.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Acclamed Singapore-based painter David Chan renders his realistically painted animals, humans and hybrids against monochromatic backgrounds of intense blues, purples, yellows and pinks. With well-received exhibitions spanning various Asian countries, Chan's idiosyncratic works exemplify the artist's perspective on a rapidly globalising and biomorphic world.
Using striking visual language to comment on various issues in contemporary society, the art of David Chan is at once immediately recognizable and unique. The artist's bright palette and signature style of incorporating finely rendered human-animal hybrids result in captivating works that tease and challenge the eye. Writing on Foreplay Perhaps (Lot 615), the artist has expounded that "the distinction between beauty and seduction is separated by intent. Beauty is a composite of comfort and aesthetics. In effect it's a means to an end. The astute eye makes a judgement and the mind enjoys the comforting result. Seduction however, is very different. It's a suggestion of something more, something sinister even, perhaps something forbidden. It's an invitation to the pure sensation of "Foreplay Perhaps". (David Chan, Every Trick Only Needs One Truth, Art Seasons, 2013, p. 26). Chan's whimsical and elaborate creation of a pink, flower-adorned horse suspended against a stark black space is a superb example of painterly technique combined with artistic vision.
Schizophrenia: Ministry of Protection (Lot 616) is a whimsical work that comments on overprotective parents who limit their children from fully experiencing the world in an overzealous bid to protect them from the perceived dangers of the world. The artist offers a sly reality that would feature protection under the regulation of the government. "Welcome! Welcome! We specialise in your protection. What sets us apart from the other organisations is the fact that we regulate excessively. We ensure that the apple of your eye is so well-covered and monitored that there is absolutely no risk of injury or deviation from the desired programK there will be no unnecessary exploration or external influences (be it god or bad), that can distract your child from YOUR grand plan for him or her. We guarantee this! - Your very own, Ministry of Protection." (David Chan, Hybrid Society: Schizophrenia, Art Seasons, 2013, p. 41)
Using striking visual language to comment on various issues in contemporary society, the art of David Chan is at once immediately recognizable and unique. The artist's bright palette and signature style of incorporating finely rendered human-animal hybrids result in captivating works that tease and challenge the eye. Writing on Foreplay Perhaps (Lot 615), the artist has expounded that "the distinction between beauty and seduction is separated by intent. Beauty is a composite of comfort and aesthetics. In effect it's a means to an end. The astute eye makes a judgement and the mind enjoys the comforting result. Seduction however, is very different. It's a suggestion of something more, something sinister even, perhaps something forbidden. It's an invitation to the pure sensation of "Foreplay Perhaps". (David Chan, Every Trick Only Needs One Truth, Art Seasons, 2013, p. 26). Chan's whimsical and elaborate creation of a pink, flower-adorned horse suspended against a stark black space is a superb example of painterly technique combined with artistic vision.
Schizophrenia: Ministry of Protection (Lot 616) is a whimsical work that comments on overprotective parents who limit their children from fully experiencing the world in an overzealous bid to protect them from the perceived dangers of the world. The artist offers a sly reality that would feature protection under the regulation of the government. "Welcome! Welcome! We specialise in your protection. What sets us apart from the other organisations is the fact that we regulate excessively. We ensure that the apple of your eye is so well-covered and monitored that there is absolutely no risk of injury or deviation from the desired programK there will be no unnecessary exploration or external influences (be it god or bad), that can distract your child from YOUR grand plan for him or her. We guarantee this! - Your very own, Ministry of Protection." (David Chan, Hybrid Society: Schizophrenia, Art Seasons, 2013, p. 41)