Featuring Almendra Bertoni, Amy Crehore, Fred Smith, GUMI, Jason Ho, Jeannie Rhyu, Jeremy Yamamura, Jimmy Lam, Kelani Fatai, Lindsey Lou Howard, Mamus Esiebo, and Oh Mankee
8 November - 1 December, 2022
3 - 4/F, 9 On Lan street, Central, Hong Kong
Opening from 11:00 to 19:00, Mondays to Saturdays
(Closed on Sundays)
Inquire about the exhibition:
inquiries@seefoodroom.com
Seefood Room is pleased to present Serendipitous Splendour, a group exhibition featuring the works of Almendra Bertoni, Amy Crehore, Fred Smith, GUMI, Jason Ho, Jeannie Rhyu, Jeremy Yamamura, Jimmy Lam, Kelani Fatai, Lindsey Lou Howard, Mamus Esiebo, and Oh Mankee. The exhibition will begin on 8 November and run until 1 December at 3-4/F Haus of Contemporary at 9 On Lan Street, Central.
Amy Crehore, Jeremy Yamamura, and Oh Mankee have settled the longstanding dispute between cat and dog lovers through their adorable works while dynamic duo Almendra Bertoni and Lindsey Lou Howard have poured their respective flairs into their eccentric sculptures as a physical manifestation of their mutual respect and friendship. Through a series of landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, brilliant painters Jason Ho, Mamus Esiebo, GUMI, Jeannie Rhyu, Jimmy Lam, Kelani Fatai, and Fred Smith bring us to a wondrous spectrum between reality, fantasy, and everything in between.
The twelve talents show us glimpses of the glitz-and-glamour that are often found in banal moments. In life, we may find that the harder we look for something, the harder it is to find or notice them. We focus so intently on the objective that we become oblivious to the opulent essence found in the journeys themselves. If you turn around and see how far you have come, may you find the serendipitous splendours that have brought you peace and motivation to march on.
Almendra Bertoni (b. 1998) is an Argentina-born painter based in Brooklyn, USA. In 2020, she graduated from the Savannah College of Art & Design. Her works explore the themes of desire, sin, and devotion through a Surrealist lens and colours. Her works consist of fantastical scenes composed of contorted bodies, airy architectural spaces, religious imageries, and vibrant hues harken to visual traditions of Surrealist paintings. The hand-carved wooden frames serve as a portal to an uncanny otherworld in which holiness is found amongst corruption. Her works aim to inspire viewers to reflect upon misdirected desire and to discover sanctity in even the most unusual of places.
Recent exhibitions: Elevate Gallery, Toronto (2022), Dinner Gallery, New York (2022), and Congruent Space, Miami (2022).
Amy Crehore (b. 1953) was born in the mountains of Virginia and grew up in the suburbs of Pennsylvania and New Jersey on the train line to New York. After completing her BFA degree in the VCU School of the Arts in Richmond, she moved to the UK in 1975 before returning to the US to begin her artistic journey. She has worked as an illustrator for journals, such as Rolling Stone, GQ, New York Times Magazine, and Forbes. Crehore’s imaginary, figurative paintings are intuitive and poetic. Her works were inspired by memories and emotions with an emphasis on compositions, often with a tinge of subtle humour. She also took artistic influence from modern European masters, the Italian primitives, underground comics, early American blues, Japanese and Goya’s prints, Victorian illustrations, cats, and found photographs.
Recent exhibitions: La Luz de Jesus Gallery of Los Angeles, Los Angeles (2022), Jiro Miura Gallery, Tokyo (2021), and Copro Gallery, Santa Monica (2020).
Fred Smith (b. 1987) is an illustrator, painter and sculptor based in the USA. They were raised in an authoritarian setting, which pushed them to develop an acute sense of escapism from an early age. Their creative endeavours have been further spurred on by the need to create a universe to exist entirely on its own, void of the societal pressures that most humans begrudgingly accept. Their works are a way for them to dissect and question the traditional narratives that have formed within the society. They seek inspiration from personal experiences and mundanity and they believe their work functions as a parallel possibility of the reality we find ourselves in.
Recent exhibitions: Collaborations, Copenhagen (2022), Tchotchke Gallery, Brooklyn (2022), and Moosey Arts, Norwich (2022).
GUMI was born and raised in Japan as a self-taught painter and manga artist. Currently, he is completing his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature at the Meijigakuin University in Tokyo. Growing up in Japan, he was surrounded by manga and anime from a young age, which resulted in his adoration for the subject. He has since then worked relentlessly and self-learned on platforms, such as YouTube and existing mangas, to become an acrylic painter and establish his artistic career.
Jason Ho is a British-Chinese architect and artist based in Hong Kong. He is a chartered architect (ARB/RIBA) trained at Cambridge University and University College London, where he received a Distinction and First Class Honours. He was also awarded the Bartlett Medal and the Fitzroy Robinson Drawing Prize. His works have received high commendation from renowned architectural and art organisations and they have been featured on the cover of the RIBA Journal. He has worked on several cultural/heritage projects, including Theatre Royal Dury Lane, London, American Repertory Theatre, Massachusetts, Sentralbadet, Bergen, and the Court Theatre, Christchurch. He has also worked as an artist and project consultant for renowned institutions, such as the V&A Museum, AECOM, Royal Academy of Arts. His work, Underground Cities: New Frontiers in Urban Living, in collaboration with AECOM and Pamela Johnston was published in 2020.
Recent exhibitions: Royal Academy of Arts Summer Show, London (2019), Roca London Gallery, London (2019), and Royal Institute of British Architects HQ, London (2019).
Jeannie Rhyu is a Korean-Canadian artist based in Long Island City, New York. She was born in Seoul, Korea, raised in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada, and graduated from Columbia University in the City of New York. Her work has been exhibited internationally in shows in New York, Vancouver, Seoul, Beijing, and London. She has given artist talks at Columbia University and for community-based organisations. In her painted visions, Rhyu explores her emotional impressions of reality as she traces ancestral memories by deconstructing and reinterpreting her cultural visual traditions. She paints inspired by history, folklore, rituals, Korean mythical creatures, fairy tales, and transcultural femininity, as well as the magic of memories. Rhyu merges the traditional and the contemporary to assemble colourful realms that float between surrealism, folklore, and dreams.
Recent exhibitions: Spring/Break Art Show, New York (2022), Shin Gallery, New York (2022), and Field Projects x Tutu Gallery, Brooklyn (2022).
Jeremy Yamamura (b. 1981) is known for his iconic DOGZZZ series. After graduating from the ECV School in Bordeaux with a BFA in Motion and Video, he moved to London and held his first exhibition in 2005. In 2006, he moved to Japan to advance his artistic career and he often participates in local projects to support small independent businesses and the creative industry. The canine character in his series was originally inspired by a simple doodle that took on various shapes and forms over time. One thing that remained was Jeremy’s hope to spread positive and fun energy whilst offering social commentaries.
Recent exhibitions: Ginza Six Tsutaya, Tokyo (2022), Gallery Kogure, Manila (2022), and 333Gallery, Taipei City (2022).
Jimmy Lam is a Hong Kong artist with more than 20 years of experience in the creative industry. His career spans from advertising and visual merchandising to spatial design in public spaces. He has collaborated with renowned brands, including Lamborghini, K-Swiss, Coca-cola, Calvin Klein, Heineken, Eastpak, Ted Baker, Converse, and HKTDC. The diversity of his works and Hong Kong’s urban realm allowed him to gain a panoramic perspective of art. Lam’s master, Yi-Chuan Liang, is a third-generation artist from the Lingnan School, who taught Lam how to paint with bold brushstrokes and allowed him to form his own wild yet soft, Chinese-influenced artstyle. His works are dynamic and ever-changing, as he believes that art should flow and echo with society.
Recent exhibitions: Central Market, Hong Kong (2022), SHOUT Art Gallery & Hub, Hong Kong (2022), and Central Harbourfront, Hong Kong (2022).
Kelani Fatai (b. 1994) was born and raised in Mushin, Lagos and he has discovered his passion for art from the age of six. After his apprenticeship under two Lagos-based artists, Damilola Opedun and Muyiwa Williams, he attended the Yaba College of Technology to study art and design and acquired a Higher National Diploma in painting in 2019. His works are inspired by nature and by his surroundings - his childhood struggles sparked his fascination with the differences in human condition. His works also double as a mirror to the socio-political issues in Nigeria, allowing him to make sense of the challenges whilst imploring the audiences to reflect. Ultimately, his works revolve around the beauty of elegant, albeit simply-clad, black individuals. Through the unidentified flowers in his versatile impressionist and realist paintings, he highlights the message of love and togetherness as he expresses the world through his lens.
Recent exhibitions: Lorin Gallery, California (2022), Art Basel, Paris (2022), and Mitochondria Gallery, Houston (2022).
Lindsey Lou Howard (b. 1997) is a ceramic sculptor based in New York City. In 2018, she graduated with a BA in Art History with concentrations in Ceramics and Chemistry from the University of Northern Colorado. Her work explores how food operates in our political, social, and cultural environment by engaging with contemporary food politics, revealing food’s entanglements with environmental justice, capitalism, consumption, and sustainability. Her maximalist sculptures are often ‘indulgent’ foods, which aim to illuminate issues of food waste, inequality and access, as well as to capture the ostentatious spectacles of ‘foodie’ trends that are largely promoted through social media and corporate marketing campaigns.
Recent exhibitions: Launch F18, New York (2022), Hashimoto Contemporary, Los Angeles (2022), and Superhouse, Milan Design Week, Milan (2022).
Mamus Esiebo (b. 1988) is a Lagos-based Nigerian artist and skilled graphic designer. As a self-taught artist, his works focus on the life of simple people, covering subjects, such as self-identification in a world controlled by media and politics, family issues, and overworking. His paintings show a lot of vital energy: The mix of bright colours, the distinct ethnic inspiration, and the unique style projects a sense of optimism upon the viewer and the feeling that even the grimmest subjects can be approached with hope.
Recent exhibitions: Ogirikan Gallery, Lagos (2021), Mitochondria Gallery, Houston (2021), and Gr Gallery, New York (2021).
Oh Mankee is a Hong Kong-based product designer and illustrator. She graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Product and Industrial Design and established the ‘Oh, Mankee Studio’ in 2021 after years of experience in illustrating children’s picture books, gifts, and premium design. In 2022, she was also awarded the LIMITS Asian Grand Final Championship and the LIMITS Hong Kong Region Championship. She has aspirations to create more positively infectious works, delivering joy to the world like kapok and bringing a sense of sweetness and warmth to the people around her.
