Centre of International Contemporary Art Vancouver (CICA Vancouver) is pleased to present “I Do Nothing Everyday”, a solo exhibition by Asian-British artist Chris Huen Sin-Kan. This exhibition, running from September 26 to November 9, 2024, captures the essence of Huen’s day-to-day experiences, transforming them into a compelling visual narrative that challenges the boundary between the mundane and the extraordinary.
Chris Huen is renowned for his delicate yet dynamic approach to creating monumental-scale paintings that weave together ordinary moments from daily life that resonate with all of us. Born in Hong Kong and currently residing in London, Chris Huen has distinguished himself with his distinctive approach of blending traditional Chinese ink techniques with Western oil painting to craft scenes that transcend the mundane. Huen’s art poignantly captures moments with his family and pets against the backdrop of natural settings, turning routine interactions into captivating visual stories.
His works transcend geographical and temporal boundaries, fostering an engagement that may leave viewers pondering the origins and narratives behind each piece. Despite relocating from Hong Kong to London two years ago, the core subject of his art—capturing the essence of “ordinariness”—remains consistent. His creations delve into a realm of vagueness, chaos, and ambiguity, evoking the sensations of traversing through a memory or dream. This intentional obscurity invites audiences to explore and interpret his works within or beyond the context of their displayed environments.
The exhibition will feature a series of new paintings that continue to explore themes of family, memory, and the everyday. Through his subtle manipulation of light and shadow and the liberal and calligraphic brush movement, Huen invites viewers to traverse the boundary between reality and illusion, grounded prose and dream-like poetry. His work resonates particularly well with Vancouver’s diverse audience, making poignant connections to domestic lives and nature.
CICA Vancouver invites art lovers and critics alike to experience the mesmerizing world of Chris Huen, where the simplicity of daily life blooms into moments of unexpected beauty. This exhibition promises not only to showcase Huen’s remarkable talent but also to foster a dialogue about the nature of contemporary urban life and the art that emerges from it.
About the Artist
Chris HUEN Sin Kan was born in 1991, Hong Kong. He obtained a BA in Fine Arts at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2013. With an emphasis in painting, HUEN’s practice explores the minute and exquisite experiences of everyday life. The artist believes that the essence of existence should not be constructed nor constricted by conventions that are the result of a collective cognition. Instead, he believes that life should be informed by intuition on a personal level. He is particularly drawn to fanatical behaviours and trivial moments that carry immense vitality such as a small dog or an ordinary lawn. Huen’s large-scale oil paintings, a constellation of brush marks often starring a cast of recurring characters including his wife Haze, son Joel, daughter Tess and dogs Balltsz, MuiMui and Doodood, evolve organically and haphazardly; Huen forgoes underdrawings and sketches, and rather than paint from a photograph or from the scene itself, opts to eternalise the minute and the transient from feeling and memory. Huen’s technique, imbued with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional Chinese ink painting, involves layering one dab of paint over another until the pattern on the canvas perfectly echoes the spirit of the scene. Through this progress Huen wants to discover the distance between appearances and our recognition of things.
Join artists Chris Huen Sin-Kan and Tung Pang Lam for a discussion about Chris’s creative journey, moderated by curator Viahsta Yuan.
Learn more about the panel discussion here.
We are grateful for the support and sponsorship of:
