The Art of Miya Ando and the Nature of Perception
VIEW EVENT DETAILSEvening discussion
Registration 6:00pm,
Drinks Reception 6:30pm,
Discussion 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Applying the traditional techniques of her Japanese ancestry, the foundation of Miya Ando’s artistic practice lies in the transformation of surfaces. With a deep appreciation for the dynamic properties of metal, Ando simultaneously conveys and entangles power with fragile motifs, while reconnecting with her heritage and exploring the connection between the natural and the man-made world. Skillfully, Ando transforms sheets of burnished industrial steel and aluminum, using heat and chemicals, into ephemeral abstractions suffused with subtle gradations of color. Like being immersed inside the contemplative plane of one of her paintings, viewers can lose themselves, blurring the lines of where their consciousness ends and Ando’s paintings begin. In this conversation, Ando will discuss the inspiration and process behind her abstract paintings on metal. A focus of the discussion will be the ways in which her art is perceived, particularly her latest body of work, which is deeply inspired by Buddhist philosophy. Ando will be joined by Yifawn Lee, publisher of Orientations Magazine.
Miya Ando has a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and attended Yale University to study Buddhist iconography and imagery. She apprenticed with the master metal smith Hattori Studio in Japan, followed by a residency at Northern California’s Public Art Academy. Her work has been shown worldwide, including in a show curated by Nat Trotman of the Guggenheim Museum and an exhibition at the Queens Museum, New York. A large installation is currently on view in Frontiers Reimagined, a collateral event of the 56th Venice Biennale. She is the recipient of many awards, including the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, 2012. She has produced numerous public commissions, most notably a thirty-foot-tall sculpture in London built from World Trade Center steel to mark the ten-year anniversary of 9/11. She lives and works in New York.
Yifawn Lee is the Publisher of Orientations, a magazine for collectors and connoisseurs of Asian art founded in 1970. She completed her undergraduate studies at Columbia University and earned a Master’s in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She later moved to Hong Kong, working for a period in finance. Having always been interested in Asian history, art and culture, Yifawn returned to London to study for a further MA in East Asian Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Seeing a gap in the China market for scholarly art publications, she launched a Chinese language edition titled Meichengzaijiu Orientations in 2014. Also in 2014, Yifawn founded Asian Art Hong Kong, an annual week-long event taking place every April featuring exhibitions at Hong Kong’s finest galleries and lectures on Asian art by leading scholars. (Moderator)
Supported by:
Event Details
Asia Society Hong Kong Center, 9 Justice Drive, Admiralty