Over 40 years ago, premier kitchen and bath brand Kohler launched its world-renowned art/industry residency program to support emerging artists in the United States. These promising artists are then invited to the Kohler campus to hone and showcase their talent and to date, more than 500 emerging and established artists have benefited from this initiative.
Just recently, Manila art lovers had an opportunity to view select creations from six Asian artists in an exhibition dubbed as “Kohler Bold. Art. Exhibition.”
The exhibit which ran from May 18 to 24 at The Gallery in Greenbelt 5, Makati showcased the works of Ahadiat Joedawinata from Indonesia, James Seet from Malaysia, Thomas Cheong from Singapore, Sudsiri Pui-Ock from Thailand, Nguyan Ngoc Lam from Vietnam and Hadrian Mendoza of the Philippines.
According to Angel Yang, vice president and general manager for Kitchen & Bath Southeast Asia & Australasia, the exhibit is part of Kohler’s vision to “promote art and put the spotlight on local artists” in the region, with the company passing on the artistic tradition to China in 2010, followed by Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea in 2013-2014, with artists invited to create pieces guided by the theme of “Asian Contemporary Art: Rooted in the Past; Looking Into the Future.”
Each of the 12 pieces featured during the exhibit drew inspiration from each artist’s personal experience and cultural perspective.
Explained Yang, “The theme looks into how each artist, with their diverse backgrounds and experiences, views issues such as continuing urbanization, Asia’s consistent rise to economic power, and the impact that innovation and technologies are making in today’s society.”
Hadrian Mendoza, Philippines
Currently based in the US, this ceramic artist and founder of SEApots combines cultural undertones with modern expressionism and abstract forms in his works, with the new ones predominantly finished with ash and rutile glazes. For the exhibit, Mendoza has chosen Time that urges everyone to make drastic changes to save the environment as time is running out. Manunggul, his other piece for the exhibit, is a rendition of the ancient burial jars that carried the deceased’s belongings to the afterlife. Mendoza’s artwork features an empty ring at the center to show that we take nothing in the next life except our good deeds on this earth.
Ahadiat Joedawinata, Indonesia
Dr. Joedawinata is known for his ceramic work and for the exhibit, his creation titled The Process 1 reflect the interaction between heritage and modern global phenomena with the use of old Chinese ceramics and icons found in Indonesian traditional artifacts. The Process 2 communicates the artist’s view of natural ecological phenomena with water being one of the important elements as seen in the six stoneware elements in the basic form of water drops attached onto each other.
James Seet, Malaysia
An ad agency creative director by day and an artist by night, Seet creates whimsical sculptures that catch the attention of and interact with people. For the exhibit, Janus Past/Present reveals the artist’s thoughts and how culture and tradition – past and present – helped shape who he is today, while Janus Present/Future provokes viewers to contemplate the finite and infinite, inviting one to look beyond tradition. For one to live in the now, one must allow his mind to travel beyond, the artist says.
Thomas Cheong, Singapore
Graduating with distinction from the LaSalle College of the Arts in 2002 and Master of Fine Art (Ceramics) from Tainan National University of the Arts in Taiwan, Cheong’s Time Artifacts uses primitive forming and firing techniques to communicate a sense of nostalgia and curiosity on how artifacts were made, and not to take technology for granted. The Shower Experience on the other hand is an installation resembling a modern day showerhead that invites interaction with the viewer in the hope that fond memories of the bathing experience (under the rain or the waterfalls) will be evoked.
Sudsiri Pui-Ock, Thailand
This female contemporary artist from Chiang Mai uses a variety of techniques including sculptures, interactive media, painting and printmaking to convey her concept about life and existence. In Worldly Wisdom, three hand gestures symbolize different meanings – love, meditation and the search for ultimate truth. World Dweller shows the classical feet form of Buddha statues being deconstructed and reconstructed into a new form that shows the footprint of the main continents: Asia, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
Nguyen Ngoc Lam, Vietnam
A pioneer of contemporary sculpture in Vietnam who obtained his master’s degree from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, Ngoc Lam sees art as the language of dreams, with his sculptural artworks inspired by turning dreams into reality. For the exhibit, the artist features The Seeds – brass treated through high temperature and poured into mixed clay and chaff mold. Through the piece, the artist expresses humankind’s origins and the transformation toward the future. The Tree meantime uses carving and sculptural techniques to create the tree from metal, resulting in a sculptural piece that explores the tree or human being as the bridge that connects the sky with the earth.
“It’s truly an honor to be part of this and I’m even happier that the show is here in the Philippines. It’s a great way for Asian artists to get exposure on an international scale,” Mendoza shares.
“Moving forward, we hope to partner with more artists, and collaborate with more organizations who share our vision of bringing the arts closer and more accessible to the public,” Yang promised.
For more information on the Kohler Bold. Art. Exhibition, visit blog.kohlerboldart.com/about.php.