Hong Kong artist Kwok Mang Ho, better known as Frog King celebrates his 70th birthday with a new exhibition at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Frog King turns 70, Experiments in Ink since the 1970s. The exhibition opens on 28 September, 2017 from 6:30-8:30pm with a live performance by Frog King at 7:30pm. This exhibition will explore the many ways in which Frog King has developed his ink practice over the last 50 years, having started in 1967.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Throughout his career, Frog King has been working with ink in myriad ways. He began his artistic practice as a traditional ink painter under the guidance of Lui Shou-Kwan, who was known as Hong Kong’s new ink painting master during the time of his tuition in the 1970s. However, he quickly broke tradition and started to experiment with ink in more conceptual ways.
Frog King's use of ink includes performance, daily practice of painting calligraphy expressing his innovated “Sandwich Font” merging Chinese characters and Western writing, graffiti, collage paintings and screens that layers his many methods of ink practices, one-second painting performances, sculptural works and installations, as well as signature Frog King ink chops among many other techniques.
Frog King's motto, “Art is life, Life is Art” is something that we see not only appearing within his works but is something he lives by. He works constantly on his artworks, usually waking in the early hours to paint or sitting in Hong Kong cafes brush and paper in hand. Frog King says that he feels totally free working on his ink paintings into the night as if his mind is lost in his work.
Katie de Tilly, Director of 10 Chancery Lane Gallery comments, “to discover Frog King’s art is multilayered, the depth and thoughtfulness of his practice as an ink painter is something that few take note, focusing too much on his colorful persona and spirited performances. Frog King’s artworks are refined, innovative and groundbreaking and he continues to explore and progress his practice throughout the years. We hope in this exhibition to invite the audience to a new level of understanding of the work of the wonderful Frog King.”
