Simon Lee Gallery is proud to present the first solo exhibition in America of new works by Hong Kong-based artist Chris Huen Sin Kan. With no prior sketching or planned outcome, Huen’s large-scale oil paintings are derived from observation of his own life, portraying quotidian experiences through a fresh set of aesthetic strategies. In constructing a constellation of moments that compose his daily life, Huen imbues domestic representational painting with both deft abstraction and the hallmarks of traditional ink painting.

Maintaining an acute awareness to their surroundings, the paintings depict the people, activities, and landscapes near the artist’s home and studio. Based in the remote area of Yuen Long, located in rural land north of the dense urban center of Kowloon, Huen paints an extended narrative revolving around a recurring cast of characters that includes his wife Haze, son Joel and dogs Balltz, Mui Mui and Doodood. This new set of works finds Huen portraying the night, enabling him to experiment with a darker, more saturated palette. Whether it is a curious glance from his dog, or the shadow of leaves against distant city lights, Huen’s surprising use of blank space and fragmented forms gives voice to a specific moment and the way it exists or perhaps escapes his consciousness. The deliberate loss of detail and texture is a record of observations evoking minute, fleeting details and the transience of a moment captured by the artists’ mind and suspended in the present. Depicting what has been seen but perhaps forgotten, Huen’s intuitive exploration of perception flows with a deep sensitivity and alchemy of recognition, attaining a specific resonance steeped in individual sensation and shared experience.

Chris Huen Sin Kan (b. 1991) lives and works in Hong Kong. He obtained a BA in Fine Arts at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2013. Recent solo exhibitions include Pilar Corrias Gallery, London, UK (2017, 2016), Nanhai Gallery, Taipei (2015), and Gallery Exit, Hong Kong (2015, 2014). Group exhibitions include Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre, Hong Kong (2017), Simon Lee Gallery, Hong Kong (2016), Leo Xu Project, Shanghai, China (2016), Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing, China (2015), and Parasite Art Space, Hong Kong (2015). His work is held in private and public collections, including Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing, China.