How long have you been making art?
Painting has been my favourite pastime as long as I could remember. It is like my safety blanket, it makes me feel relax, secure and happy.
It might sound a bit strange, my first degree was actually in economics. I could still clearly remember the time when I set up my easel in my university hall of residence to paint, while most students were busy preparing for their exams in the library.
So, it’s not hard to understand how I ended up going to an art college after graduating from the London School of Economics and eventually painting full-time since 2007, after a short career in arts management.
How long have I been making art? Professionally, I would say about 5 years.
What genre best describes what you do?
I am a painter and have always worked with oils; linen canvas is my favourite surface. The subjects of my works are things that I see or experience on a daily basis. I live in a metropolitan city, and what I see the most are crowds of people.
I always find it difficult to identify myself with a particular genre in the art history. Many people say my paintings resemble the work of L. S. Lowry, who is famous for his urban landscapes peopled with human figures.
How has your artwork evolved since you began?
In my early works, I enjoyed doing cityscapes in muted colours, a single human figure is often featured in the painting, reflecting the loneliness of people living in big cities.
Inspired by the works of many Chinese contemporary artists, I started experimenting with more vibrant colours in my Still Frames series. Rather than placing human figures in urban landscape settings, I have kept the contextual details of the background to the minimal, so viewers can concentrate on the choreographic patterns formed by the crowds.
Still sticking with the “crowds” theme, the figures in my latest series, Human Planet, have shrunk in size, yet ironically, with more details. I have also introduced the use of shadows to enhance the elements of space, light and time.
My style has changed quite a lot over the past few years, yet one thing that tied my works together is the presence of human figures in them, and the choice of palette reflects my emotion at the time.
Is there a medium or technique that you have yet to try but would like to?
The work that I am doing right now requires a lot of precision. I use tiny brushes and every single stroke is carefully placed. Some works can take up to hundreds of hours to complete.
I would like to explore the expressive side of my creativity, using big brushes and palette knives, enhancing the texture of colours and the three-dimensional elements of the painting.
The possibility of using prints, photography and video to introduce movements to my works are other areas that I would like to experiment.
What would your ideal solo exhibition be like and where would it be held?
Echoing the subject of my work, my ideal solo exhibition would be held in a place where many many people could attend, it would be accessible to people from all nationalities, all walks of life; not just exhibition goers. A busy international airport could be such a place where travelers from different parts of the world cross path with my works en route to their destinations.
Saatchi Gallery is my favourite gallery in London, so having the opportunity to have a solo exhibition there would be amazing.
What do you like the most about the art world?
What I like most about the art world is the rich and well-documented art history that it possessed. From cave drawings in the Stone Age, to the Renaissance, neoclassical, realism, impressionism, expressionism, postmodernism… it just goes on and on and on. All these art movements are so distinctive and representative of the history and culture of their eras. There is so much for artists to learn and get inspirations from.
If you could change anything about the London art scene, what would it be?
I actually love the London art scene and I feel very privileged to be able to work as an artist in this city. There are so many great museums and galleries, and most of them are free. Opportunities for emerging artists are abundant and people here truly appreciate art. London artists are also very supportive of each other.
If I have to name one thing that I want to change, it would be the availability of working space for artists. Renting a studio is very expensive in London. I am currently working from home. I live in a small apartment, so there’s a limit to the size of work I can produce. I would love to work on a much larger scale if space is not an issue.
Who or what inspires you to make art?
I get a lot of inspirations at doorstep. They are things that I see and experience everyday. I love going to train stations, parks, squares, shopping malls, etc. and observe activities of people there.
I also enjoy going to see exhibitions, there’s always something to learn from another artist’s work, be it a colour, a type of material, the arrangement or even the titles of the artworks.
Gerhard Richter, Julian Opie and L. S. Lowry are a few of many artists that I admired. I love Richter for the diversity of his work, Opie for his simplicity, precision and linearity and Lowry for the palette that he used.
Where did you sell your first painting and how did it feel?
I sold my first painting to a friend who really admired my work when I was still doing my economics degree in university. Though not much, but it felt amazing to be able to make money from something that I enjoy doing. It gave me the confidence to follow my dream and pursue a career in art. Knowing my work could bring joy to another person is priceless.
What are your plans for the New Artist Fair in March?
I plan to show a selection of paintings from my latest Human Planet series, including my favourite work to date, “Departure”. It has taken me hundreds of hours to do, by far the painting that took the longest time to complete and was short-listed for the Cork Street Open Exhibition last summer.
You may see other works from the Human Planet series on my website:
http://www.stephaniesyho.com
And follow my news on Blogspot and Facebook:
http://stephaniesyho.blogspot.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephanie-Shut-Yin-Ho-Art/264236890281649?ref=ts&fref=ts
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