10 Chancery Lane Gallery is proud to present works from Frog King Kwok in Unscheduled 2020. Organised in response to these unprecedented times, UNSCHEDULED comes together as a showcase of Hong Kong galleries, organised by Hong Kong Art Gallery Association (HKAGA) and taking place from 17 to 27 June 2020 at Tai Kwun as the venue partner.
ABOUT FROG KING
The eclectic and vibrant Frog King Kwok (aka Kwok Mang Ho) is an indomitable artist and is one of the most important figures in the history of contemporary art in Hong Kong. He was a pioneer to experiment in performance and conceptual practices in Hong Kong as early as the 1970s.
Frog King is one of the earliest Hong Kong contemporary artists to explore the use of ink painting as a conceptual tool, incorporating it as both action and material into multiple-media installations, performances, happenings and assembled environments incorporating discards and everyday objects. Through his practice Frog King drifts between Chinese and Western cultures by combining Chinese calligraphy with English writing which, he terms “sandwich font” or by bold splashes of paint used with both a performative and Taoist intention. He finishes his works by embossing a multitude of red ink Chinese chops that he has created himself.
Kwok Mang Ho moved to the East Village in New York in the 1980s where the Frog King persona burst forth. He says, “During the 80s in New York, the artists Keith Haring, Basquiat (samo), Warhol and others all has big identities so I decided to become Frog King”.
Frog King has won several awards, including the Hong Kong Arts Development Council Emeritus Fellowship in 1998. He started the “Frog King Kwok Museum” project in 2001 in Cattle Depot. In 2011, Frog King was selected as Hong Kong‘s artist for the 54th Venice Biennale. Currently Frog King Kwok has a major installation at the relaunch of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Frog King Kwok’s works are collected by the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the M+ Museum in Hong Kong.
