Past Exhibition
THROUGH THE LENSES
26 Mar - 31 May | 2022
Cai Wen-You Chu ChuEdelstein BarbaraIsa Ho Introduction
Southside Saturday: 26 March 12-6, and 2 April 3-5pm, in person and virtual tour
Southside Saturday
21 May, Saturday, 11am-6pm, one-day event “Through Your Own Lenses”
Come learn more about the works then take a selfie with your favourite one for a chance to appear on the gallery’s social media platform. Top 5 will be posted
Art Basel Hong Kong VIP Programme
28 May, Saturday, 10am-11am, Virtual talk with 4 women artists
Discussion will focus on the use of photography in their practice and how if at all being a woman artist has affected their artistic journey.
The talk will take place virtually through Zoom
Register Link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gzfsCLkmQk2xB8GUdOTULA
RSVP assistant@alisan.com.hk
Address: 2305 Hing Wai Centre, 7 Tin Wan Praya Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Please note: Aberdeen gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday 10-6 during the exhibition, other times by appointment only
Barbara Edelstein’s work will be for sale at Hong Kong Art Gallery Association’s fundraising booth at Art Basel Hong Kong 2022 to raise funds for the Association. Booth location: institution booth 2, 1/F concourse
In celebration of International Women’s Day, Alisan Fine Arts is pleased to present a group exhibition Through the Lenses showcasing works by 4 international female artists who use the camera as their medium of expression. They include Cai Wen-You, Chu Chu, Barbara Edelstein, and Isa Ho. There will be an in person and virtual tour on 26 March and 2 April Southside Saturday via Zoom, and a virtual talk with 4 women artists on 28 May, Saturday, 10am-11am, as part of Art Basel Hong Kong VIP Programme. Barbara Edelstein’s work will be for sale at Hong Kong Art Gallery Association’s fundraising booth at Art Basel Hong Kong 2022 to raise funds for the Association. Booth location is institution booth 2, 1/F concourse. Alisan Aberdeen is open Wednesday to Saturday 10-6 during the exhibition. Other times by appointment only.
Cai Wen-You
New York-based photographer, Cai calls herself a “reluctant artist and day dreamer". At the age of five, she received her first camera and from then on her life became intrinsically entwined with photography. Working closely with her father, the renowned international artist Cai Guo-Qiang (ACC Fellow 1995), Cai Wen-You records the daily life of the artist and her family through her lens which also unveil the palpable emotional and cultural connection between generations. Cai said, “My father is ‘rooster’, my mother is ‘tiger’, my younger sister is ‘sheep’ and I’m ‘snake’. We have quite different characters but formed a harmonious, loving and playful family”.
Born in 1989 Tokyo, Cai is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, and Goldsmiths College. In 2015, she published her memoir When You Make No Art, about growing up in the art world. The following year, Cai founded Special Special, an art edition gallery and concept store in New York. Her photographs made their exhibition debut at MGM Cotai, Macau in 2019.
Alisan has been showcasing her works since 2020, and has included her works in several group exhibitions: 2nd Annual of Asian Cultural Council Fellows, 2020 and Art 021 Online Platform, 2020.
Chu Chu
Accomplished cross-media artist based in Hangzhou, Chu is well-known for her photographic and calligraphic works which are deeply influenced by Chinese philosophies and classical texts. She was first inspired by branches and flowers she found during visits to the botanical garden near her home. After bringing them back to her studio she photographed them over a period of years. Upon printing the images, she paintstakingly applied calligraphy directly onto the photographs making each one of them unique.
Born in 1975, Chu received her MFA in new media from China Academy of Art, Hangzhou in 2007, and PhD in calligraphy in 2015, under the tutelage of the esteemed international calligrapher Wang Dongling. Chu has received received numerous prizes for her work including: Shiseido Prize of Best Female Photographer, 2011; Yearly Cutting-edge Photographer, 2010; Creative Award of New Media, 2006. Currently she is the Vice Secretary of Lanting Calligraphy Society and the Vice President of Zhejiang Female Calligraphers Association. Major collections include Philadelphia Museum of Art; Pompidou Centre; Stavanger Kunstmuseum, Norway; Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum.
Alisan first showcased Chu’s works in Beyond the Jade Terrace in 2014, a group exhibition of four standout female artists, followed by her first solo show in Hong Kong in 2017. Art fairs include Art Basel Hong Kong and Taipei Dangdai.
Barbara Edelstein
American artist Edelstein uses the interface of nature and life as the foundation for her artwork. Her poetically internalized interpretations of intricate forms of leaves, their membranes and patterns reflect her particular fascination in leaves and water. The interpretation, which employs photography and Chinese ink on Western paper, offers intriguing correspondences of nature and exquisitely merges Western and Asian sensibilities.
Born in Los Angeles, Edelstein received her MFA in Arts and Sculpture from Claremont Graduate University, California. She is a former recipient of Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency, two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants, and MacDowell Colony and Djerassi Residencies. Currently she is a professor of art at NYU Shanghai. She lives and works between the two cities. Alisan organized a joint exhibition for her and Zhang Jian-Jun, Ineffable Garden in 2020. Selected collections include National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC; Azerbaijan Museum, Azerbijan; Museum Kolei Waskotorowej, Poland; Guangdong Museum of Art; and Shanghai Art Museum.
Isa Ho
Isa Ho is an artist from Taiwan who focuses in digital and contemporary photography. Ho`s signature work involves digitally printing surrealist images on an aluminum board, through which she addresses social concerns and fulfills what she regards as a personal responsibility to society. She is strongly influenced by her previous experience in oil painting, which leads to the rigorous compositional formation of her photographs, challenges the documentary attribute of photography, and adds a flair for storytelling.
Born in 1977, Keelung, Ho received a Master of Fine Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts. She has been awarded numerous prizes and fellowships including: Arte Laguna Prize special prize, 2018; ISE Cultural Foundation Award, 2013; Asian Cultural Council Fellowship, 2012 and 2015. She was the resident artist at International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York in 2013 and 2015, and at Cité International des Arts in Paris from 2009 to 2010. Major collections include National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Hong-Gah Museum, Taiwan; and Gwangju Museum of Art, Korea.
Alisan began showcasing her work in 2020 with the 2nd Annual of Asian Cultural Council Fellows, 2020.
Southside Saturday
21 May, Saturday, 11am-6pm, one-day event “Through Your Own Lenses”
Come learn more about the works then take a selfie with your favourite one for a chance to appear on the gallery’s social media platform. Top 5 will be posted
Art Basel Hong Kong VIP Programme
28 May, Saturday, 10am-11am, Virtual talk with 4 women artists
Discussion will focus on the use of photography in their practice and how if at all being a woman artist has affected their artistic journey.
The talk will take place virtually through Zoom
Register Link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gzfsCLkmQk2xB8GUdOTULA
RSVP assistant@alisan.com.hk
Address: 2305 Hing Wai Centre, 7 Tin Wan Praya Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Please note: Aberdeen gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday 10-6 during the exhibition, other times by appointment only
Barbara Edelstein’s work will be for sale at Hong Kong Art Gallery Association’s fundraising booth at Art Basel Hong Kong 2022 to raise funds for the Association. Booth location: institution booth 2, 1/F concourse
In celebration of International Women’s Day, Alisan Fine Arts is pleased to present a group exhibition Through the Lenses showcasing works by 4 international female artists who use the camera as their medium of expression. They include Cai Wen-You, Chu Chu, Barbara Edelstein, and Isa Ho. There will be an in person and virtual tour on 26 March and 2 April Southside Saturday via Zoom, and a virtual talk with 4 women artists on 28 May, Saturday, 10am-11am, as part of Art Basel Hong Kong VIP Programme. Barbara Edelstein’s work will be for sale at Hong Kong Art Gallery Association’s fundraising booth at Art Basel Hong Kong 2022 to raise funds for the Association. Booth location is institution booth 2, 1/F concourse. Alisan Aberdeen is open Wednesday to Saturday 10-6 during the exhibition. Other times by appointment only.
Cai Wen-You
New York-based photographer, Cai calls herself a “reluctant artist and day dreamer". At the age of five, she received her first camera and from then on her life became intrinsically entwined with photography. Working closely with her father, the renowned international artist Cai Guo-Qiang (ACC Fellow 1995), Cai Wen-You records the daily life of the artist and her family through her lens which also unveil the palpable emotional and cultural connection between generations. Cai said, “My father is ‘rooster’, my mother is ‘tiger’, my younger sister is ‘sheep’ and I’m ‘snake’. We have quite different characters but formed a harmonious, loving and playful family”.
Born in 1989 Tokyo, Cai is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, and Goldsmiths College. In 2015, she published her memoir When You Make No Art, about growing up in the art world. The following year, Cai founded Special Special, an art edition gallery and concept store in New York. Her photographs made their exhibition debut at MGM Cotai, Macau in 2019.
Alisan has been showcasing her works since 2020, and has included her works in several group exhibitions: 2nd Annual of Asian Cultural Council Fellows, 2020 and Art 021 Online Platform, 2020.
Chu Chu
Accomplished cross-media artist based in Hangzhou, Chu is well-known for her photographic and calligraphic works which are deeply influenced by Chinese philosophies and classical texts. She was first inspired by branches and flowers she found during visits to the botanical garden near her home. After bringing them back to her studio she photographed them over a period of years. Upon printing the images, she paintstakingly applied calligraphy directly onto the photographs making each one of them unique.
Born in 1975, Chu received her MFA in new media from China Academy of Art, Hangzhou in 2007, and PhD in calligraphy in 2015, under the tutelage of the esteemed international calligrapher Wang Dongling. Chu has received received numerous prizes for her work including: Shiseido Prize of Best Female Photographer, 2011; Yearly Cutting-edge Photographer, 2010; Creative Award of New Media, 2006. Currently she is the Vice Secretary of Lanting Calligraphy Society and the Vice President of Zhejiang Female Calligraphers Association. Major collections include Philadelphia Museum of Art; Pompidou Centre; Stavanger Kunstmuseum, Norway; Shanghai Minsheng Art Museum.
Alisan first showcased Chu’s works in Beyond the Jade Terrace in 2014, a group exhibition of four standout female artists, followed by her first solo show in Hong Kong in 2017. Art fairs include Art Basel Hong Kong and Taipei Dangdai.
Barbara Edelstein
American artist Edelstein uses the interface of nature and life as the foundation for her artwork. Her poetically internalized interpretations of intricate forms of leaves, their membranes and patterns reflect her particular fascination in leaves and water. The interpretation, which employs photography and Chinese ink on Western paper, offers intriguing correspondences of nature and exquisitely merges Western and Asian sensibilities.
Born in Los Angeles, Edelstein received her MFA in Arts and Sculpture from Claremont Graduate University, California. She is a former recipient of Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency, two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants, and MacDowell Colony and Djerassi Residencies. Currently she is a professor of art at NYU Shanghai. She lives and works between the two cities. Alisan organized a joint exhibition for her and Zhang Jian-Jun, Ineffable Garden in 2020. Selected collections include National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC; Azerbaijan Museum, Azerbijan; Museum Kolei Waskotorowej, Poland; Guangdong Museum of Art; and Shanghai Art Museum.
Isa Ho
Isa Ho is an artist from Taiwan who focuses in digital and contemporary photography. Ho`s signature work involves digitally printing surrealist images on an aluminum board, through which she addresses social concerns and fulfills what she regards as a personal responsibility to society. She is strongly influenced by her previous experience in oil painting, which leads to the rigorous compositional formation of her photographs, challenges the documentary attribute of photography, and adds a flair for storytelling.
Born in 1977, Keelung, Ho received a Master of Fine Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts. She has been awarded numerous prizes and fellowships including: Arte Laguna Prize special prize, 2018; ISE Cultural Foundation Award, 2013; Asian Cultural Council Fellowship, 2012 and 2015. She was the resident artist at International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York in 2013 and 2015, and at Cité International des Arts in Paris from 2009 to 2010. Major collections include National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Hong-Gah Museum, Taiwan; and Gwangju Museum of Art, Korea.
Alisan began showcasing her work in 2020 with the 2nd Annual of Asian Cultural Council Fellows, 2020.