Christie’s visits jewelry artist and tastemaker Wallace Chan’s Hong Kong gallery

Wallace Chan is no stranger to enthusiasts of Haute Joaillerie, carvings and sculptural arts. In this video, Wallace Chan talks about the inspiration behind his pioneering creations and how he came to develop his signature Wallace Cut, an illusionary carving technique he invented in 1987. Followed by the documentary, his solo exhibition was held at Christie’s Hong Kong gallery in 2019.
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“I express my life through gemstones,” says Hong Kong-based jewellery designer Wallace Chan. “It’s about a pursuit of freedom.” Born in 1956 in Fujian, China, Chan found his artistic calling early, fashioning flowers out of plastic at the age of eight. At 16 he began an apprenticeship with a sculptor in a traditional workshop, but left after nine months to hone his skills in carving raised intaglio and sunken cameo reliefs. In the subsequent decades, Chan has experimented with a wide spectrum of techniques and materials.
From 14-25 January 2019, Christie’s Gallery in Central, Hong Kong, held Shapeshifter - The Multi-Verse of Wallace Chan, his first-ever public exhibition in Hong Kong. The show featured more than 80 pieces of contemporary sculpture, wearable works of art, and products of the artist’s innovations over the past five decades.
Early in his career, Chan’s pieces often drew on traditional Chinese iconography. But he was equally inspired by the sculptures of Michelangelo, particularly the play of light on their surfaces. “I always take light into account,” says the artist, who explains that he keeps searching “until I find that particular point where light can penetrate”.
With time, key themes began to emerge in Chan’s creations: nature, philosophy and sculpture. His butterflies and flowers are Fauvist and opulent; his sculptural forms are classically Romantic.
Chan is not only a sublime artist, but also a world-class innovator. Over the course of two and a half years he invented a technique known as the “Wallace Cut”, which takes advantage of a gemstone’s internal properties to produce designs with a three-dimensional effect.
Read the interview here: www.christies.com/features/Wa...
www.wallace-chan.com
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[@StewKelly]

The thought and mastery that goes into your artwork is simply amazing. Thank you for sharing this video.