Chris Huen Sin Kan (B. 1991), Bathing 2

Bathing 2
2015

oil on canvas

200 x 160 cm (78 3/4 x 63 in)

Provenance
Gallery Exit, Hong Kong
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Exhibition
Gallery Exit, Out of the Ordinary, 17 July – 5 September 2015

禤善勤
浴（之二）
油彩畫布
2015年作

來源
香港，安全口畫廊
現藏者得自上述來源

展覽
「平淡亦然」，安全口畫廊，2015年7月17日 - 9月5日

Depictive in its scene yet abstract in the brushwork, the present lot Bathing 2 is a signature work by Hong Kong artist Chris Huen. With delicate touches of creamy yellow, the canvas is imbued with a sense of calm and serenity. Huen's wife Haze is captured here in their home, giving a shower to their dog Muimui. The two stands as a recurring cast in Huen's choice of subject matter.

Executed in 2015, the work showcases Huen's symbolic use of the bright and airy palette for his much favoured everyday genre scene. Although painted in oil, the work reveals Huen's inspiration from traditional Chinese art, which is conveyed through his swift strokes of diluted paint and acute use of blank space. This unique technique enables him to transform the present passing moment into a dream-like image without any excessive details, calling for a romantic nostalgia in time. As the artist himself once says, "I would consider my works as depicting a specious present that is paused at a reference point, and replayed whenever it is being observed."

Steering away from the kaleidoscopic metropolis, Chris Huen's works are impressive in their austere simplicity. In this modern version of genre painting, Huen introduces the intricacies, and yet splendour of quotidian life with his sophisticated brushwork, cheerful palette, and poetic message. And, most importantly, one can be easily touched by the undertone of Huen's endearing canvas, which consist of nothing but a plethora of joie de vivre.

寫實的場景刻畫配以抽象的筆觸，《浴（之二）》為香港藝術家禤善勤的至臻代表作，其細膩的奶油黃色調賦予畫布整體一絲靜謐與平和感。畫作捕捉了藝術家的太太Haze為他們的小狗「妹妹」沐浴之瞬間，兩者均爲禤氏筆下常見的主題。

《浴（之二）》作於2015年，展現了禤善勤如何通過明亮且通透的象徵性用色描繪日常生活中平淡的場景。禤氏雖多以油彩作畫，但其短促而綿密的線條加上對空白空間的絕妙運用，都透露出中國傳統藝術對他的創作帶來深刻影響。透過這種獨特的處理手法，禤氏將當下稍縱即逝的瞬間化為夢境般的圖像，當中沒有多餘的雜亂細節，悠然地喚起了一種浪漫的懷舊情意。禤善勤曾説道：「我認爲我的作品是在描繪一個似是而非的當下，它在某個參照點上停頓下來，在有人觀看時重複再現。」

與現代都市的浮華相悖，禤善勤的作品以其平淡悠然的風格見長。在禤氏現代版的風俗畫風格繪畫中，他以精緻的筆觸、愉悅的色調與富詩意的情致，抽絲剝繭呈現了世俗生活中紛繁冗雜卻絢爛的片刻。更重要的是，禤氏作品裏蘊藏的真摯情感容易使人產生共鳴，充滿對生活的熱情，並提醒我們樂在當下。