Review of Dr. Knothe on The Shape of Time: Glass Art Solo Exhibition by Sunny Wang

1a space is please to present Sunny Wang’s 4th solo exhibition,“The Shape of Time –Solo Glass Exhibition by Sunny Wang” in December 2017. Currently, We have received Dr. Knothe's review on the exhibition. Dr. Florian Knothe, Honorary Associate Professor of the Department of Fine Art of the University of Hong Kong and Director of the University Museum & Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong, provides his professional review on Sunny Wang's glass art solo exhibition.

Dr. Knothe's shares his insight on how Sunny Wang's works echo with 1a space gallery space and draw spectators into her creation. "Poetic Stones is visually pleasing and exemplary of skillful artistic talent. When seen in a group, the objects invite a study of each individual piece, and they, on a much larger scale, determine the space and the way visitors perceive a landscape laid out with and by the ‘stones’. Here each display differs, as the artist both works with the space diverse galleries provide while she also makes the space by allowing her ‘stones’ to dominate and guide. They guide the eye and reading of the scene and draw the spectator into it."

For more: https://drive.google.com/open?id=11AiSVtbbMnC6hkibfUEKOJ32rhV2TDPPidniewFoC8Y

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The Shape of Time by Sunny Wang

Dr Sunny Wang is the most established contemporary glass artist in Hong Kong. Her work is exciting, innovative, serene and beautiful. In her latest art exhibition, ‘The Shape of Time’, Wang displayed her monumental and yet extremely refined Poetic Stones. Seen in different constellations before, her layout of these large blown and cold-worked glass ‘stones’ always captures the onlooker, provokes thoughts and engages one with a philosophical world that seems both deep and traditional, and yet—as the display make one wonder—contemporary and relevant. While each and every ‘stone’ is a ‘mile stone’ in that it is unique and representative of the artist’s mood when she worked it, the larger assemble is more than the sum of individual masterpieces. Poetic Stones is visually pleasing and exemplary of skilful artistic talent. When seen in a group, the objects invite a study of each individual piece, and they, on a much larger scale, determine the space and the way visitors perceive a landscape laid out with and by the ‘stones’. Here each display differs, as the artist both works with the space diverse galleries provide while she also makes the space by allowing her ‘stones’ to dominate and guide. They guide the eye and reading of the scene and draw the spectator into it.

At 1a space, the Poetic Stones could be seen by themselves or as juxtaposed with a large number of embroidered rings they shared a gallery with. The colourful embroidered panels relate in that they document a process and timespan. They document the artist’s selection of differently dyed yarn for the day the artwork was accomplished and the duration spent at work. Conflicting these similarities, the contrasting materials themselves—the hard and cold glass and the soft and warm thread—and their colours—monochrome glass versus polychrome textile—suggest an interesting relationship. Both types of artworks are round and they are displayed in linear line ups—the ‘stones’ on the floor, and the circles along the wall. Both are beautiful as individual pieces and powerful as well curated groups. Their meaning is elaborated and extended as each object tells the story of an individual day in the artist’s live and her work at that moment, while the group documents a series of days and works. With the second group of textile rings, the older ‘stones’ are given a more contemporary extension and counterpart, as this series of works is still being added to.

‘The Shape of Time’ displays a timeline that continues and grows with newly crafted artworks. Whether seen individually or together, or—more as a mini retrospective—in connection with other of the artist’s works, Wang’s selection of artworks is personal and telling. A mature artist with fine hand skill and material knowledge, she creates interesting work that always makes one feel both familiarity and surprise, and invites to study her thought and work processes. I congratulate Wang to this splendid and capturing exhibition and hope to see more variety in materials and technique, while I hope that glass always remains close to her heart.

Florian Knothe,

Honorary Associate Professor of the Department of Fine Art of the University of Hong Kong and Director of the University Museum & Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong

-About Writer-

Dr. Knothe studies and teaches the history of decorative arts in the 17th and 18th centuries with particular focus on the social and historic importance of royal French manufacture. He has long been interested in the early modern fascination with Chinoiserie and the way royal workshops and smaller private enterprises helped to create and cater to this long-lasting fashion. Dr. Knothe is currently working on the scientific developments of glassmaking in Qing China, bringing together results from both historical and chemical analysis.

Dr. Knothe started his career at The Metropolitan Museum of Art focusing on European Sculpture and Decorative Arts. Before joining The University of Hong Kong, where he now serves as Director of the University Museum and Art Gallery, Dr. Knothe was the curator of European glass at The Corning Museum of Glass overseeing the European and East Asian departments. There, he organized an exhibition on East Meets West, and afterward, lectured internationally on cross-cultural influences in art and workshop practices in Western Europe and East Asia.