布朗畫廊宣佈舉辦美籍波多黎各藝術家艾諾克·佩雷斯（Enoc Perez）的個展「心隨意動」，以朗姆酒甁和雞尾酒杯為題的系列新作，油畫棒的繪畫風格，敍述了一個長達十五年的戒酒故事。更探索了消費文化的虛無和誘惑。
Ben Brown Fine Arts is delighted to present Chances are You’ll Like it All Ways, a solo exhibition of works by Puerto-Rican American artist Enoc Perez, this recent series features oil sticks paintings of rum bottles and cocktail glasses, projecting a narrative of his journey to sobriety for over 15 years.
Why it matters:
佩雷斯從 2000 年代初期就開始探索這個題材。以油畫為媒介，佩雷斯將日常物品提升至藝術殿堂，作品反映了他的戒酒歷程，探討了消費文化的虛無和誘惑，同時也呈現藝術的純美與愉悅性。波多黎各的國酒百加得朗姆酒，常出現在1970 年代充滿虛假承諾的酒類廣告，對佩雷斯而言具有深刻的隱喻意義，象徵著個人和集體的夢想與幻滅。畫作中的百加得朗姆酒瓶更有一種獨特的建築感， 這與他長期對現代建築和紀念碑的興趣一脈相承。
Enoc Perez began exploring this subject in the early 2000s. Through his use of oil as a medium, Perez elevates these everyday objects to the realm of fine art, prompting viewers to appreciate their formal beauty. The paintings reveal his journey to sobriety, explore the deceptive promises and enduring appeal of consumer culture while embracing art’s potential for pure beauty and pleasure. The national spirit of Puerto Rico, the Bacardi rum bottles hold profound metaphorical significance for Perez, symbolising both personal and collective dreams and disillusionment, evoking the deceptive appeal of 1970s alcohol advertisements that pledged happiness and abundance yet often delivered the opposite. Perez’s paintings of Bacardi rum bottles have a distinctive architectonic quality, aligning with his longstanding interest in modern architectural buildings and monuments—a hallmark of his artistic production.
4 Highlights:
- 他首先創作彩色素描， 然後以油畫棒在背面塗上油彩，再轉移到畫布上，由此創造出類似碳粉複寫本的效果，帶有顆粒感和模糊的質地， 令作品充滿憧憬和懷舊感。
- His innovative technique enhances this symbolism, first creating coloured drawings, then applying oil paint to the back using oil sticks and transferring them onto the canvas. This method achieves an effect akin to a carbon copy with grainy and smudged textures reminiscent of early Xerox prints, imbuing the paintings with a sense of longing and wistfulness.
- 佩雷斯為是次展覽創作了描繪茅台酒的新作，首次在香港展出。通過作品，佩雷斯旨在探討這種經典酒如何在現代中國體現文化自豪感和商業主義，並找到其個人歷史與亞洲殖民影響、貿易和文化交流等更廣泛的歷史敘事之間的聯繫，促進跨文化對話。
- The exhibition also features Perez’s paintings of Moutai, a renowned Chinese liquor with a rich history symbolising status and prestige, exhibited for the first time in Hong Kong. Through these works, Perez explores how this iconic beverage embodies both cultural pride and commercialism in modern China, drawing parallels between his personal history and broader historical narratives of colonial influence, trade, and cultural exchange in Asia, fostering a cross-cultural dialogue.
- 在作品《瘋狂》（Go Banana，2023 年）中，佩雷茲細緻地描繪了一瓶百加得朗姆酒和裝滿誘人飲品的酒杯，讓觀者不禁聯想到經典靜物畫的構圖，令人著迷。觀者幾乎能感受到杯子上凝結的水氣，以及酒精和調酒器散發出的香醇氣息。佩雷茲透過諷刺性的標題批評物質文化中固有的商品化和狡猾操縱，暗示通過酒精可以獲得幸福和內心自由的誘人幻象。在《一杯調味酒》（The Mixable One，2023 年）中，佩雷斯巧妙地捕捉了光影透過液體和玻璃所形成的斑駁效果， 運用飽和的琥珀色和番紅花色調喚起喜悅和熱情之感。這是對 70年代光鮮豔麗的酒類廣告的致敬， 它們利用鮮艷的色彩營造出奢靡享樂的表象。佩雷斯顏色豐富的畫作擁有一種轉瞬即逝的特質——不精確且模糊， 卻在我們的集體意識中留下了難忘的印記。
- In works such as Go Bananas (2023), Perez meticulously renders a Bacardi bottle and glasses brimming with vibrant, tantalising drinks that captivate the viewer in a composition reminiscent of a classic still life. One can almost feel the condensation forming on the glass and sense the aromatic blend of liquor and mixer. Perez critiques the commodification of desire and the cunning manipulation inherent in material culture with a sardonic title that beckons toward hedonism and unbridled joy, peddling the seductive illusion that alcohol can unlock happiness and unleash an inner freedom. In The Mixable One (2023), Perez masterfully captures dappled light and shadow filtering through the luminous liquid and glass, utilising saturated amber and vivacious, saffron hues to evoke enthusiasm. This homage nods to the lustrous liquor advertisements of the 1970s, which employed vibrant colours to create a façade of hedonistic glamour and pleasure. Perez’s spectral paintings possess an ephemeral quality—imprecise and unfocused yet leaving an indelible mark on our collective consciousness.
- 作品延續佩雷斯早期描繪五、六十年代經典豪華酒店的繪畫系列，令人聯想到充滿懷舊情懷的烏托邦承諾——一個優雅、繁榮和具未來主義設計的世界。作品象徵文化時代的理想和幻象，反映波多黎各在殖民歷史影響下邁向現代化，包括經濟與工業的顯著發展，尤其以旅遊業的發展為標誌。透過「現成品」般的波普風格，朗姆酒瓶系列對比廣告誘惑的承諾與酗酒殘酷的現實，如同對旅遊業理想化影像的批判性反思。
- Paintings in the exhibition maintain thematic continuity with his earlier depictions of iconic luxury hotels from the 1950s and ’60s, which evoke a sense of nostalgic utopian promise – a world of elegance, prosperity, and futuristic design. These artworks symbolise the aspirations and illusions of that cultural epoch, reflecting Puerto Rico’s transition into modernity marked by significant economic and industrial development, particularly in the tourism sector, influenced by its colonial history. With their ‘ready-made’ Pop format, the rum bottle series provocatively contrasts the beguiling promises of advertising with the harsh realities of alcohol consumption, as seen in the parallel critique of tourism’s idealised imagery.
Background: Enoc Perez
- 艾諾克·佩雷斯，1967 年於波多黎各聖胡安出生。現居住並工作於美國紐約。佩雷斯以其畫作和油畫棒繪畫而聞名，作品描繪了烏托邦式的經典建築與紀念碑。在他的藝術生涯中，佩雷斯建立了獨特的視覺語彙，以建築和室內空間作為象徵，探討權力、身份認同、流行文化、歷史和政治。
- Enoc Perez, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1967, is renowned for his paintings and oil stick drawings that depict iconic, utopian architecture and monuments. Throughout his career, Perez has developed a distinct visual vocabulary, using architecture and interiors as symbols to examine power, identity, popular culture, history and politics.
Final tips:
若你對酒文化很感興趣，這些作品能够激發你的強烈共鳴。
If you are interested in alcoholic culture, these pieces will inject wonder, inspiration and personal resonance.
心隨意動 | Chances are You’ll Like it All Ways
Date:
2024.9.28 – 2024.11.9
Venue:
布朗畫廊 | Ben Brown Fine Arts Hong Kong
香港黃竹坑業發街 1 號 The Factory 201 室 | Ben Brown Fine Arts 201 The Factory, 1 Yip Fat Street, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong
Courtesy to Enoc Perez and Ben Brown Fine Arts Hong Kong