The Winter Show - Works by Katie Cheung, Taiga Chiba, Tomoyo Ihaya, Junichiro Iwase, Water Poon & Sang Won Sang

Art Beatus (Vancouver) Consultancy Ltd. is delighted to present The Winter Show, an exhibition inspired by the holiday season. A special selection of works by the gallery's represented artists - mainly local - will focus on small, playful, and colourful pieces to brighten days, and provide warmth and cheer through the frostier temperatures of this time of year.

Beautifully lyrical and ethereal, Katie Cheung's acrylic on canvas paintings of flowers are her specialty. Some are quietly serene, some are delightfully ethereal, and some are mysterious while others are bursting with colourful vitality. Never painting from real life, her imagery is woven from her imagination. ◦ What is characteristic of artist Taiga Chiba and his work, is his exuberant and irrepressible wonder for the world around him. Chiba’s ink wash drawings on wood panel are like curios of whimsical creatures whose morphology are a mixture of biological study and the imaginary.

More popularly known for her sensitive works with political and environmental overtones, Tomoyo Ihaya's series of mixed media works on Japanese paper featuring Otters and Capybaras proffer an alter-egolike quiet and lighthearted reprieve from the weight of the world. ◦ Created during a summer residency in Beijing, Junichiro Iwase's Electric Flower series of digital photographic prints on dibond are actually images of egg shells attached to what appears to be an old cathode ray television set. These photographs are an intriguing mix of pop art and surrealism.

Water Poon's Chinese ink landscape paintings of Guilan, China are beautifully quiet, austere and slightly abstracted. The omnipresent, ambiguous blue background functions as the sky, water and mountains – or is that ice? ◦ In his work, Sang Won Sung deconstructs and utilizes everyday objects, such as plastic soap boxes and plastic dolls, to reconstruct new objects that reference heavily to pop culture. The results of Sung’s labour are kitschy, humorous and playful sculptures with uncanny familiarity.

About the Artists

Vancouver-based artist Katie Cheung was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada in 1969. She studied fine arts at Langara College before graduating from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. Cheung has been exhibiting her work for over 20 years and has had various residencies in Canada, USA, Mexico, India, and Thailand. In 2000, she published Apple from My Heart, a catalogue of her paintings and poems.

Born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1950, Taiga Chiba earned a Bachelor of Arts from Musashino Art University in Tokyo, Japan in 1974 and, after immigrating to Canada in 1981, completed a Master of Fine Arts from Concordia University in Montreal in 1986. Chiba has exhibited extensively for over 30 years in North America, Asia and Europe and has received several awards, grants, and artist residencies. His work can be found in public and private collections in Canada, USA, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, and India.

Accomplished in various visual arts disciplines and the recipient of numerous awards, grants and residencies, including the prestigious VADA Award from Vancouver Foundation, Tomoyo Ihaya was born in Tsu-City, Japan and earned a Bachelor in German Literature from Rikkyo University in Tokyo. After moving to Canada, Ihaya studied fine arts at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver and Capilano College in North Vancouver before completing a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. Ihaya's work can be found in numerous collections in Canada, USA, Italy, and Asia.

Junichiro Iwase was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. At seven months old, his family moved to Canada where his is now a resident of Richmond, BC. Iwase studied fine art at Vancouver Community College and Johnson Sculpture Atelier in New Jersey and has worked in a variety of media including drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. As a self-taught photographer, he has been photographing his paintings and sculptures for more than 20 years.

A constant trans-Pacific traveller between Vancouver and Hong Kong, Water Poon is a prolific and accomplished artist. Born in 1944 in Nanhai, China and graduated from Hong Kong Polytechnic College in graphic design and Lutheran Vocational Training Center in photography, Poon has had numerous exhibitions throughout Asia and North America as well as being a recipient of several awards throughout his career.

Sang Won Sung was born in 1965 in Seoul, Korea and currently lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil. He studied at Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado University in São Paulo and Hongik University in Seoul and has been exhibiting his work for over 20 years in Asia, South America, and North America.

For more information, please visit our website at www.artbeatus.com or call the gallery at 1 (604) 688-2633.

Art Beatus, with a location in Vancouver, Canada and two locations in Hong Kong, showcases international art with a focus on contemporary Chinese art. Art Beatus (Vancouver) is located in the Nelson Square Office Tower at 108 – 808 Nelson Street in Vancouver, BC.

Art Beatus (Vancouver) Consultancy Ltd. is open Monday to Friday, 10am-6pm and is closed on weekends and holidays. Underground and street parking is available. Free admission.

For more information, please contact Media Relations, Tamla Mah or Ellinda Siu by email: info@artbeatus.com or telephone: 604-688-2633.