Phillip Lai: Artist Talk

Join artist Phillip Lai as he discusses the themes and thoughts behind his exhibition RAIN / RUIN.

Lai’s work often explores the material world around us and within this narrative seeks to question what the work really asks us to look at, how it is created and how it is perceived. Through slow and attentive processes, Lai extracts and abstracts the object from its societal context to query and untangle our presumptions.

The talk is followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Phillip Lai

Phillip Lai was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1969 and moved to London in 1979, where he continues to live and work. In 1997, he presented his first solo exhibition at The Showroom, London. His work has been the subject of subsequent solo exhibitions at Kiang Malingue, Hong Kong (2023); Modern Art, London (2021); Galleria Franco Noero, Turin (2019); Edouard Malingue Gallery, Hong Kong (2018); Camden Art Centre, London (2014); and Transmission Gallery, Glasgow (2009).

In 2018, he was shortlisted for the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture, and from 2017–19 was awarded the Sculpture Fellowship at the Kenneth Armitage Foundation, London. His works are held in collections including the Arts Council Collection, London; M+, Hong Kong; Museo Jumex, Mexico City; Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing; and Tate, London.

Image Credit

Phillip Lai, 'Untitled' (2023). Install shot at Kiang Malingue, Hong Kong. Image courtesy Phillip Lai and Modern Art