除此之外
是次展览的作品以经典的建筑和引人注目的现代室内设计为主题，探讨世界各地不同建筑空间的隐喻含义。在经历长久的封城，以及面对有限的个人空间之时，如此主题尤其令人感慨。佩雷斯常驻纽约，周游各地，因此全球的地标建筑和纽约的现代主义摩天大楼均为他的想象力注入无穷灵感。从它们在美学与观念方面的重要性，及至与流行文化的关系，佩雷斯认为建筑和室内设计是体现历史和文化时刻的标志，并常代表乌托邦式的社会理想。
Ben Brown Fine Arts is delighted to present More Than This, the first solo exhibition of Puerto Rican-American artist Enoc Perez to be held at the Hong Kong gallery, taking place between 7 September - 13 October 2021. Comprising oil paintings, this largely new body of work is reflective of Perez's deep interest in architectural spaces, a signature and ongoing source of inspiration within his art.
Featuring classic architectural works and striking modern interiors, the works in this exhibition explore the metaphorical significance of architectural spaces all over the world - particularly poignant at a time when we have been so confined and limited to our own personal spaces. Widely travelled and based in New York, Perez's imagination is as much stimulated by international landmarks as by the modernist skyscrapers of his home city. From their aesthetic and conceptual importance to their relationship with popular culture, Perez upholds each of these buildings and interiors as physical emblems of historic and cultural moments - often representative of utopian social ideals.
These themes and ideas are exemplified by large-scale works such as Grand Lisboa (2017), in which Perez presents an almost anthropomorphic rendering of the iconic landmark Macau hotel and casino. His painting captures the exuberant excesses of modern city life as epitomised by this towering, other-worldly structure, exploring the collective identity that these architectural structures imply. Other works such as the pastel brilliance of San Angel Inn (2020) explore the relationship between its architecture and natural environment, while in La Grande Motte (2020) Perez's focus on form and colour highlights the futuristic geometry of Jean Balladur's design. By representing these structures as paintings on the canvas, Perez celebrates them as works of art, and encourages us to contemplate them in the same way.
This integral relationship between art and architecture is also highlighted in Perez's series of studio and home interiors. The colourful hues of Georg Baselitz Studio (2021) - the largest work on show in this exhibition - considers the space as much of an artwork as the canvas on display within it. Elsewhere, in works such as Casa Sachs, Roma (2021), Perez draws attention to the furnishings and decorative objects that occupy these spaces. Such paintings ponder the relationship between architecture and the wider creative cultural sphere, from design to music - reflected in the exhibition's title, a reference to the 1982 track by English rock band Roxy Music.
Finally, the exhibition also presents a new grouping of Perez's palm tree paintings inspired by the landscape of his native country and his own mind. Characteristic of Perez's vibrant palette, these sunset-silhouetted forms offer a colourful celebration of the natural world - one that stands in contrast with the manmade structures in the rest of the exhibition, casting them in a new light. The result is a body of work that interrogates the boundary between nature and culture, interior and exterior, architecture and art.
