Past Exhibition: 
Duality: Boundaries and Intersections 

A solo exhibition by Claire Lau 
15 June - 12 July 2012 

Duality is an exhibition of paintings made on and through the observation of two opposite sides of the earth: the Pioneer Valley (Massachusetts, USA) and Hong Kong. These works explore the physical and spatial relationship between humans and nature; they juxtapose the urban with the wild, the traditional with the modern, and the rooted with the mobile. 

Claire insists on painting plein-air*, during which she interacts and builds a relationship directly with her surroundings. As a young artist living in the 21st Century, she sees this process as a crucial response to today’s digital age, where one’s regard is always fixated on a screen. Obstinately painting outdoors in the winter of Massachusetts and the summer of Hong Kong, she strives to compel today’s over-stimulated eyes to pause and ponder on their surroundings.

Having divided her life between France, Hong Kong and the U.S., Claire has been intrigued by the interplay between human activity and nature in her various environments. Claire’s paintings from the U.S. feature everyday forgotten sites that carry the human imprint on nature. These range from abandoned vehicles in the forest to tire tracks on the ground to piles of cut wood. After returning to Hong Kong last year, she began to explore the dialogue between nature and the urban environment – their proximity, their wrestle for space, yet their ability to co-exist. In the panoramic views from the New Territories, one can easily discern a generous mix of forested hills, construction sites, modern skyscrapers, temples and villages. Parallel to this, she is developing a series of paintings on mountain figs and banyan trees, often found to grow on roadsides throughout the city. She is intrigued by how these seemingly spiritual beings create ecosystems amongst the surrounding concrete, while also inadvertently forming architectural spaces in an organic manner. They create a unique spatial relationship as the human enters the domain of these living structures. 

Claire’s work is a confrontation to our detachment from the world around us. She investigates the dynamic between human activity and nature by painting within it. 

* Plein-air painting is the practice of painting "in the open air", or outdoors, made popular in France by the Barbizon painting school in the mid-19th Century. 

Claire Lau is an Artist-in-Residence at Yew Chung Education Foundation. 

劉漢澄個人畫展“Duality: Boundaries and Intersections”展出畫家在地球兩端 － 香港和美國麻省Pioneer Valley－完成的作品。 這些作品探索人類與大自然之間身體上及空間上的關係， 把都市與自然、古舊與現代、植根與流動作成對比。

漢澄堅持利用戶外寫生與環境建立關係。 作為一個二十一世紀的年青人，當眾人的目光都不停地凝視著螢光幕，戶外寫生是她對今天數碼年代的重要回應。透過在麻省的嚴寒和香港的暑熱中堅決地到戶外畫畫，她希望鼓勵人們讓飽受刺激的眼睛稍休，觀察四周的事物。

漢澄在法國、美國及香港的生活期間，對人類活動對大自然的影響感到興趣。她在美國作品中選擇的平凡景色中，都包含了人類在自然裡留下的痕跡。這些包括被遺棄在樹林中的汽車、地上的輪胎痕、堆放一旁的木頭等。去年回到香港後， 她開始探索都市發展和自然環境的互動，它們的空間鬥爭，同時融洽共存的能力。她繪畫新界的廣角全景中包括野山林木、工程土地、高樓大廈、寺廟及村落。此外，她亦畫出一系列的榕樹。 這些有靈性植物在石屎森林中創造生態環境，同時，當人走進牠的領域時，牠無意中形成的空間尤如建築結構一樣。

漢澄的作品正視我們對四周世界的冷漠脫離，透過戶外寫生研究人類活動與大自然互動。

Current Exhibition

behind the scenes
Solo Exhibition by Joel Odesser
7 Sept - 11 Oct 2013

Past Exhibitions

FLASH!
Yew Chung 80th Anniversary Exhibition
10 June - 12 July 2013

unbeaten by rain
Solo Exhibition by Haruka Ostley
22 Feb - 22 Mar 2013

From Palate to Palette
Solo Exhibition by Esther Chow
10 Nov - 7 Dec 2012

FAST FORWARD - YCIS Alumni Art Exhibition 2012 
Group exhibiton by YCIS Alumni 
4 Aug - 30 Sept 2012

Duality: Boundaries and Intersections
Solo Exhibition by Claire Lau
15 June - 12 July 2012