About Me

BIO

Edward Tsui (b. 1961, HK) lives and works in Toronto, Canada. He studied visual arts in Hong Kong before completing architectural studies in Manchester, England. Over time, he has immersed himself as a visual artist, primarily engaging in cement castings from molds and other mixed media. With three-dimensionality, Edward expresses his preoccupations on how the human condition impacts the built-environment, and vice versa. Moreover, he seeks to explore the primordial responses people have on architecture and how nature reacts upon the built forms. Buildings, according to him, resonant with signs that are imbued with signifieds. They have stories to be told.

Artist Statement

The built-environment, whether it is architecture, interior space, building parts or in a larger context - the urban form, has always been fascinating to me. From architecture to visual art, my passion on the subject has manifested itself with increasing vehemence. For me, artworks free themselves from pragmatism without sacrificing on polemics. They are vehicles that permit more possibilities on emotional as much as cognitive explorations. My works dissect archetypes in architecture, urban fabric and nature, breaking them down to re-emerge as constructs of mixed media sculptures. Through this process, I encourage the audience to look at their surroundings in different light. It is the unlearning of this familiarity, making room for new ways of seeing and interacting with buildings that intrigue me.

My investigations can be followed along three streams, namely Follies, Genius Loci and Homage. Follies examine how buildings or different archetypal elements like staircase, door or column that can be broken down and transformed to express hidden meanings. It is the subversion of existing architectural languages that drives new thoughts. On Genius Loci, I construe visions of cityscapes - real or imaginary places in ways that challenge collective minds and stimulate dialogues. Homages are works that pay tributes to great buildings with heightened awareness and in renewed contexts.

BIRTH OF WORKS

Cement, ubiquitously found in buildings, is Edward’s principle medium in his art. These works might be realized with mixed materials. It is by means of casting from silicone molds that the audience sees his works. Since 2019, he has been making this plastic art form using silicone molds based on sketches and handmade originals.

It is his conscious decision to produce handmade works rather than using 3D printing. The idea is much more attractive not only because of the human touch. The textures imprinted from materials on each ‘mother piece’ are particularly enticing. The entire process of idea inception, sketching, building the ‘mother piece’, making mold, pouring and assembling often takes months. Each piece is unique given the pouring process. This might be the result of cement mixture, pigment ratio or casting conditions. Buyers should not expect to find machine-like finishes on the artworks. The individuality of these natural finishes is by no means defects. And for all its hype, AI is not involved in any process; and rest assured, if it is adopted in future, it would only be a means not an end.

This is a small studio with big heart on architecture related artworks. The artist chooses a limited edition format on his works since he believes that this is a more egalitarian way of art appreciation. It is his preference to open up works to more collectors instead of following the ‘one piece to one collector’ approach. As said, each piece is unique like a single piece sculpture thanks to the nature of hand-poured techniques. Some mixed media works involving paper collage or weaving even produce greater uniqueness. The thought of sharing his ideas with more audiences is more satisfying, lest to say that the costs of limiting to a single piece on one concept are daunting for most collectors.

CV

The artist CV can be downloaded at here.

Photographic Prints

We have a collection of HD photographic images on all artworks for buyers to choose from. The images are printed from professional labs on quality archival papers and signed by the artist in limited edition format. Two samples are shown here for information without signatures. Frames are not included. Prints will be rolled up in ultra strong tubes to prevent damage. Any interested party may contact the artist for available contact images and all relevant details.