AL/linum - Luke Heng by A+ WORKS of ART

AL/linum LU K E H EN G

Extra-Ordinary Renditions

By Josef NG

Throughout his brief yet extensive artistic career to date, there has been a tacit insistence that Luke Heng’s materials and medium—which includes paintings, sculptural objects, and installations—speak of far more than their content suggests. Born in Singapore, Heng is known for his alluring visual examinations of painting as a subject and medium, and the new works in this exhibition mark the evolution of Heng’s practice as he ventures beyond the realms of painterly manifestations. AL/linum brings together the union of 2 series of works that deal with the perception and manipulation of spaces within a painting. Although, again, forms as markers that demarcate spaces in general, is Heng’s subject, it is specifically a change in illusiveness, or cycles of illusions, that he is creating. The exhibition exudes the notion of being monumental and oblique, sleek and detail-oriented, and it maintains its distance from any standard aesthetic response or conventional display. As the artist has expressed: “Having conceived the larger oil paintings that deals with the spatiotemporal, which was a continuous development of the Non-Place series, the small-scale digital prints came as a form of counteraction to what the larger oil paintings are doing.”

Hence, the exhibition brings to the fore the experiential, as well as meditative, qualities in Heng’s works. In recent years, Heng’s practices have developed in two distinct trajectories, with the first being his painterly works that engage on a philosophical level and preoccupation with the perception of painting and its results; and the second being the more conceptual thread that emphasizes materiality and the process of materialization, as evidenced in his wax and steel creations. Heng’s practice is guided by his interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine, stemming from the fact that he comes from a family of Chinese physicians. Heng also picks up ideas and concepts from the I-Ching (Book of Changes) whereby yin and yang philosophies govern his thoughts and compositional effects during his process, guiding his manipulation of choices in his works to maintain a certain sense of visual harmony. These

influences reflect the artist’s views on liminality and boundary, witnessed in the abstract variations in his artworks: a misty narrow strip or two in an otherwise plain-looking canvas, or rectangular steel bars bound within translucent wax slabs. Non-Place In the ongoing Non-Place series of oil on linen paintings produced since 2017, Heng investigates themes of perception and optics by shifting bands of lines within the visual frame. Depth and perspective are introduced to build what the artist refers to as a “resting space” for the mind. The immersion of the gestural in the vivid blues and purples and diaphanous whites activates the tonal textures of the paintings, which under close inspection reveal the artist’s laborious pouring and drying technique. Layers of distinctive brush-like strokes — which are actually lines created via reduction — work in tandem with varying shades of colour to create a rhythmic pulse suggestive of expansiveness in an otherwise sparse background when they are, in fact, lying beneath the uppermost layer of paint. While hovering on the edge of abstraction, the literal construction of the non-place has directed this body of work, which is in creating a visual sanctuary that transforms into a visceral one — particularly a sanctuary that comes with a seemingly minimalistic connotation, with a quest for some sort of liminal insight, or endeavour. In a new departure made in the afterglow of the previously simpler and meditative compositions, Heng ekes out drama in his new paintings. The brushworks are more gestural and applied to each canvas to form quarters of what resemble vast silhouettes of dark seepage. They are the residues of a process that limits itself to a perfectly judged surface. Whether as single piece or in diptych and more, the works demonstrate a further attempt to reconcile the artist’s increasing ambivalence regarding abstraction’s spatial efficacy with his abiding interest in abstract forms’ ability to captivate the eye. With varying formations infused with theatricality across these paintings, they manage to possess the space and make every blot, smear, and mark in its surroundings into one humming representation. The result is a gaseous, cloudy kind of abstraction. The materiality of Luke’s abstraction is all but discarded in favour of atmosphere. Periodic Seedings Heng’s investigations into the legacy of abstraction and the intricacies of process leads him into a new series, Periodic Seedings, continuing his exploration in manifesting representations of painting, through the inspiration of what constitutes being painterly. In Periodic Seedings, the artist has undertaken a completely new process to generate compositional effect, which, instead of creating on canvases, they are digitally printed on Inkjet on Aluminum composite panel, otherwise known as Dilite. At a time of revolution in digital technologies, when making extraordinary images have never been technically easier,

could painting be assimilated along with advanced software to create a co-existed dynamic? Process — or, rather, the evidence of process is the focus here. Through modest interventions, Heng utilizes a sequence generator which generates a random set of 64 numbers (in 8 � 8 format). The artist then converts into a set of I-Ching hexagrams for the compositional effects of the resultant screen-prints. To Heng, engaging with the structures of technological software/computer programming, is to allow strategies of mediation through element of chance, though calculated, and a back-and-forth negotiation with formal dilemmas and making micro-decisions, to create varied scenarios for brightly coloured, cascading patterns and forms. Suspended between representation and abstraction, with a slight nod towards Op Art, these new ‘digital paintings’ — all relatively small-scale — exhilarate in sheer surface, obsesses at materializing the painting/painterly as illustrating a concept. Viewed as a whole, in a multi-colored web of symmetries, Periodic Seedings depicts a presence indicating an absence, a series of minimalistic traces reflecting the interplay of the artist’s digital palette of idiomatic recipes. Heng engages us in the inner spirit of Chinese ideology, such as Taoism, while simultaneously suggesting aspects of values (material and immaterial, rigidness and fluidity) at work within these technological-aided panes in varying dimensionalities; looming nature of astonishing surface complexity. AL/linum presents an immersive environment built on shifting intellectual and emotional states to grant access to imagery and information beyond the reach of abstraction, within Heng’s fusion of paintings and digital renderings; becoming a contemplative refuge for chanced neutrality and mediated encounters. At the heart of this exhibition, AL/linum considers uncertain intervals and outcomes, unseen labour and relationships. Space and movement here is animated, literally and transcendentally, crawling to and fro, in perpetual motion.

Non-Place 2019 Inkjet on aluminium composite 68 ďż˝ 62 cm (each)

Non-Place 2019 Oil on linen 200 ï¿½ 150 cm

Non-Place 2019 Oil on linen 188 ï¿½ 330 cm

Non-Place 2019 Oil on linen 130 ï¿½ 360 cm

A Seed #20181002 B The Family 2018 Inkjet on aluminium composite 31 � 34 � 2.9 cm

A The Family B Open 2018 Inkjet on aluminium composite 31 ďż˝ 68 ďż˝ 2.9 cm

B 22

A Bounce * B Swallowing C Articulating D Gorge E Sprouting 2018 Inkjet on aluminium composite 31 � 68 � 2.9 cm * 31 � 34 � 2.9 cm

B 24

A The Well * B Confining C Taking Apart * 2018 Inkjet on aluminium composite 31 � 68 � 2.9 cm * 31 � 34 � 2.9 cm

A 28

A Already Fording/Dispersing * B Gnawing Bite C Without Embroiling 2018 Inkjet on aluminium composite 31 � 68 � 2.9 cm * 31 � 34 � 2.9 cm

A Swallowing B Articulating/Open 2018 Inkjet on aluminium composite 31 ďż˝ 68 ďż˝ 2.9 cm

A Open * B Swallowing 2018 Inkjet on aluminium composite 31 � 68 � 2.9 cm * 31 � 34 � 2.9 cm

Luke Heng

Born in 1987, Singaporean artist Luke Heng is interested in the dialectics between painting, object, and picture making. His earlier practice revolves around the conceptualisation and physical manifestation of painting, with his works often responding to the history of painting while drawing from various other art forms to influence his approach and process. His latest works assimilate ideas of liminality, impermanence, and transcendent space, fortifying his quiet evocations with an unadulterated presence. Heng graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Arts from LASALLE College of the Arts in 2013, which he attended on a scholarship, and he has since been actively practicing art both locally and internationally. Heng’s practice is guided by his interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine, stemming from the fact that he comes from a family of Chinese physicians. Yin-yang philosophies govern his thoughts and judgments during his painting process, guiding his manipulation of different elements in his works to maintain a certain sense of visual harmony. In recent years, Heng’s works have been developing in two distinct trajectories with the first being his more traditional oil on linen works that engage on a more spiritual level with the process of painting and its results, and the second being the more conceptual thread that emphasizes materiality, the process of materialisation, and the perception of painting. Works belonging to the latter include his recent experimentations with paraffin wax and beeswax to create translucent “paintings” that reveal the physical structures that hold form. His solo exhibition After Asphodel (2017, Singapore) marks the evolution of his practice as he presents standalone wax works and a site-specific installation for the first time. Heng’s first solo exhibition, The Waiting Room, was held at FOST Gallery, Singapore in 2015. His second solo exhibition was at Galerie Isabelle Gounod, Paris, France in 2016. Major group exhibitions that Heng has participated in include Constituent Concreteness at Mizuma Gallery (2016, Singapore), Peculiar Textures at Galerie Steph (2015, Singapore), Primavera 3 at Galerie Frédéric Lacroix (2014, Paris, France), and Departure at iPreciation (2014, Singapore). In 2014, he was selected to participate in the Dena Foundation Artist Residency Program in Paris, France, supported by the National Arts Council, Singapore.

EDUCATION 2009 / LASALLE College of the Arts –2013 (Goldsmiths University of London), Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honors), Singapore.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 / After Asphodel, Pearl Lam Galleries, Singapore 2016 / Royal Stanza, Galerie Isabelle Gounod, Paris, France 2015 / The Waiting Room, FOST Gallery, Singapore

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2018 / These Painter’s Painters, ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia / ART COLOGNE, Pearl Lam Galleries, Cologne, Germany 2016 / Turn Loose The Mermaid, iPreciation, Singapore. / Constituent Concreteness, MIZUMA Gallery, Singapore / Art Stage 2016, FOST Gallery, Singapore 2015 / Perculiar Textures, Galerie Steph, Singapore 2014 / Primavera 3, Galerie Frédéric Lacroix, Paris, France / Echoes of Anticipation, FOST Gallery, Singapore / Departure, iPreciation, Singapore 2013 / Quiet Mystics, Galerie Steph, Singapore / SPOT ART 2013, ARTrium@MICA, Singapore / A Road Less Traveled, German Centre, Singapore / Colors of Our Generation, Georgetown Festival, Sekeping Victoria, Penang, Malaysia / CROSS ENCOUNTER; A Collaboration of Artists from Singapore and Japan, Japanese Creative Centre, Embassy of Japan, Singapore / The LASALLE Show 2013, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore / Asia Contemporary Art Show Hong Kong 2013, Hong Kong / Art Stage 2013, Singapore 2012 / Affordable Art Fair 2012, Singapore / The Winston Oh Travel Award show 2012, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore / The LASALLE Show 2012, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore 2011 / Drawing relations, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore / Found objects group exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore 2010 / RAW, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore

RESIDENCIES & AWARDS 2018 / Light Grey Art Lab, Light Grey Iceland Residency 2018 2014 / Dena Foundation Artist Residency Program, Promotion Carla, at the Centre des Récollets, Paris. Grant of NAC, National Arts Council of Singapore 2012 / Young Talent Programme 2012, Affordable Art Fair, Singapore / The Winston Oh Travel Award (Practice) 2012, Singapore / LASALLE College of the Arts Scholarship 2012, Singapore

RELATED WORK EXPERIENCES 2015 / Part-time lecturer, LASALLE College of the Arts 2013 / Artist assistant for ‘Situationist Bon Gun’ by Tang Da Wu in LASALLE College of the Arts / Art Educator in Raffles Institution / Commissioned by Infinite Studios, Singapore / Commissioned by Singapore Land Transport Authority (Rochor Station) 2012 / Volunteer assistant for “6th Tropical Lab” in LASALLE College of the Arts / Assistant in Visual Arts @ Temenggong 2011 / Assistant of artist Delia Pravcki / Volunteer assistant for “ 5th Tropical Lab” in LASALLE College of the Arts PUBLICATION 2016 / S ingapore’s Visual Artists, 2016, Singapore National Arts Council

This publication is published in conjunction with AL/linum, a solo exhibition by Luke Heng, curated by nrm curatorial. Held at A+ WORKS of ART, Kuala Lumpur from 10th October to 2nd November 2019.

Luke Heng Artists nrm curatorial Curator Nikki Ong Project Management Lienne Loy Copy Editor Kenta.Works Graphic Design Damien Khoo Photography

COVER Already Fording/Dispersing (detail), 2018 Inkjet on aluminium composite 31 × 34 × 2.9 cm

Acknowledgements A+ WORKS of ART would like to thank: Luke Heng Josef Ng nrm curatorial

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ABOUT A+ WORKS of ART A+ WORKS of ART is a contemporary art gallery based in Kuala Lumpur, with a geographic focus on Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Founded in 2017 by Joshua Lim, the gallery presents a wide range of contemporary practices, from painting to performance, drawing, sculpture, new media art, photography, video and installation. Its exhibitions have showcased diverse themes and approaches, including material experimentation and global conversations on social issues. Collaboration is key to the ethos of A+ WORKS of ART. Since its opening, the gallery has worked with artists, curators, writers, collectors, galleries and partners from within the region and beyond, and continues to look out for new collaborations. The gallery name is a play on striving for distinction but also on the idea that art is never without context and is always reaching to connect — it is always “plus” something else. ABOUT nrm Josef Ng, Andrew Ruff and Chris Moore announce the launch of nrm. A curatorial and art consultancy based in China and Southeast Asia. nrm channels diverse perspectives to bring together artists, galleries and institutions in curating exhibitions, managing trajectories and developing collections. Ng, Ruff and Moore each bring multilingual and multi-decade experience in the art arena to the platform, combining backgrounds in curating, collecting and publishing.