The latest exhibition at Creative Macau in Nape kicked off last night, drawing gallerygoers and supporters as local artist Christopher Lei Weng Kuong unveiled his 40 oil paintings in “Flowing Memory: The Artistic DNA of Macau in the Eyes of a Painter”.
Captured in Lei’s paintings are scenes offering a window to both the past and present, the East meets West found in Macau, and pieces featuring historical figures like English painter George Chinnery (1774 to 1852). Lei, who has a degree in Oil Painting from the College of Fine Arts of Huaqiao University and is now pursuing a master’s degree in the discipline, uses his brush to also depict quiet moments and historic places in the different frames, all under four key concepts*.
Among the various highlights are the “Studio of 19th Century”, the thought-provoking “Carousel Crossing”, two paintings special to the artist that were showcased during the Cultural Affairs Bureau’s (IC) “Annual Exhibition of Macao Visual Arts”, as well as pieces like “Refugees”, where Lei turns photographer Sergey Ponomarev’s Pulitzer Prize winning image into an oil painting.
“The works not only trace the ‘artistic genes’ of the intersection of Chinese and Western artists in Macau since the Ming and Qing dynasties, but also travel through DNA to the present-day stories of Macau”, a statement describing the works noted yesterday.
The exhibits are on display at CREATIVE MACAU on the ground floor of the Cultural Centre (CCM) until February 28, with free admission from Monday to Saturday, between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
*Lei talks more about the ideas behind his works in an exclusive interview with the Post. Stay tuned for more on a page 4 next week.
Gallerygoers at last night’s opening ceremony view the various pieces on display at Creative Macau for “Flowing Memory: The Artistic DNA of Macau in the Eyes of a Painter”. – Photos: Rui Pastorin
