Kennis Chan

"Things are not as they appear, nor are they otherwise." Lankavatara Sutra

The in-between of things is the meeting point of knowing and not knowing.
A painting might be composed out of straight lines and in turn distinct forms, but within this, undergo a continuous process of figuring and undoing/dissolution.
It is not a straightforward task to discover the root of abstraction.

A painting is composed out of appearances, and appearances modulate a deeper articulation of space. The act of painting is a declaration of a starting point. I can never overcome the sensation of emptiness fluctuating between a murky and crystalline quality. Perhaps I paint because I will never be able to reach an answer. The universe is preserved by the mist of not knowing although this has never stopped me from talking about painting. This mark or that, this contrast or balance, the right tone, absorption of paint into the linen ground, articulation of line, forces and modulations: all these elements in countless combinations. I might never cease with such preoccupations. But how does painting sink back into the silence of its own occasion?

Things are certainly not as they appear and yet it is appearance that brings with it so many demands. I...

2013- 2015. Royal College of Art, MA Painting, London, UK

2015 In Conversations, YY9 Gallery, Hong Kong

2015 RCA Secret, Dyson Building, Royal College of Art, Battersea, London

2015 Graduate Show 2015, Granary Art Gallery, Weston Park, UK

2014 Summer Show, YY9 Gallery, Hong Kong

2014 RCA Secret, Royal College of Art, Dyson Building, Battersea, London

2014 WIP Show 2014, Kensington Galleries, Royal College of Art, South Kensington, London

2013 Northern Graduates, Curwen Gallery, London

2013 Abstraction, YY9 Gallery, Hong Kong

2013 North by West, Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster University, UK

Private Collections London, Hong Kong, California, China