Location: 30

Title: Manga Ormolu Version 4.0r, 2013

Collection of the Art Gallery of Burlington

Purchased in part through the support of the Elizabeth L. Gordon Art Program, a program of the Gordon Foundation and administered by the Ontario Arts Foundation.

40.6 x 33.0 x 50.8 cm

Material: Ceramic and mixed mediapaint.

Sale Price: NFS

Bio:

Brendan Lee Satish Tang (B: 1975, Dublin Ireland; lives/works: Unceded territory of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam Nations) is a visual artist who is widely known for his sculptural ceramic work. He received an MFA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and he is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, both nationally and internationally. 

Tang’s work explores issues of identity and the hybridization of our material and non-material culture while simultaneously expressing a love of both futuristic technologies and ancient traditions Although he is primarily known for his ceramic work, Tang continues to produce and exhibit work in a wide variety of mixed and multiple mediums. 

A recipient of the 2016 Biennale Internationale de Vallauris Contemporary Ceramic Award, France, shortlisted for the Sobey Art Prize , and a finalist in the Loewe Foundation’s International Craft Prize, Madrid, Spain . Tang’s work has been exhibited at the Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC, the Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC, the Musee National Des Beaux-Arts du Quebec, Quebec City, QC, the Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy, the Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal, QC, the Boston Art Museum, Boston, MA , the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, the Foundation d’Entreprise Bernardaud, Limoges, France, among many others. 

You might recognize him as a judge on The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down!

Artist Statement:

Manga Ormolu enters the dialogue on contemporary culture, technology, and globalization through a fabricated relationship between ceramic tradition (using the form of Chinese Ming dynasty vessels) and techno-Pop Art. The futuristic update of the Ming vessels in this series recalls 18th century French gilded ormolu, where historic Chinese vessels were transformed into curiosity pieces for aristocrats. But here, robotic prosthetics inspired by anime (Japanese animation) and manga (the beloved comics and picture novels of Japan) subvert elitism with the accessibility of popular culture.

Website: www.brendantang.com