PURE AND SIMPLE

A collection of Simon's sketches and smaller works are assembled for opening night in the second floor gallery.

純淨簡約

Simon的素描系列和小型作品放於二樓藝廊，作開幕夜之用。

In the other corner of the living area, the white cube is designated another duty. Constructed by Simon, a semi-independent structure accommodates the bathroom within it and the bedroom atop it. A stripped-back steel staircase leads up to the latter, at the same time enclosing the compact kitchen beneath. An exercise in space and minimalism, this is without doubt an artist’s residence, with canvases of various sizes on display and numerous framed works propped against the walls. Simon explains that the pieces hung here are on constant rotation, consisting of "whatever is spare or recently produced – it changes constantly as stuff is shipped off around the world."

Indeed, his sights are set on horizons further afield with his current project, the second edition of The 14th Factory, a large-scale art experience that opens in Los Angeles this month. Located in a 150,000sqft warehouse near the city’s Chinatown (the first event was housed in the former headquarters of J.P. Morgan on Wall Street in New York), Birch has assembled creative talents from Mainland China, Hong Kong, the UK and the US to build an immersive, multisensory installation. Through the exhibition, the audience is encouraged to explore themes of universal relationships as the structures around them expand and contract – proving the artist’s ability to think not only inside, but also outside, the white cube. //

偌大空間中簡單放有數件傢具，但也不難看到Simon的電單車或其中一輪座駕停泊其中。佔盡風頭的是L型沙發和飾釘皮沙發，包圍中世紀風大圓形咖啡桌而立，上方則掛有雕塑般的矚目燈飾。窗邊的實芯木餐桌成工作空間，全長跟大樓外牆相等，湧入無盡天然光。

客廳另一角落的白色格為另一任務而設。這半獨立結構由Simon建構，容下浴室、上方則建睡房。低調的鋼梯通往後者，同時把下方小巧廚房封閉起來。如此佈局與簡約取向，再加上多幅不同大小的陳列品和倚牆而放的裱框作，讓人一看便認出這必為藝術家的天地。Simon解釋掛放此處的作品定時轉換，包括「剩下沒作擺放的、最近製作的，作品從世界各地郵寄過來，所以定時轉變。」

他的目光現集中當下項目第二版The 14th Factory，這大型藝術體驗本月於洛杉磯開幕。150,000平方呎的倉庫就近城內Chinatown(首個紐約華爾街前摩根大通總部內舉行的活動)，Simon將集合來自中國內地、香港、英國和美國的創作人才，建出多感官裝置。展覽鼓勵觀眾探索宇宙關係的主題，如身邊擴張和接觸到的結構，證明藝術家的能力不能只收放於內，而要放遠至外，好比這白色方格。//