Three exciting exhibitions this month at Artereal Gallery

Enjoy the outstanding solo exhibitions by artists Zhang Hongkuan, Arthur Ou and Petra Svoboda. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) July 05, 2011 - ZHANG HONGKUAN
POWER NESTS
6 - 30 July 2011

In association with China Art Projects based in Beijing, Zhang Hongkuan is exhibiting Power nests, a graphic series of photographs capturing fragments from the tangles of cables integral to the many power networks traversing the urban environment in China and in cities world-wide.

Zhang Hongkuan works within the genre of landscape, however pushes its boundaries by isolating and focusing on a commonplace, and often deemed ugly elements of the urban streetscape. These unsightly outgrowths and carbuncles of cabling are skilfully transformed by the artist and lens into cryptic, poetic abstractions; with Power nest #8 and #9 in particular recalling the paintings of Australian abstractionist Stanislaus Rapotec.

Zhang Hongkuan was born in Tianjin China in 1967 and graduated in 1991 from Tongji University, Shanghai with a degree in medicine and specialized in orthopaedic medicine until the late 1990s. Zhang has lived in Italy, Bulgaria and France since leaving China in 1998. He studied oil painting and traditional fresco painting in Rome at La Scuola degli Arti Ornamentali from 2000-2002 and now lives and works in Paris as a full time artist and also practices traditional Chinese massage and acupuncture. He has exhibited in Europe, Asia and Australia and his work is held in collections in China, USA, France, UK, Poland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Brazil, Argentina and Bulgaria.

ARTHUR OU
TEST SCREENS
6 - 30 July 2011

Arthur Ou, a Taiwanese artist currently living and working in New York and is an Associate Professor of Photography at Parsons New School for Design. Exhibiting in Sydney for the first time Arthur is showing a selection from his Test Screens series of innovative landscape photo-media works. He intentionally interferes with the direct view of the photograph by incorporating a layer of 'drawing' or 'painting' with light into the photographic space.
The artist manipulates the black and white film at negative stage with bleaching and masking techniques. After shooting the coastal locations for his Test Screen series, a bleach solution was applied to the black and white negative film. This process removes the emulsion to form clear areas on the negative where the light penetrates and appears as black in the finished print. In some works, such as Test Screens (Wall) and Test Screens (Line), a stencil is prepared for the text or lines, which are masked out before bleach is applied through the mask for more defined edges. This is a subtractive process, however these elements appear added or overlaid when printed.
Arthur Ou's practice incorporates architecture, sculpture, ceramics and photo-media. East-West themes and aesthetics are a constant; aligned with his personal cultural experience and history. While his works embody a notion of transience, operating within and expressive of the space where two cultures meet, the pervading implication throughout his practice is the migration of ideas through art.

PETRA SVOBODA
THE COMMODIFICATION OF IMAGINATION
6 - 30 July 2011

The concept of The Commodification of Imagination relates to the oft held desire to consume and enjoy foreign products and ideas. It can also pertain to the adaptation of foreign technology and practices. The sculptures Gokko-Neko (Make Believe Cat) and Gokko-Inu (Make Believe Dog) reference Japanese popular culture, examine the commodification of imagination and the influence of this in street art and design.

Petra Svoboda's practice explores the rising popularity of anime, Manga, designer toys, and computer games, and how they propel a powerful merchandising machine which generates superfluous amounts of objects often marketed as "collectable". The inflatable form is presented as a metaphor for the superficial lightness of commercial merchandising. The transformed inflatable object also situates itself firmly in the realm of illusion and chimera, connecting itself with the fantasy genre of computer games, animation, and film. There is not only an allusion to play throughout the installation, but also a play on the senses through the apparent metamorphosis of the original plastic objects.

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