Jacky Tsai: The Quarantine Era

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Contemporary by Angela Li is proud to present The Quarantine Era, solo exhibition of London-based Chinese pop artist Jacky Tsai. Tsai is renowned for his interplay of Chinese and Western cultures in his works and his artistic practice is a hybrid of principles from both the East and West. In his new body of works, he employs an integrated perspective of mixing of ideologies into responding to the global pandemic.

Tsai uses various traditional Chinese techniques, such as porcelain, Suzhou embroidery, lacquer carving and hand-crafted screen prints in his works that are presented with a contemporary Western touch. This gives his works a unique narrative that describes the tension between the cultural clashes of the Eastern and Western worlds, between the classical and the contemporary. Tsai’s creative renditions allow him to explore contemporary issues in a playful and satirical manner. In addition to Tsai’s use of the pop art style, the artist is also deeply vested in Chinese artistry and aspires to preserve the centuries-old Chinese craftsmanship through nuancing them into his artistic expression.

In the exhibition, Tsai continues to utilize his visual language to invite his viewers to reflect upon the global pandemic with a new perspective. His juxtaposition of imageries and careful choice of colour palettes transform his picture plane into a lens for viewers to look at the current event that has been affecting every aspect of our lives – the pandemic. The epidemic has inspired Tsai to experiment with new methods of viewing art, in addition to innovative reflections on the core of art and creativity. The exhibition also features Jacky’s augmented reality (AR) works, presenting an interactive art experience that combines art and technology.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Jacky Tsai (b. 1984, Shanghai, China) graduated from the China Academy of Art, Hangzhou in 2006, and obtained a postgraduate degree from Central St. Martins, London in 2008. Tsai’s works investigate the place of cultural heritage in contemporary society and has become the leading Chinese contemporary pop artist. He is best known as the creator of the iconic floral skull for the late British fashion designer Alexander McQueen and has also collaborated with brands such as La Mer, Bvlgari, Eastern & Oriental Tiger Express, GUM Department Store Moscow, Genting Dream Cruise, Lane Crawford, Harvey Nichols, and Shanghai Tang.

Tsai has held exhibitions worldwide, including: “Life·Fantasy” (Shanghai, 2021), “Christie’s Art+Tech Summit: Mixed Reality” (Hong Kong, 2019), “Men of Steel, Women of Wonder” (Bentonville, 2019), “Fly Me to the Moon” (Moscow, 2018), “Reincarnation” (London, 2018), “Human Nature” (Hong Kong, 2017), “The Lost Angels” (Los Angeles, 2017), “Future Past II” (Hong Kong, 2016), “Culture Clash” (New York, 2016), “Harmonious Society” (London, 2016), “Future Past” (London, 2015), “East West” (Hong Kong, 2015) and “Eastern Orbit” (London, 2014). The artist currently lives and works in London, UK.