Born and raised in Hong Kong, Yvonne Kwok grew up drawing and practicing Chinese calligraphy, she has always been fascinated by the beauty and profound meaning of the traditional Chinese characters. While pursuing her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in New York City, she discovered her passion in Western painting, particularly abstract paintings as they often provoke thoughts and concepts. In her final thesis, she decided to paint the characters “抽象” which means “abstract” in an abstract, geometric approach inspired by tangram/ 七巧板, a dissection puzzle consisting of seven flat shapes, to challenge the viewers to see Chinese characters in a different perceptive. That was the beginning of her “畫字-寫畫” (Painted words - Written paintings) series. With her multicultural background, her works are the representation of her Eastern cultural upbringing coupled with a contemporary, Western approach.
Ms. Kwok’s paintings provide a contrast to traditional Chinese calligraphy. She often uses bold and straight lines that are extended out of the canvas so her characters are boundless. She also uses colors to convey emotions and concepts to imply the deeper meanings of the characters. Chinese calligraphy, modern abstract painting and graphic design are the three key elements in her work.
In her professional life, Ms. Kwok is a martial arts educator specializing in traditional Taekwon-do and Practical Wing Chun Kung Fu and she teaches full time at Gotham Martial Arts. She began training in martial arts around the time she moved to New York City to pursue art, so martial arts and visual arts have always coexisted and are equally essential to her life in New York. One of her goals is to draw the connection between martial arts and visual arts as she has discovered many similarities between the two disciplines. “Yin & Yang of Martial Arts” is an exhibit she curated to share the values and virtues of martial arts practice through her and her father’s creative work, she hopes to inspire viewers to look beneath the surface of the subjects and think “outside the canvas”.