them, they will be confused; the characters don't seem to be handwritten, but you also know it's handwritten; it’s a blurry inbetween state." i

      

    Joey Leung’s works are in the collections of prestigious institutions such as the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Upon her graduation, Joey Leung won the prestigious Y.S. Hui Arts Award in 2000, with her first solo exhibition taking place in Galerie Martini, Hong Kong, the following year. She has since held several solo and joint exhibitions both in Hong Kong and overseas. Her most recent group exhibition will soon close at LACMA, Los Angeles on 12 December. Joey Leung is represented by Karin Weber Gallery and Grotto Fine Art in Hong Kong.

      

     


    The artist's work included in the LACMA exhibition

      

    i Yu Riyi, ‘Buddhist Paintings: Leung Ka Yin's "Self-destructive" Series in a Decade [Culturalist · Interview]’, The Culturist, 27 January 2020, online

    • Provenance

      Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

    • Exhibited

      Hong Kong, ARTboratory, One must look with the heart, 29 June - 12 July 2021

27

The Gluttonous Snake

Chinese ink, Chinese pigment, gouache, drawing pen, coloured pencil on Washi paper
image diameter 48 cm. (18 7/8 in.)
frame 74 x 74 cm. (29 1/8 x 29 1/8 in.)

Executed in 2021.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
HK$40,000 - 60,000 
€4,500-6,800
$5,100-7,700

Contact Specialist

Hin Hin Wong
Associate Specialist, 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Hong Kong
+852 2318 2013
hinhinwong@phillips.com

Asteroid B-612 Online Auction: Inspired by a Saint-Exupéry Novel

Online Auction 7-14 December 2021