ABOUT THE ARTIST

Do abstract paintings correspond to the idea of splashing paint on canvas? We see millions of artists doing their abstraction in this very same way today. Contrary, I am taking a step towards the research of the ‘controlled’ possibility of abstraction by putting emphasis into the cognitive part of it. As in poetry, poets do not just use words that ‘come’ to their heads spontaneously and claim being ‘expressive’; there’s always the art of polishing - the academic side of it.

My works contain a careful placement of colour, of lines and of shapes to balance the composition. They are intentionally positioned and subconsciously superimposed, based on aesthetic knowledge and practice. During creation, I sway back and forth from the need of application to leaving gaps for subconscious to take control.

I think less of style, but of influence; I received much from my ancestry, through my teaching practices and from Canada. Being a Chinese, the influences came from the many Eastern paintings and calligraphic works around me. As I taught my students the concepts of design, western calligraphy and spontaneous art, I constantly explored the aesthetic elements and their collaborations. Reflection and criticism go hand in hand during and after the creation. I learn from various artists, dead and alive, as I come across them in the stages of my life, be they the west coast aboriginals or the long gone Classical masters, the contemporary images or the cross discipline art works.

There have been several stages in my art development – surreal beginning (~1984),  figurative years (~1988–96), the expressive graphite (~1993-4), the lost years in abstraction (~1996-2003), the symbolic inks (~2003-2010), expressive imageries (2005-07), the subconscious drawings (2010-2012), black and white impasto (2012-2013), constructive abstracts (2013).

A number of my original works have been sold to Canadian collectors over the course of last two years.

http://erikcheung.blogspot.ca/