Research in Motion: An Interview with Will Kwan
Alissa Firth-Eagland and Johan Lundh
Interview. Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, Volume 9, Issue 2, 2010, 32-43.
[EXCERPT] Hong Kong-born Chinese-Canadian interdisciplinary artist Will Kwan has had a hectic year. In 2009, his first solo exhibition was curated by one of Canada’s most respected curators, Barbara Fischer (Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Toronto), and his work was also the subject of a two-person show with Mieke Bal curated by up-and-coming curator Liz Park (Western Front, Vancouver). Kwan is currently participating in a residency at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, Ireland and developing a new commission for the 2010 Liverpool Biennial. In addition to his prolific practice, Kwan teaches at the University of Toronto. This diverse set of activities gives a glimpse into Kwan’s practice, but there is little writing about his work to date. We predict that this will soon change and decided to seize the opportunity to conduct one of the first published interviews with Kwan. Together we discuss his impulses to make art, these new exhibition and production opportunities, the development of research threads in his practice over the last few years, the role of mobility and travel in his work, and his relationship to contemporary Chinese art.
Full text PDF available at Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art.