Thean Chie Chan
now 

Opening: December 15, 2022, 7 pm 

Duration: December 16, 2022 - January 14, 2023

Natter  Galerie Krinzinger presents with now a solo exhibition of recent works by artist Thean Chie Chan. He studied as a student of Christian Ludwig Attersee at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. The subtlety of the concept of his classical ink painting consists not only in its limitation to one color, but also in its minimalistic juxtaposition of contrasts. Order vs. Chaos - Thean Chie Chan's art is to bring two contrasting concepts into one simple form. The lines represent order, the splattered paint represents chaos, randomness. In some paintings, these two concepts meet. The amorphous structures, shaped like an hourglass, can be understood as a metaphor of being human. Thean Chie Chan uses classical ink painting to depict, from his point of view, modern man. Through our individuality, people are separated from each other and connected only by a thin line. However, this is already a success, because through this we are able to relate to each other. Regarding this, Thean Chie Chan says: My art is not just about beauty, but rather about expressing the human spirit, as a complex phenomenon built on the physical framework of the brain. In the early years of my practice, I was taught, as were many others, to view oil painting as a sublime medium. Yet my fondness for ink calligraphy remained undiminished. I fondly remember my days at Jit Sin Elementary and Secondary School, where my teachers taught me calligraphy and drawing. That was the beginning of my journey as an artist with edges. The medium may be considered traditional, but it also has the sophistication to address the abstract themes of existentialism and inner life. For me, it is a blend of reality and abstraction, a fusion of Eastern philosophy and Western thought, and most importantly, the expression of fear and peace.   

THEAN CHIE CHAN born 1972 in Penang, Malaysia, lives and works in Vienna.In 1999, he received his master's degree from the Attersee Master Class, University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria. Over the past 25 years, Chan Thean Chie has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in Austria, including: Bank Austria Kunstforum, Mumok, Kunstverein Eisenstadt, Galerie Krinzinger, among others. His last exhibition in Asia was at Penang State Gallery, Malaysia in 2022.His most recent exhibitions include: now, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, 2022, Penang State Art Gallery, Penang 2022, Unbelievably Outlined, Bank Austria Kunstforum, Vienna, AT, 2018, solo, Air 2017, Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna, AT, 2018, Michael Vonbank, Im Tintenfischgarten tief in mir - Erste Retrospektive 1990-2015, Galerie Kunst & Handel, Graz, AT, 2016, Mythen, Riten, Maskenspiele, Museum Krems, Krems, AT, 2015, solo, Zeichnungen, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, AT, 2013, solo.