ART CITIES: Hong Kong-All Walks Of Life
The group exhibition “All Walks of Life”, meditates on the nuances and subjectivities of daily life in the face of globalization. The vibrant works by seven young artists from the United States and Europe, range from figurations to landscapes to semi-abstract, lyrical tableaus and explore what it means to be an individual, both bodily and spiritually, in the present moment. Offering a focused look at contemporary painting, this exhibition centers on collisions of uncanniness and familiarity in experiences of people, places, and things.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Pace Gallery Archive
Included in “All Walks of Life” are two new paintings by Katja Farin in which bizarre details cut across everyday scenes. Exploring the ways that illusions of the self, of safety, prosperity, and community are sustained by our belief systems, Farin’s boldly colored, theatrically staged figurations are rife with mystery and ambiguity. Lauren Proux, meanwhile, depicts fragmented limbs and faces in his up-close figurations, with bodies intersecting and overlapping in carefully posed contortions—the artist has said that he aims to engage viewers of his work with “a visual and intellectual enigma running through the image.” Sarah Slappey’s surreal depictions of intertwining body parts in “Carpet of Needles (如坐針氈)” (2023) and “Emerald Strike” (2023), both on view in the exhibition, are underpinned by a distinct sense of disquiet that the artist has characterized as “a kind of quiet violence.” Mining the cruelty and pain baked into idealized notions of femininity, the artist is known for her opulent, dynamic figurations that belie the darkness of their content. Drawing inspiration the varied images he collects as part of his practice, Anthony Cudahy creates intimate, deeply personal figurations that examine the present through the lens of the past, forging a portrait of intergenerational queer experience. In Fabian Treiber’s otherworldly landscapes, negotiations of space and enactments of interiority and exteriority speak to the shapeshifting nature of perception. Aubrey Levinthal’s paintings, on the other hand, often feel like film stills, with figures moving through the rhythms of their everyday lives. She imbues her depictions of characters in ordinary, seemingly mundane situations with emotional and poetic depth, hinting at larger narratives behind fleeting moments of movement and stasis. Meanwhile, Daisy Sheff constructs her bright, whimsical, sometimes fantastical canvases with multiple layers of paint, forging works that “offer glimpses into detailed, private narratives” through a unique visual language that blurs the boundary between figuration and abstraction.
Participating Artists: Anthony Cudahy, Katja Farin, Aubrey Levinthal, Laurent Proux, Daisy Sheff, Sarah Slappey, and Fabian Treiber
Photo left: Katja Farin, Missed Shot, 2023, oil on canvas, 60″ × 48″ (152.4 cm × 121.9 cm), © Katja Farin, Courtesy the artist and Pace Gallery. Photo right: Katja Farin, Lost Keys, 2023, oil on canvas, 60″ × 48″ (152.4 cm × 121.9 cm), © Katja Farin, Courtesy the artist and Pace Gallery
Info: Curator William Zhao, Pace Gallery, 2/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong, Duration: 15/12/2023-18/1/2024, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 11:00-19:00, www.pacegallery.com/
