Art Beatus Gallery is pleased to present 'Existence' opening January 30 and running through to March 29, 2003. We start off the year with the celebration of fresh new works by Hye Sun Baik and Taiga Chiba. An artist discussion will commence at 5pm to be followed by an evening reception from 6pm to 8pm.

'Existence' brings us back to a place inside ourselves; an opportunity to take a closer look into our origins and the evolutionary process. Playful yet spiritual, 'Existence' presents us with the integral questions of life, 'Where did we come from? Where are we going?". We hope the works exhibited will encourage others to think about their place in the world; those who came before us, and how we are affecting the future of our planet and mankind; to really ponder the deeper meaning of life.

Hye Sun Baik has worked professionally since 1988. A prolific mixed media artist, Hye Sun's highly textured art works combine fibre art with mixed media on handmade paper. She builds her canvas using innovative casting, pulp painting, printing, embroidery, and embossing methods, completing the process with airbrush and other various painting techniques to convey strong, meditative and hypnotic impressions for the viewer. The artist often places small Buddha statues in her work. At times, Buddha is facing inwards - Buddha has turned away from the world while at the same time is present to absorb our pain and suffering, giving the message to wake up and pay attention; to live in a more harmonious manner. The work draws from ancient Korean characters and the principles of Yin and Yang, focusing on the use of contrast and juxtaposition to illustrate the connection between all things and their inter-relationship. Hye Sun Baik helps to make spirituality accessible for the viewer - one is struck by the peacefulness, the ease to move inward and become still. Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Hye Sun Baik has made North America her home.

Taiga Chiba was born in Japan and currently lives and works in Vancouver, British Columbia. He uses the traditions of Japanese Sumi-e (painting with black ink on rice paper). The sumi-e technique combines ink and water to create a loose medium that floats across the surface of the paper. In his series of ink brush paintings, 'Ancestors', the artist's works are playful, spontaneous, and organic, yet make us recall the clean, ethereal quality of Asian landscape painting. Very much like observing single-celled organisms through the microscope, Chiba's works are reminiscent of quirky and eccentric lifeforms newly discovered, yet we are reminded of creatures of past, of those who inhabited our world before us many lifetimes ago. "We are living on thousands of years of accumulated life and death. Life has been repeated many times since we came onto this earh. Our life is short. It will be accumulated again. We are one of these creatures. One day some creature may take over and discover us in the soil.".

| top |

Neon People
Hye Sun Baik

Neon Buddha
Hye Sun Baik

The Path to Satisfaction
Hye Sun Baik


Ancestors B
Taiga Chiba

Ancestors E
Taiga Chiba

Ancestors F
Taiga Chiba