Learning From Trees, From Chaos to Harmony #ArtForum #YeoShihYun

Learning From Trees, From Chaos to Harmony (Yeo Shih Yun)
Art Forum gallery, Singapore
1 – 29 June 2013

Art Forum, one of the most established art galleries in Singapore, presents Learning From Trees, From Chaos to Harmony a solo exhibition of Chinese ink painting on paper, by award winning Singapore artist Yeo Shih Yun, recipient of the 2012 Sovereign Asian Art Prize People’s Award.
Reinterpreting the art of Chinese ink painting by using non-traditional tools, Shih Yun is recognised for her strong energetic use of black ink and a passionate obsession for capturing the elusive moment that exists between chaos and order in her creation of contemporary abstract art.
Learning From Trees, From Chaos To Harmony takes us through a journey of discovery of a unique creative process born out of her artistic collaboration with nature. The exhibition, which runs for a month from 1 June 2013, showcases a collection of 25 paintings from three series Open Skies, Conversation With Trees, and Learning From Trees and two videos.
Inspired by nature and the open spaces of Northern European discovered during her artist residency in Norway in 2009, her work in Open Skies incorporates large continuous broad brush strokes that are reflective of her training in Chinese brush painting under the late Singapore artist Chua Ek Kay.
In Conversation with Trees, Shih Yun detaches herself from the painting process, which is taken over by the invisible hand of nature. Using Chinese brushes dipped in ink and suspended from swaying tree branches, the erratic movement of breeze defines the moment of art creation making distinct yet chaotic ink marks on white canvas. This is then compiled and brought to “order” through a delicate silkscreen process to which she adds her own gestures in ink, creating the inimitable and delicate style of art that has won her wide acclaim both locally and in London, with a recent exhibition of her work at the Singapore Art Museum.
The Learning From Trees series is a continuation of Open Skies where Shih Yun comes full circle in her artistic process, reflecting upon the lessons that she learnt. Here the movement of trees in nature is replicated by large brushes made from strings and twigs dipped in black ink, which are physically manipulated and pushed across large spaces within the confined environment of a studio. The long, strong and continuous brush strokes mimic nature’s fluid continuity of movement, where there is no obvious beginning or end.
An active participant in various international artist-in-residence programmes including Munich, Fukuoka, Bergen and Belgium, Shih Yun’s recent exhibitions include “Lyrical Abstraction” at Singapore Art Museum, ” Rhythm Section” at Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) and “MO” at Esplanade Jendela Visual Arts Space. Her other recent awards also include the 26th UOB Painting of the Year Competition Singapore Certificate of Distinction and Highly commended entry (Abstract category) in 2007.