alex ong boon hau
Alex Ong Boon Hau’s recent collection of works
shows his passion and love for nature, especially for
wild flowers found in New Zealand. He paints a series
of elegant and serene floral images using watercolours
in various interpretations and expressions creating
different moods for the changing seasons of the year.
Alex uses a combination of Western and Eastern watercolour
techniques. The Western ideals create depth and perspective
and the Eastern express form, control and discipline
in the use of this medium. The marriage of the two
styles presents an innovative take on the traditional
whilst preserving the grace and elegance of watercolours.
He portrays these wild flowers in a combination of
movements, like a summer breeze, raindrops and morning
dews and even the falling leaves that are reminiscent
of notes to music or a chorus of melodies. “Wild
flowers have a character of their own and because they
grow in the wild and are almost always unattended,
they are survivors, strong, independent and quite often
sumptuous.” His portrayals of these wild “characters” are
suggestive of a choir in quiet conversation, as good
as whispering and sometimes seen as in the midst of
dance, full of movement and charm.
The colours are reflective of the changing of the
seasons. Different shades of greens and ultramarine
for spring, burning ambers and oranges for autumn,
splashes of rainbow colours for summer and subtle hues
for the season of winter, mirroring the different moods
and tones of nature.
His recent works are indeed a celebration as well
as showing his passion for flora alluding to grace,
harmony and moments of tranquillity. This exhibition
tells of his solitary journeys to find peace of mind
and oneness with nature, resulting in a unique and
resplendent look at flowers.
Alex graduated from Kuala Lumpur College of Art, Kuala
Lumpar in 1977. His first solo exhibition was in 1994
at the Merilyn Savill Gallery, Wellington. Alex was
the guest exhibitor of the New Zealand Watercolour
Society in 2003.
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