Outside-Inside: Paintings by Ho Chee Lick

Outside-Inside: Paintings by Ho Chee Lick

28 July to 13 August 2023

Not Gallery is pleased to present Outside-Inside: Paintings by Ho Chee Lick, an exhibition of Dr. Ho Chee Lick’s inquisitive paintings featuring mundane objects that are often overlooked, and scenes shrouded in the cultural memories of yesteryears.

Comprising 26 works, Outside-Inside is an amalgamated presentation of several subjects – namely ducks, altars, apertures and their framed environments, street scenes and dwellings that are either abandoned or existing within the natural landscape.

In ruminating over his artistic practice, Ho shares, “I painted from deep in my heart – what touches me in our daily life.” Here, Outside-Inside with its two-fold title spotlights Ho’s curiosity with the quotidian as we see the artist depicting seemingly mundane subjects in a representational style, yet adopting gestural strokes and striking colours, and at times utilising oval canvases to capture the essence of his subjects with renewed vitality.

Characterising this body of works is also Ho’s patient exploration of subjects, specifically through multiplicity in rendition. This sentiment is perhaps best illustrated in his iterative works featuring ducks in different postures and orientation, either singularly or as pairs. Moreover, his instinct to venture, observe and document is also symbolically embodied by his depiction of windows and doorways, which allow him to peer into, or even enter otherwise confined environments.

While Ho has accorded new lives to these objects and environments through his depiction, the presentation of these works at a second-hand furniture store alongside other curious objects seeks to prompt viewers to look at them through a new lens.