LANG is proud to present from 18 january onwards: Theters to a Quiet Haunting from Beau van Rhee. Beau van Rhee (2001, NL) graduated in 2024 from HKU. She is a painter driven by a deep fascination with the recurring symbols and images that emerge in her life. Objects, plants, and other seemingly ordinary elements take on extraordinary roles, evolving into archetypes that keep returning to her life and mind.
Van Rhee works from the urge to capture these archetypes. This process is started by a persistent lingering image in her mind that demands to be depicted and yet has no shape. By sketching repeatedly van Rhee begins to slowly grasp the image, after which she begins painting them, sometimes revisiting them across multiple works. It is through this act of painting that the presence of these elements begin to slowly reveal themselves.
The use of thin oil paint allows van Rhee to work quickly, capturing the image before it fades from her mind. Using a palette of greyscale tones, she separates the image from everyday reality, leaving it suspended in a realm of thought and memory that feels detached from the physical world.
Through her works, van Rhee captures the interplay between her conscious understanding and the unconscious forces that shape her internal world. Each work exists as a reflection on the persistent images that surface, lingering in a space between the tangible and the intangible.
