Max Kong An award-winning Singaporean abstract artist
For Max Kong, painting is not just a one-way
process. It is a dialogue between the art and the artist, he deliberates. And I enjoy the process of painting more than the result, so I like taking risks sometimes and letting my own work surprise me. While the 40-year-old started his career more than a decade ago using oil and acrylic paint on canvas, he is now more well-known for his use of unconventional materials such as resin and cement. Over the years, the lines that define his works have blurred as he flits between two-dimensional paintings and sculptural wall art. Recently, Max has started working with meranti, a type of wood often used to construct cabinets. Its always hidden under a veneer. But it is beautiful, and I wanted to bring out its natural aesthetics, he explains of his newer works, which feature outlines of the sun, moon and eclipse on wooden strips. These wall-mounted sculptures react beautifully with light, causing the carved
silhouettes to appear different depending
on the angle of vision. Currently living and working at a studio in Portsdown thats cradled by lush foliage, nature has inevitably become a recurring theme in his pieces. Singapore is a very bright city. And I love it when it rains at night, because you get a lot of beautiful reflections, the artist shares. That was the inspiration behind Big Small Rain, which is made up of a pair of spherical wooden panels featuring cement raindrops, and covered with reflective epoxy resin. While nature continues to be his main source of inspiration, Max reveals that he might be leaning towards creating more three-dimensional objects, rather than conventional paintings, in the future. M a x s work s ar e avai l ab l e at O d e to A rt, # 01 - 36 E / F R aff l e s Cit y S h o p p i n g C e n tr e , t e l : 625 0 - 1 9 0 1 .
When I s ee cer t a i n m ate r i al s, i t s l i k e l ove at f i r st si g ht,
a n d I feel co m p elled to b r i n g o u t i t s n at u ral b e au t y.
far l e ft
Blue Moon was created
around Valentines Day, and I wanted to do something more romantic, Max reveals of this piece, which is made out of wooden strips. to p
Big Small Rain, inspired
by rain and the reflective surfaces it creates in the city. l e ft
The streaks of white
lines on a black backdrop that make up Storm In The Night represent rain streaming down a windowpane.