Jesus College is delighted to announce that artist Stephen Wong has been commissioned by Rosaline Wong and HomeArt to create a new artwork for the College. The work will be inspired by a one-month visiting fellowship and artistic residency in Oxford this summer.

 

 

Stephen is a Hong Kong based artist who graduated from the Fine Art Department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2008. He has since exhibited internationally and has gained acclaim with work that explores the relationship between mankind and nature. His most recent solo exhibitions including Stephen Wong Chun Hei: Maclehose Trail (Bonhams, Hong Kong, 2022) and Indoor Hundred Islands (Touch Gallery, Hong Kong, 2022).

 

Inspired by views of sweeping landscapes, nature and archaeological landmarks – especially those surrounding his home city – Stephen paints through an amalgamation of travel photography, rough sketches, memory, instinct and imagination. By painting from memory and preliminary drawings done plein air, his work conveys light, movement and landscape in a uniquely expressive way. His College commission, which will be completed during his stay at Jesus, will be given a proud home in the new Rosaline Wong Gallery.

Stephen says, “When I knew that I was able to have a one-month stay at Jesus College, I was so excited, and at the same time a bit nervous. It’s my first time to have an artist in residency project in a foreign country, and my first time visiting Oxford as well. I could predict that I would sketch a lot of the buildings here, which is a challenge to my art practice. Previously I have preferred painting natural landscape with only few artificial elements, but now I think architecture will be dominant in my upcoming painting.”

 

The artist has already spent just over a week in College, sketching views of the city and the College’s historic buildings, and will be creating his final piece in a pop-up studio in the Cheng Yu Tung Building. “Every day I am overwhelmed by the strong historical atmosphere. I like to look at every detail on each building, and especially love to explore the hidden and narrow stairs everywhere – it gives me the feeling of adventure. With the sketchbook in my hand, I can look at this city by the marks I have made.”

“A few days ago, when I was sketching in Ship Street, there was a phrase coming in to my mind: ‘Choosing to be Slow’. I think in this age of rapid technological development, we can capture scenery very easily and fast, but it doesn’t mean that being slow has to be replaced; it is now becoming a choice which important to balance our busy lives.”

 

As well as being inspired by his current urban environment, Stephen is also settling in to the cadence of College life. He explains, “In Jesus College I have gained back the feeling of being a student! It’s only been a week but I already treat this place as my home. All the people are so nice and helpful here. And I really enjoy that my studio is just beside my room – that’s so convenient. Every day I wake up at 6:30am already so eager to start the journey of exploring and sketching the city.”

Jesus College Director of Development Dr Brittany Wellner James says, “We are excited and so grateful to Rosaline and HomeArt to be able to host Stephen Wong over the summer. It is a great honour to have Stephen with us and to watch his creative process up close. He is an incredibly talented young artist whose unique responsive style will hopefully inspire our community to view College, its buildings and people, from a new perspective.”

 A film is being made about Stephen’s residency at Jesus, and this will be released later in the year when his final artwork is unveiled. In the meantime, College will be sharing updates on his progress via its social media channels. If you’d like to learn more about his work, CNN produced a short film profile of Stephen, which can be viewed here:

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/arts/2022/03/11/stephen-wong.cnn