London | Beijing

Rising Star Kristy M. Chan: A Gen-Z Chinese Artist Pushing Boundaries in Europe



Interview by ArtChestnut
Kristy M. Chan
2024
Engaging in a written conversation with Kristy M. Chan, who resides in London, reveals how her word choices offer new insights into understanding this artist. At the age of 22, Kristy M. Chan emerged as a rising star in the European art scene, rejecting popular styles in favor of challenging traditional forms—a choice that defines her as a Gen-Z artist.

The Chosen One's wordplay

In her written conversation for CHESTNUTS, Chan's occasional use of English mixed with traditional Chinese characters brings to mind the language-mixing style of Hong Kong Cantonese. However, Chan is less interested in Hong Kong's unique language habits and more focused on the cultural reflections shaped by the two places she has lived—Hong Kong and London. As a Gen-Z artist, Chan's cultural contemplations markedly diverge from her predecessors.

Born in Hong Kong in 1997, Chan moved to London at 16 to study art. In 2020, upon completing her graduate studies, her works posted on social media gained attention from the art world. London socialite and seasoned collector India Rose James acquired one of Chan's pieces and subsequently introduced the artist to Milo Astaire, who had just opened a gallery in London and also the founder of the art magazine "Plaster."

Thus, at the age of 22, Chan officially entered the art world. As Eileen Chang once said, "Fame should come early, as it spares one from life's hardships, but even if it comes later, the struggles endured become the source of lasting creativity." Despite not yet facing the challenges of creation, the young artist has already secured her place in the art world.

For many Gen-Z artists, the path to fame goes from online to offline. Chan, however, feels more like a "chosen one. Her first solo exhibition in London in 2022 sold out, and in 2023, she was selected for Forbes China's "30 Under 30" list... Still under 30, her works exhibit a maturity based on great traditions that surpasses her current age, and to date, her pieces have been exhibited in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Chan’s Studio views 

Having lived in London for many years, Chan has developed a distinct Western aesthetic as viewed from an Eastern perspective. Although born and raised in Hong Kong during her youth, she has been long influenced by the British education system. This has enabled her to skillfully leverage the power of words to create new contrasts within the 'old topic' of comparing Eastern and Western cultures. The rational thinking found in her writing contrasts with the emotional abstraction in her artistic creations, and this unity and conflict repeatedly appear in her surroundings, ultimately forming her perspective and angle of thinking about the world.

"I think there’s still a gap that needs to be closed between the two cultures, and requires both sides to be a bit more patient and open to conversations. I think the main concerns regarding the culture “collision” are systemic racism and different cultural practices"

Chan frequently uses a combination of English, traditional Chinese, and simplified Chinese in the titles of her works, attempting to explore the differences and divisions under different languages and contexts. This is also a "game" she is quite passionate about. "I wanted to further bring in my identity crisis into play. If you’re fluent in both Chinese and English, you’d realise the titles don’t necessarily match." Chan said to CHESTNUTS.


Pythagoras Cup, Oil on linen, 200 × 167 cm, 2024

In her 2024 new work Pythagoras Cup 九龍杯, the seemingly unrelated English and Chinese titles are connected by a subtle thread, pointing to the harmonious yet distinct spiritual orientations behind the two cultural systems. The Western Pythagorean Cup and the ancient Chinese Nine-Dragon Cup (九龍杯), representing cups that can never be filled to the brim, are used metaphorically by Chan to embody the Chinese idiom '物极必反(extremes meet).'

For the artist, colour serves as a psychological cue. In the artwork, there is extensive use of purple, which Chan regards as her "safe harbour," and it is also a color frequently employed in her creations. The texture of the colour provides her with a 'sense of security.' On the canvas filled with colours, every line, every dot of colour, and every brushstroke is an output of the artist's strength, color sense, and emotions, which is also the charm of abstract painting.

The seemingly disordered lines, as a whole, form the artist's reconstruction and control of the order within the artwork. The colors are powerfully and "frantically outputting," which may, at some moment, make the artist feel exhausted, reflecting a kind of 'extremes meet.' This subtly Eastern expression corresponds to the psychological concept coined by the Western psychologist Carl Jung—pushing psychological traits to different extremes is a normal developmental process.

Interestingly, this seemingly serious topic occurred to Chan during her 2024 residency at Dragon Hill in the Mouans-Sartoux region of France. Facing the beautiful azure coast and enjoying a delightful journey, she always worried about something bad happening and pondered whether she deserved all the happiness.

This is not sentimentality, but rather the artist's invaluable sensitivity and introspection. The works created during her stay in Southern France have become the main body of works of her solo exhibition Night Studio, which opened on September 15 at Tabula Rasa gallery in Beijing.



This gallery represents Chan in Asia, and through two previous group exhibitions at the gallery’s Beijing space and the group exhibition BORDER CROSSING: Possibilities and Interactions at Yuz Museum, Shanghai, in 2023, where Wu Hung served as the academic advisor, the artist has already garnered recognition in China.

The Ambition for One-of-a-Kind Painting

Chan enjoys creating large-scale paintings, often working on pieces that are 2 meters in size. The largest piece in this exhibition, the 2.8-meter Aqua Regia王水, is both a testament to the artist's control and precision, and an indulgence in the pleasure and decisiveness of painting. Unlike her previous working methods, the works created in France were all painted at night. During the day, she explored various towns, art institutions, and architecturally significant homes with friends, and then began painting at night, after having a few bottles of wine.


In addition to the emotional experiences brought by the new environment, unfamiliar customs and visuals continuously enriched the artist's intuitive painting practive. The interwoven lines seen during her travels subtly made their way into her creations.

“This minor adjustment has given me a rather monumental shift in my approach, perhaps being able to paint even looser and with a bit of 'dutch courage'(courage from drinking). Then I’d right my 'wrongs' in the morning, wrong my 'rights' in the evening,” Chan told CHESTNUTS.


Personal documentations of Chan’s residency experience at the Dragon Hill Residency in 2024

The only piece in the exhibition with red as the dominant color, A Flame's Shadow, captures the moment of a fascinating conversation between the artist and her friends by the fireplace. The countless layers in the painting evoke the darkest of nights, with flickering red flames dancing before the eyes. When the red "elves" finally settle on the canvas, they appear delicate yet imbued with the vitality of life. The orange contained within the red is a new color that the artist has recently been focused on "mastering."

The English title translates directly as “A Flame's Shadow" but the artist named it "Red Clay Stove" in Chinese, a reference to the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi's poem "Asking Liu Shi Jiu (問劉十九)," which depicts the poet inviting a friend to share intimate conversations. This clear reference directly underscores the artist's stance on using text to convey cultural attitudes.


A Flame's Shadow, Oil on linen, 200 × 149 cm, 2024

"Speaking different languages brings out different personalities. For example, I’m a lot more extroverted in English and introverted in Cantonese." Frequently traveling between Hong Kong and London, Chan constantly shifts between two social environments and contexts, leading her to feel that she exhibits different personalities depending on the language she is speaking.

Differences in language families have long been an important tool in comparing Chinese and Western cultures. Many Gen-Z artists, having grown up bilingual, approach this tool from a different perspective than their predecessors. The subtle but striking internal connections established through the titles of her works are filled with Chan’s metaphors and humor, using text as a tool to construct a conceptual pathway for visual art.

"I’ve always found it quite magical that a traditional Chinese character is often made up of a few other simpler characters, literally containing so much information to create something incredibly concise. It’s a fun concept to compare paintings with traditional Chinese characters." This interest in text has recently drawn Chan’s attention to her Eastern roots and piqued her fascination with history and civilization.


Schadenfreude (Self-sabotage), Oil on linen, 200 × 169 cm, 2024

Arranging lines and colors on the canvas like "deploying troops and formations" to balance the composition’s weight, this technique and ability partly stem from Chan’s early study of Japanese flower arrangement. Her mother accompanied her as she studied with Japanese floral artist Masao Mizukami for eight years, teaching her to understand the arrangement of lines early on, which later influenced the independence and fluidity of lines in her images. If we think of blocks and surfaces as the "muscles and bones" of a painting, then lines are the "blood" connecting them, making the two-dimensional image a living organism.



Kristy’s Japanese flower arrangement 


Masao Mizukami's wife, Liyan Yu, is an artist known for her Chinese paintings. The scent of ink in Yu's studio still excites Chan when she recalls it. Despite this early artistic exposure, ink painting did not directly influence her until 2024, when she used ink and wash for the first time in her work Eclipse Retinopathy / Bluelight Mutilation.



Eclipse Retinopathy / Bluelight Mutilation, Oil and ink on linen, 168 × 200 cm, 2024

The reason for incorporating this material was simple: it was available and needed to be used. This unorthodox approach to creation mirrors her interest in artist Sigmar Polke, as both share a commitment to the irreproducibility and uniqueness of painting. Chan’s choice of abstract painting is also driven by the difficulty of imitating brushstrokes, allowing her to personally explore and objectify a broad range of visual sensations and interests.

Breaking Away from Outdated Practices and Beliefs

Color, shape, line, texture— all of these elements influence the viewer's emotions and cognition. Regarding the grand tradition of painting, the artist Markus Lüpertz once mentioned that there is nothing new in painting, and within it, painters must satisfy their sense of dissatisfaction and find their own contemplation that belongs to their era.


Tangled up like Branches in a Flood (Sleep Token), Oil on linen, 150 × 300 cm, 2024

The young Gen-Z, though not yet driven by a pyramid of needs, has already begun searching for its own contemplations. As we repeatedly revisit the 1980s, already firmly rooted in art history, we neglect to observe the emerging Generation Z. The 1989 exhibition Magiciens de la Terre at France's Centre Pompidou holds milestone significance. Looking back nearly 40 years, has that era now become a tradition in the eyes of Gen-Z?

"We are the most informed and fortunate, we live in an era of peak globalisation and we should just make use of it. This new globalised identity doesn’t mean that we’re giving up tradition, but to form new traditions and be rid of outdated practices and beliefs. We take on what works in society and get rid of what no longer resonates," Chan said to CHESTNUTS.

For artists who have yet to reach the age of thirty, discussing the depth of thought and breadth of experience seems premature. At this point, forecasts can only be based on the techniques of painting and the logic of thought. Even more so, they must stem from the artist's instincts to track and explore deeper spiritual reflections.


Hippocampus, Oil on linen, 170 × 200 cm, 2024

Chan chooses to begin with self-awareness, seeking environmental conflicts through personal experience, which is both representative of and unique to Gen-Z artists. Their ability to freely choose their mode of painting and express individual experiences without hesitation exemplifies the valuable openness, freedom, and dialectical thinking of Generation Z—unburdened by historical baggage.

An artist's personal experiences and sensitivity to issues directly affect the essence of their creation. Chan's work is often based on the emotions of a specific moment, whether they are sparked by music, weather, news, or merely a spontaneous reaction. This element of chance is itself the joy of creation; the transformation between reality and art is what Chan refers to as "stolen reality."

A close examination of Chan's works from 2020 to the present reveals a linear progression in the accumulation of life experiences and their influence on her creations. Understanding the artist's thought process and sensitivity offers a window into her potential for future growth.

Chan’s sensitivity to language and its use represents a unique personal narrative. She has always been fond of words, especially those that evoke bleak emotions or provide detailed environmental descriptions. From her enthusiasm for Cormac McCarthy’s books in 2023 to reading Edwin A. Abbott's Flatland in 2024, and her recent research on London’s underground rivers and old maps—she even contemplates making paint from the stones of the River Thames.

Although Chan frequently employs melancholic colors like black, purple, and green, a faint light often emerges from the mist of her palette, symbolizing hope. Just as she keenly observes the inevitable despair of life through words, her true intent is to live fully despite such awareness.

By tracing the dark origins of human nature and exploring historical enigmas, Chan continues to expand her observations of the contemporary world. The ever-changing global landscape and the chaotic influx of social information continuously propel the artist's dialectical thinking: "Perhaps it's time to learn how to forget outdated misunderstandings and build our own viewpoints through personal experience."




Salt of the Earth, Oil on paper, 42 × 62 cm (paper), 2024

The year 2020 marked not only the establishment of new dynamics in the art market but also a significant turning point in the global landscape. The frequent occurrence of black swan events across countries and economies has prompted people to rethink the meaning of the world amidst conflicts in social and cultural values. Rising to prominence in 2020, these global changes have led Chan to frequently reflect on her stance and role as an artist.

"I do think my upbringing in looking at Chinese ink paintings and Japanese floral art, then reading Western art theory have shaped my influences. Imagine if I studied Islamic art or Southeast Asian art, perhaps it’ll be different, or would stay relatively the same? It’s hard to tell as we live in a world with incredible mobility, physicality and in knowledge. "

Such questioning is characteristic of young artists' pervasive contemplation. The battle between the artist and the canvas is merely the final step. The thoughts that flow through the artist's fingertips ultimately come from her experiences and readings. Abandoning the fleeting trends of the moment to challenge the grand tradition is Chan's deliberate choice.

We often look back fondly on the luminaries of the 1920s and on the ever-evolving modern art of the 1940s to 1960s. How will the history of the first half of the 21st century be written? The intersection of geographical differences forms Chan's current identity—a boyhood in Hong Kong that never had the chance to fully develop and a more mature, worldly image shaped in London. Despite gaining international fame, the 27-year-old artist still yearns for more possibilities in the future.


Portrait of Kristy M.Chan

As Chan herself remarked when answering some of CHESTNUTS' questions at the age of 27: "I'm not entirely sure. You'll have to ask me this question again in 10 years!"


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