“Walking on walking, under foot earth turns. Streams and mountains never stay the same.” ——Gary Snyder, “Mountains and Rivers Without End”

Gradually moving away from the urban scenery in recent year, Lai Sio kit’s latest series of forest viewscapes have brought with them bracing possibilities; initially, he began painting with the uncharted territory of the aging city left undisturbed, as he went on to inquire the ‘illusive and precipitous mountain ranges’ manipulated from his aerial perception of the forest. In place of his developed series dominated by the bird’s-eye view, he is now to present landscapes synthesized at the eye-level. It is Sio Kit’s intension to retain a lower viewpoint; as he sees grass sprouting, entwining trunks and windswept limbs, the river runs in a sloping cascade. His images are rendered with obsessive details, characterized by remarkable textures and mellow tonalities; his downward gaze led us to see beauty in mundanity.

Lai Sio Kit’s natural scenes are subtle, they are emptied of the sublime and grandeur, or the resemblance of earthly paradises. The vision of his work huddled in an almost discreet setting, that is coherent to his visual experience in a restricted city. His paintings are ingratiated from his forest walks, using his own photographs as reference, they provide an insight into the endless motion of changing visuals to create the gestalt of nature itself. He is focus on the profound connection with nature, of all its nascence and mystery, are ingrained to manifest of the artist’s psyche. Sio Kit’s paintings, motivated by his own innate bearings, rejects of a narrative tendency. His soft landscapes represent nature at its abstract shades and subtle colors, to rid of the shocking palettes or unnecessary drama. His representational pieces are imbued with abstract lucidity, for capturing the fragments of his travel memories, that are tranquil, delicate yet effortless.

In reality Lai Sio Kit is often distracted by the many duties as a curator and art educator; driven in part by escapism, he often find haven in the forest. He once stated, “I become agitated whenever I couldn't find the time to paint. In painting the forest I come upon the most inspiring palette; it is the magnificent presence of nature that I yearn for, where I see eternity in the ubiquitous green.” The sensibility and dexterity as an artist allow Sio Kit to capture the nameless forest in such painterly grace - his empathic, vigorous brushstrokes fill up the picture with a myriad of details, while the audience is invited to explore the psychological places in his landscapes, for the artist himself, it is an honest response to the silence of nature, the partial ascent of an intriguing spiritual expedition, in which creates a compelling world for his audience to explore.

 

Curator

Leong Fei In