As Mandy Liao (Liao Man) and Nissa Kauppila’s first joint exhibition in Macau, Scape Vogue will showcase a selection of the two artists’ finest work from 16th December to 15th January. The private preview will be held on December 15th at 5 pm in BLANC ART exhibition room.
Mandy and Nissa were immersed in two distinct cultural environment, being brought up in Asia and North America respectively. Yet their artworks share a similarity in the infusion of both Eastern and Western characteristics, marking the emergence of “global village” in our era. Interestingly, born and raised in the US, Nissa paints mostly with ink like in Chinese traditional paintings, focusing on illustrating natural landscapes; In contrast, growing up in China, Mandy majors in oil paintings, in which she depicts the social climate in Chinese community.
“Nature” is the recurring theme in Nissa’s works. Born in Monkton, a small town in Vermont, she spent most of her childhood in nature. Mountains and woods become her muses, with flowers and birds being her favourite subject matters. To her, every stage of life can be captured on the canvas. Through her colourful ink wash paintings, she uncovers the life cycle that these spirits go through. In contrast, Mandy’s inspirations come mostly from daily life, expressing the “humanity” she lives upon. Although her works also incorporate natural elements, she handles them in a totally different manner as compared to Nissa. She tends to project the subjects through her subjective lens, emphasizing the stance as a human. Her works often express a dark humour, challenging the reality through her distinctive surrealist style.
Both Nissa and Mandy are observant of and inspired by their surroundings, with great sensitivity to “life”, the common topic in their artworks. It is only different in the approach they are narrating the stories, and the experiences they gathered in their own life. As the very first joint exhibition of these two talented artists, it is a beautiful coincident that it is taking place in Macau, the melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures. This winter, the flourishing art of life sweeps across this city, growing and spreading through the land of Scape Vogue.