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"I draw the inspiration for my work from the basic elements in my immediate surroundings: light, air, earth, water, flora and fauna. I have chosen to work with simple everyday, and often recyclable and found materials, as the nature of these materials represent, for me, a fundamental value that informs living. Indeed, I no longer find that mainstream or “traditional” art materials encompass the range of integral meanings that can capture my concerns about living in our contemporary world. I look instead, to the simultaneously irregular and linear qualities of threads and tree branches to suggest the structure and meaning of Chinese characters and calligraphy. Using the tension of such characteristics, similarly rooted in other materials, provides me with the tools to negotiate a balance between East and the West within the concept of my art practice. I thus work to achieve an understanding that product and process in art making emerge as the essence of living a life. Kai Chan has exhibited his work across Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia and Europe. His solo exhibition, ”Rainbow Lakes” began in 2002 traveled to 8 public galleries across Canada. “Kai Chan: Spider's Logic”, a 35 years retrospective exhibition beginning in 2010 will tour to 6 cities. He has received numerous grants from the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council as well as several prestigious awards including the Jean A. Chalmers National Crafts Award [1998], and the Prix Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in the Crafts [2002]. His work is in many prominent collections such as the Museum London, London, ON; the Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Musée des Arts Decoratifs de Montréal, QC; the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, QC; the Library and Gallery, Cambridge, ON; the Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, ON and the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, Trondheim, Norway. ß Photo: J. R. Carpenter |