WOAW Gallery brings a new round of exhibitions this November, presenting the “Allegory of Painting” limited painting exhibition curated by New York’s ATM Gallery owner and art collector William Leung, showcasing the works of seven highly talented and creative emerging artists.
Most of the works of “Allegory of Painting” are portraits, focusing on the portrayal of human body proportions. The artist breaks free from the framework of modernism through various applications of lines and colors, as well as different compositional elements, whimsically enlarging, cutting, or enhancing the human body, reshaping the body structure, giving the artwork a new idea, and narrating a different story. Before heading to the gallery for appreciation, you might want to take a look at the following guide.
Anna Weyant
Anna Weyant is a post-90s figurative oil painter, and her works often reflect her age, focusing on themes of leisure, decadence, and indulgence, with young women as her subjects. She even explores the dual nature of cunning yet occasionally sympathetic characters, as well as turning tragic stories into painting subjects. Through this series of works, Weyant attempts to find humor in the rebellious and suppressed emotions of youth, presenting contradictory ideas within tightly controlled environments.
Ana Benaroya
Ana Benaroya’s artwork is often created through the language of comics, satire, and popular culture, where both people and objects can be transformed into creative ideas. The titles of her works also incorporate music and lyrics, adding a more pop culture meaning. In this particular piece, she explores the relationships between power and desire through exaggerating and distorting the female body, form, and relationships with others. The bold and intense use of color, along with seemingly humorous images, actually conceal dark and serious undertones.
Ryan Travis Christian
Ryan Travis Christian was once selected by DAZED as one of the “Top Ten Monochrome Artists,” with works mainly constructed in graphite drawings in black, white, and gray tones. Born in the post-war era of the United States and having experienced a bizarre childhood, his works are rich in surrealistic style. Influenced by the Chicago figurative style, his works contain both innocent cartoon elements and a dark, ominous atmosphere, revealing the chaos of contemporary society, as is the case with this work.
Alexis Ralaivao
Alexis Ralaivao, who has loved drawing since childhood, learned oil painting through self-study by observing the works of his favorite artists. The models depicted in most of his works are from screenshots of social media images that only last for a few seconds. Through his memory and imagination, he delicately paints them with fine strokes, creating an ode to youth, diversity, and figurative painting.
Roby Dwi Antono
Roby Dwi Antono is the only Asian artist in this exhibition, his paintings often blend surrealistic aesthetics with imagery from the classical Renaissance period, merging the two contrasting styles into a unique creative style that may even evoke the works of the pop surrealist father Mark Ryden and the well-known Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. His paintings often feature starry-eyed children and mythological creatures as the main subjects of depiction, incorporating his favorite pop culture idols and conveying messages that viewers should pay attention to while appreciating.
Jess Valice
Jess Valice’s work is more grounded in reality, for example, she draws inspiration from social media, books, and daily life, combining her feelings and ideas about these characters to give the overall piece a more personal style. In addition, she also incorporates some common contemporary elements into her work, making the content richer and able to convey deeper meanings.
Jason Mason
Jason Mason is also a self-taught artist, most of his works are painted with acrylic paint, and he freely expresses his creativity on paper and canvas, blending magical realism with surrealism.
WOAW Gallery
日期：2020 年 11 月 6 日至 11 月 15 日
地址：香港灣仔日街5號
電話：22531313
資料及圖片來源： WOAW Gallery
