Wallace Chan’s New Art Exhibition ‘Transcends’ The Human Experience

For Wallace Chan the physical and spiritual worlds; Life and death; and the past, present and future are all one.

The Hong Kong artist opened his latest art project titled “Transcendence” in Venice on Thursday, an exhibition of sculptures that can be seen until September 30 in the chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà.

It is the third in a series of sculptural works that examine a similar theme of large, black titanium faces that are non-gendered and almost all expressionless. The three works have been revealed for four years in Venice. The latest exhibition is scheduled to coincide with the Venice Biennale.

The first exhibition, “Titan”, explored the expansive qualities of his favorite material, titanium, in new artistic ways. The second, “Totem,” addressed the idea of ​​uncertainty.

For this exhibition, which may be the last to use this facial motif, Chan says he is transcending the limits or boundaries of space and time, and transforming conflicts into opportunities for growth and enlightenment.

The exhibition is the smallest and the largest in this series. It's the smallest in terms of the number of artworks, but its subject matter is even bigger than the previous two, if that's possible. It consists of four 10-meter titanium sculptures suspended from the ceiling of the chapel.

Chan made his mark as a high jewelery artist where he used titanium's lightness, strength and ability to change colour, to create multi-coloured jewelery that replicated and transcended natural and organic flora and fauna; or used the material to produce large-scale elaborate ornaments based on his ideals that combine Eastern philosophies (including his training in Buddhism) with traditional Western art themes and even a vision of science- fiction of the future His jewelry creations made the soft-spoken, mild-mannered artist a celebrity in the jewelry world. Their jewelry is in high demand among collectors around the world.

For his sculptural trilogy, his focus is narrower with black titanium faces, but as mentioned above, his artistic aspirations are larger.

“The 10-meter sculptures are integrated into different forms,” ​​Chan said in an interview two days before the show opened. “Viewers can enter the sculpture and become part of the exhibition to show how humans can respect each other and contemplate nature.”

When you combine this exhibition with the previous two “it becomes a trilogy of lifestyle changes…transcending beyond the material and reaching a state of greater love and unity. I call it the highest state of the art.”

The black titanium sculptures are lined one by one in the narrow side chapel of the 18th-century church where the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi used to give concerts. Local aging combined with minimal spot lighting for the sculptures designed by Chan heightens the spiritual and meditative quality of the exhibition. To add even greater spiritual context, the exhibition features a somber soundtrack by renowned musician Brian Eno, titled: And Dormienti.

The exhibition location and soundtrack were chosen by James Putnam, an independent curator and writer who was the founder and curator of the British Museum's Contemporary Arts and Cultures Programme. Eno's music was first used by Putnam for an exhibition he curated for the Italian artist Mimmo Paladino in London. Putnam said Eno agreed to allow him to use the same music for Chan's exhibit.

Putnam has now worked with Chan on all three sculptural exhibitions in Venice. He describes Transcendence as the latest exploration “of the boundaries between the material and the metaphysical,” saying the exhibition is a “highly contemplative series, offering viewers the opportunity to transcend from a corporeal, earthly form into the spiritual realm ethereal of Wallace Chan's work.”

He describes the individual sculptures as having “no race or gender” but an “amalgam of when (Chan) was younger and inspired by the sculptures in Christian cemeteries.”

Chan, who often mixes up his metaphors, says the four sculptures also represent the four seasons (which also happens to be Vivaldi's most famous musical composition). The first sculpture represents winter, and is the most expressive. The face's eyes and mouth appear in an explosive frozen form that he says mimics rocks jumping into water. He adds that while the face appears to be in a state of horror or pain, the expression actually represents a state of epiphany.

“The shape represents a stone that is thrown against the water. Water splashes and makes an impact. It's like a reflection on yourself when you get an epiphany or inspiration. You look at the sculpture and you have this moment of impact.”

The second sculpture, Primavera, consists of multiple large heads juxtaposed casually. He says that this statue represents a state of rebirth.

“When night comes, I sleep and die. When I wake up in the morning, the sunlight comes in and I'm reborn,” she said. “Spring symbolizes renewal and liveliness … like a transformation from a caterpillar to a butterfly. You become creative and curious about things again. This is my journey from a caterpillar to a butterfly.”

The third sculpture, Summer, is represented by two heads that seem to spin and spin. It turns out to be one of Chan's many representations of Yin and Yang.

The final sculpture, Autumn, is a 10 meter black tulip. A closer look reveals that the pedals are shaped like silhouettes of faces and while more faces are engraved on the stem of the flower.

In fact, a closer look at all the sculptures reveals smaller faces and parts of faces on the hollow fronts, sides, and backs of each artwork.

The exhibition ends with a work of art on the altar of the chapel. It consists of small statues of Jesus and Buddha with their heads juxtaposed. Chan says its meaning is “about great love and that all religions are interconnected with each other. There is no beginning and no end. It's a cycle that goes round and round.”

At 67 and facing his own mortality, Chan says he spends as much time as possible at work, creating art that will stand the test of time. This exhibition reflects that.

“I feel like I have to create something that will outlive me.”