Peter Hong-Tsun Chan

LSS Los Angeles

“Opening Sequence”

2023 May 13 to June 17

Peter Hong-Tsun Chan's latest body of work, Opening Sequence, invites us to question the true representation of reality through an added dimensional plane. His oil paintings juxtapose reality and fantasy, lending social and artistic commentary on our tendency to embody different identities, and to peer into other worlds through digital screens.

Opening Sequence explores how our everyday roles are shaped—consciously or subconsciously—by the narratives and identities that exist around us. The paintings prompt us to look inward and consider whether we are playing roles other than our own, as if we are scripted characters in a film, or absorbing personas and characters we have observed and admired.

Peter strives to provoke exploration of the unexplored, incorporating both recognizable and subtle portrayals of cultural symbols, historical and contemporary icons, pop culture, and1990s Hong Kong cinema. His work references baroque painting, as well as filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, and artists René Magritte and Martin Wong. Putting a twist on figurative painting and how it has been perceived historically, Peter gives these references unexpected roles that allow viewers to form alternative narratives and question the influences around the formation of cultural identities.