Sin Sin Fine Art proudly presents Poetic Layers, a solo exhibition of the French artist Wensen Qi (Vincent Cazeneuve).
Born In Toulouse (South of France) in 1977, Vincent moved to Chongqing (Toulouse’s twin town) in 2007 where he opened his own studio, acquired his Chinese name Wensen Qi and eventually held solo and group exhibitions. Wensen has also been exhibiting in other parts of China, in France and in Japan and has participated to various exhibitions as a performance artist and as an installation artist. This is the first time his works come to Hong Kong. After Poetic Layers at Sin Sin Fine Art, Wensen will exhibit in the Chongqing Museum on the 1st week of October. This year is Chongqing and Toulouse 30 years anniversary.
As an expert in wood cabinet making, marquetry and gilding, after graduating from the Ecole des Metiers d’Art in Revel (France), Wensen opened his own atelier specialized in restoration of Asian and Western Lacquer ware. His authentic encounter with Chinese Lacquer occurred throughout his first trip to China during his apprenticeship in the studio of a Lacquer Master in Chongqing. Given his artistic path, it is not surprising to see how, in his lacquer paintings, Wensen derives his creative conception from Chinese traditional ideology and culture and then mixing it with elements of Western Art, hence inexhaustibly exploring the possibility of the perseverance of tradition in contemporary times Lacquer painting is one of the ancient arts of China. It requires patience and fortitude as it is well known that the process of embedding, scattering, rubbing and layering may require several repetitions. The theme “Poetic Layers” commences from the idea of the manual repetition of these gestures and investigates the Artist’s attempt to embody his poetic sensations. The Artist’s concerns on history and his aspiration to eternity are well expressed through Lacquer which even after thousands of years maintains its splendor.
Wensen has turned lacquer painting from a traditional medium that combines various techniques to a contemporary medium of art expression. In his works roughness and undulating texture are coordinated with smoothness and shine, as if Wensen is covering the work with a layer of poetic fog, silently whispering his inspiration.
Wensen never seeks to be ornamental nor he seeks strong visual effects, but rather prefers to find a subtle and lingering charm from various colors and material collision - creating art that has a life of its own. The lacquers sometimes take the form of collages of carefully chosen and embedded ready-made materials, creating results that are constantly changing in the Artist’s hands. When a cut of an abandoned washboard, a piece of ramie fabric or a bamboo mat are set in the lacquer they lose some parts of their identity, giving way to a sense of alienation between familiar and unfamiliar.
“Poetic Layers” comes as a collaborative effort with Hong Merchant Gallery in Shanghai, where Wensen has previously been showing his artworks.
