Harper's Bazaar (Singapore)

MAKING THEIR MARK

Galerie Steph is ready to help you grow your collection with two award-winning female artists

- “Sweet Surrender: Studies in Abstractio­n” by Sharmistha Ray and “Currents: Flow, Fall, Calm, Curl” by Zhang Chun Hong are on view at Galerie Steph from 14 January to 1 March 2014

SHARMISTHA RAY

Her vibrant abstract paintings evoke her identity as a cosmopolit­an woman and diasporic artist —a topic she’s discussed at a TED Talk in Canada

Currently based between Mumbai and New York, Ray’s life is overlaid with a wealth of experience, having grown up in the Middle East and United States before moving back to India. Her densely layered canvases with their vibrant yet daring colour palette reflect her own multiple social, linguistic, cultural and geographic ties. The sublime pastoral landscapes are poetic metascapes for her identity, sexuality and the cities she’s lived in. Following a successful solo show in New York and a TED Fellows Retreat in Vancouver in 2013, “Sweet Surrender” with Galerie Steph is Ray’s third solo exhibition. It comprises abstract paintings made between 2006 and 2013, tracing the evolution of her experiment­s with abstractio­n. These works, with their multiple layers of paint vibrating with colour and impasto, appeal to a diverse collector base. Her works are in private collection­s in India, USA, Italy and Australia.

ZHANG CHUN HONG

One of seven artists asked to appear in the Asian American exhibition at the Smithsonia­n

Having studied in both Chinese and American fine arts institutio­ns, Zhang has found the perfect balance between the two cultures. In China she received a rigorous foundation in painting and drawing, while in the States she was free to explore any subject matter, and thus carved a style that combines traditiona­l skills with contempora­ry ideas. In her bold charcoal works and her detailed ink paintings of disembodie­d long black hair, Zhang explores her identity. Her new works in “Currents,” exhibiting at Galerie Steph, are inspired by the Pacific Ocean and Chinese Yellow River. She examines the element of water by depicting waves, river currents and waterfalls. However, at closer look, each stroke becomes a strand of hair, producing an interplay between illusion and reality. Her works are represente­d in museums and private collection­s.

 ??  ?? Sharmistha Ray, 2013, Le Jardin, oil on canvas, 92 x 92 cm
Sharmistha Ray, 2013, Le Jardin, oil on canvas, 92 x 92 cm
 ??  ?? Zhang Chun Hong, 2012, Tides(Water#3), Chinese ink and watercolou­r on rice paper, 153 x 61cm
Zhang Chun Hong, 2012, Tides(Water#3), Chinese ink and watercolou­r on rice paper, 153 x 61cm
 ??  ?? Zhang working on
Fall (2013), a large charcoal drawing on a paper scroll
Zhang working on Fall (2013), a large charcoal drawing on a paper scroll
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