6/18/08

Catmasutra: Painting for different emotions

A little excerpt from youth.sg about Catmasutra - The Enlightened Series...


Who would have known that a creature that meows and purrs can relate to many of our humanly sentiments and even provide calmness within that subconscious mayhem?

“Painting is the passage from the chaos of the emotions to the order of the possible,” so said French painter Balthus. I presume that Catmasutra: Enlightened series creator Paul Koh must have that renowned quote etched in his mind while colouring each canvas. Each painting sheltered in Artoholic Gallery relates to our emotions through the situation faced by a cat and brings us to find solitary, making each paint-daubed canvas appropriate for a different occasion...

Though the cat is plastered with repetitive facial expressions canvas after canvas, its surroundings also draw out the cat’s emotions (and at times, ours too).

After-lunch contentment

As outwardly portrayed by the ‘green grass’ background, this painting seems inspired by the Taoist concept of yin and yang (uniting two total opposites). The Perfect Harmony of the living cat and the dead fish also shows the humanly after-lunch contentment. The cat shows its pleasure on its facial expression and the silhouette of the bird on the ‘grass’ denotes the fantastic feeling most of us have after savouring a delicious meal.

Read the full article by Nisha at youth.sg



Haha... The fish bone is actually a "wish" bone for the cat and it symbolizes our dreams and aspirations. When what we do matches what we dream about, then we're that much closer to happiness, and hence that eyes-wide-shut and ear-to-ear grin;) As long as the fish bone remains within sight and in the heart (or the mouth), the cat is happy. It also means "abundance" in reference to the Chinese greeting "Nian Nian You Yu" (or abundance year after year). "Fish" and "abundance" are pronounced the same way"Yu", but written differently. Of course, here the cat is always well-fed ("soul food") since , as it must be, when we do the things we love...

;)

6/13/08

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

Know all things to be like this:
as a magician makes illusions
Of horses, oxen, carts and other things,

Nothing is as it appears.

~Buddha



See No Evil / Morning Cat
...
*You're an artist
who paints both with existence and non.
Shams could help you see who you are,
but remember, You are not your eyes.



Hear No Evil / Afternoon Cat
...
*The waterhole is deep. A thirsty man climbs

a walnut tree growing next to the pool
and drops walnuts one by one into

the beautiful place. He listens carefully
to the sound as they hit and watches

the bubbles. A more rational man gives advice.
"You'll regret doing this. You're so far

from the water that by the time you get down
to gather walnuts, the water will have

carried them away." He replies, "I'm not
here for the walnuts, I want the music

they make when they hit."


Speak No Evil / Evening Cat

...
*A night full of talking that hurts.
my worst held-back secrets: everything
has to do with loving and not loving.

This night will pass.
Then we have work to do.

~*Rumi


CATMASUTRA ~ The Enlightened Series
A solo exhibition by Paul Koh

ARTOHOLIC GALLERY
422 joo chiat road

Paintings will be displayed till 19 June 2008

Opening Hours:
monday-friday: 12pm - 7pm
saturday : 10am - 9pm
;)


These paintings were first inspired by my cat Halo, who when it's too bright, cover her eyes as if asking us to dim the light! Not sure if it's a natural phenomenon but my the other cat Angel has also recently started to do the same. Perhaps he has gotten used to sunglasses...


;)

6/2/08

Catmasutra - The enlightened Series

Here's a little video for my upcoming exhibition on Wednesday, so come on down and explore the mystical side of you in this quirky and 'deep' cat art exhibition. The song's a favorite of mine, "Lived in Bars" by Cat Power.


The rain is free
only in falling...
;)

The Map of Unchartered Occurrences

“We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in our childhood, and we find that life alters our plans. And yet, at the end, from a rare height, we also see that our dream was our fate. It's just that providence had other ideas as to how we would get there. Destiny plans a different route, or turns the dream around, as if it were a riddle, and fulfills the dream in ways we couldn't have expected.” ~ Ben Okri


The Pilgrimage

“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours... and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.” ~ Bob Moawad


Kiss Pressed like a flower
"In mysterious ways the heart reveals itself to be like a flower that opens and closes. this is our nature. " ~Jack Kornfield


Just Sitting
“The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.” ~ Epictetus


CATMASUTRA ~ The Enlightened Series
A solo exhibition by Paul Koh

Opening Reception & RSVP:
Wednesday, 4 June 7pm
tel: (65) 6348 7793

ARTOHOLIC GALLERY
422 joo chiat road

Paintings will be displayed till 19 June 2008

Opening Hours:
monday-friday: 12pm - 7pm
saturday : 10am - 9pm
;)